Read this excerpt from Section III of The Way to Rainy Mountain. There were always dogs about my grandmother’s house…The old people paid them scarcely any attention, but they should have been sad, I think, to see them go. What is the effect of the first-person point of view in this excerpt?

The reader gets a sense of the author’s feelings about the dogs that were a major part of Kiowa culture.

The reader learns what the legendary origins are of the dogs that are so important in Kiowa culture.

The reader finds out why other Native Americans associate dogs with the Kiowas.

The reader gets an outsider’s view on the role of dogs in Kiowa culture







Read this excerpt from part VI:

"In the autumn of 1874, the Kiowas were driven southward towards the Staked Plains. Columns of troops were converging upon them from all sides, and they were bone-weary and afraid."

How does the historical voice add to the meaning of the book?


It is Momaday's personal account of the events.


It demonstrates the beliefs and religion of the Kiowa.


It adds a factual element that brings validity to the writing.


It provides a personal reflection on the events.




An article "The Way to Rainy Mountain Themes: Memory and History" by Sylvie McNamara say this about the way the book is structured,

"Momaday’s focus on memory also emphasizes that the past must be actively transmitted in order to preserve Kiowa culture and identity. History is not an abstract time that is relegated only to the past; it is a set of stories, values, and ideas that live on through people who make the effort to remember."

Which statement accurately reflects why Momaday chose 3 voices to use as the structure for his book.

He wanted to be innovative in his structure and do something no one had done before.


He needed a way to set his writing apart from other works about Native Americans.


He didn't have enough to write about in memoir so he added other voices.


He believes that the 3 voices provide the most thorough reflection of the Kiowa history.







Consider the following prompt for a Constructed Response on a test. Read it carefully and then read the answer choices carefully. Decide which answer choice would be the best response to the CR prompt and receive full credit.

PROMPT: In the prologue, Momaday states, " In one sense, then, the way to Rainy Mountain is preeminently the history of an idea, man’s idea of himself, and it has old and essential being in language. The verbal tradition by which it has been preserved has suffered a deterioration in time. What remains is fragmentary: mythology, legend, lore, and hearsay—and of course the idea itself, as crucial and complete as it ever was. That is the miracle. "

Explain the meaning of this quote and how it relates to the structure (3 voices) of the text. Write at least 1 full paragraph using correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and evidence from the text.



Momaday chose to write in 3 voices because he felt like that would provide the best telling of his people's history. He likes his people a lot and felt it important to tell his side of the story along with the historical side.


Momaday uses the three voices to structure the novel because they are all important to the record of who the Kiowa people were and are today. As the quote states "What remains is fragmentary: mythology, legend, lore, and heresay," showing that there isn't one thorough record of Kiowa history- instead it exists in fragments from history, from oral tradition, and from mythology. Momaday felt compelled to compose the most holistic history of his people, so he used the three voices to help tell the story.


The three voices of the text are Kiowa mythology, historical facts, and Momaday's personal memoir/memories. In each section of the text, the three voices are tied together by a single thread or topic. The topic as well as all of the voices show how that topic was important to to Kiowa and how it impacted their culture.


The book's structure is not traditional. The three voices cause the novel to forgo the traditional chronological plot structure and instead focuses on ideas that are important to the Kiowa. Through the presentation of ideas, a story is build around how the Kiowa were once prosperous and had a time of success but found themselves in the same plight as many other Native American tribes being sent to a reservation to preserve their culture as best as they can.