House Made of Dawn: Motifs 3 key examples

It is no accident that "Abelito" sounds extremely close to the word "abuelito." Just as "Abelito" is an affectionate form of "Abel," "abuelito" is a familiar, affectionate form of "abuelo," the Spanish word for grandfather. Abel's nickname gives him a fluid identity. Not only is he Francisco's beloved little grandson, but he is also a future grandfather. By giving Abel this double-sided name, Francisco expresses trust that his only living grandson has what it takes to become an elder like him. When Francisco is no longer around, Abel will keep family and cultural traditions alive. Abel does not have any children in the novel, let alone grandchildren, and he is still young when it ends. Even so, Francisco appears to be right about the man Abel is becoming. He cares for Francisco on his deathbed and spends the last paragraphs of the novel running in the traditional race Francisco always used to run at Walatowa. When he must, Abel becomes the keeper of tradition his grandfather always tried to be. The circular way in which the novel shows a grandson taking on the role of his grandfather gestures toward hope for the future of American Indian life. Even in the face of government programs aimed at destroying American Indian lives and culture, the circle of life persists.

As an aside, this story establishes why the Feast of Santiago revolves around a rooster. Contestants ride past a rooster that is buried in the ground, attempting to grab it. The winner (in this case Juan Reyes Fragua) picks another contestant to beat with the rooster until the bird dies. The story Father Olguin tells illuminates a difficult chasm between the ritual's intended purpose and the way it actually plays out. The sacrifice is supposed to renew crops and livestock, reaffirming the Pueblo's sense of abundance. While what happens between Fragua and Abel may satisfy this purpose for some of the onlookers, the violent encounter is also inflected with racial resentment and trauma that are not part of the original story. By including the story of Santiago, Momaday gives the reader a glimpse not only of the contest's religious significance, but also of the difficulty characters like Abel and Fragua face when they try to carry out traditions and ceremonies within the complex context of the modern colonial world.

Other instances where the main narrative frames other stories also draw attention to the fraught nature of religion, ceremony, and tradition in a colonial world. Fray Nicolás's journal takes up a large section of this chapter. The journal tells of Francisco's upbringing, Fragua's birth, and Nicolás's attempts to promote Christian beliefs among the Pueblo people. His account of his own abusive behavior toward Francisco and others who remain in Abel's life helps the reader see how Christianity has been both foundational and deeply harmful in this community. Even the story of Santiago blends Christianity with more traditional Pueblo beliefs, making it difficult for someone in Abel's position to untangle his cultural identity from his own oppression and generational trauma.

Tosamah, Ben Benally, Milly, and Francisco all share extended stories with the reader within the frame of the main narrative. As these stories add up, it becomes more and more clear that Abel's story—the way he comes to terms with his cultural identity—cannot be told without an array of others' stories. He needs to see all the parts of himself reflected in the other characters and their experiences. Perhaps even more significantly, Abel's story becomes a frame that allows other characters' stories to emerge and intersect in meaningful ways. Within Abel's story, the white woman Milly's family history of poverty can be linked to their poor understanding and appreciation for the land. Tosamah's grief over his grandmother can be linked to false narratives he has internalized about the inevitable disappearance of American Indians. Francisco's abuse at Fray Nicolás's hands becomes just that: abuse Francisco and future generations have the chance to heal from, not discipline directing them toward a future where they must assimilate.

Ben is thinking about how much money he has to spend on alcohol, but mixed in with his calculations and his desire for wine are memories both recent and old: he remembers earlier in the night wondering "who that great big girl was," and the thought of the coins also reminds him of a girl who made an impression on him in his youth. The way he bounces around between past and present gives the reader the sense of being inside his head. Rather than telling the reader a linear story that starts with Abel's arrival in Los Angeles and ends with his departure, Momaday offers the reader a glimpse of how the story lives inside Ben's mind, mixed up with his own autobiography.

As a literary technique, stream of consciousness allowed modernist writers such as James Joyce to expand the limits of storytelling and emphasize the way people experience the world through a filter of past experiences and seemingly irrelevant details. Every person, this technique illuminates, has a unique subjective reality that is inflected by everything they have ever experienced. Momaday has cited Joyce as one of his influences. By borrowing this narrative technique, Momaday emphasizes his characters' complexity and uniqueness. None of them fit neatly into stereotypes. Even Ben Benally, who seems to blend into Los Angeles in a way Abel never can, has strange and winding thoughts that are determined by the life he and he alone has led. On the one hand, the novel invites readers to appreciate Ben's individuality. On the other hand, the tone of this entire chapter is anxious: Ben drifts along alone and at the mercy of his thoughts and memories.

Momaday also uses stream of consciousness to delve into Francisco's mind, especially when Francisco is dying but also at earlier points. Francisco's mind often bends toward memories of running, hunting, or otherwise using his body to participate in his people's ceremonies and traditions. He misses the time when his body was stronger and he could run instead of remembering. As Francisco dies and his stream of consciousness fizzles out, Abel suddenly realizes that he must join the dawn runners. Abel's commitment to running seems to break him out of his own anxious cycle. The book thus presents physical running, and the full participation in the physical world that is part of many American Indian traditions, as the antidote to the racing mind that still plagues Ben Benally.