Short Story The One About The Coyote Going West Thomas King
In short story “The one about the coyote going west” by Thomas King, begins with the narrator telling a story to a coyote about who discover the Indians. The narrator introduces the main character named Coyote, who represented the first colonizer. In addition, as Coyote explores her new land she finds a straight smooth river, and a round mountain. However, Coyote does not accept nature’s true form, therefore she decides to fix the river and mountain to her standard, by added rocks and rapids to the rivers, as well as including cliffs and bumps to the mountains. As the story unfolds, the readers discover that Coyote does not consider the true beauty and simplicity of nature. Furthermore, the changes that she makes, ends up as mistakes. The narrator
also acknowledges Coyote’s desire to change is her mistakes as shown when the narrator states” the first thing Coyote makes, I tell Coyote is a mistake” (King 657). As Coyote continues her journey west, she encounters the “big mistake” who symbolises white man and modern society. The “big mistake” is the founder of materialistic materials such as vacuum cleaners, air humidifier etc. Moreover, when Coyote becomes friends with big mistake their friendship develops further to the point of trusting one another. This story is a fable that consists of hidden meaning within each symbolic animal. Subsequently, the significance of big mistake is how the essence of native culture is diminished and completely forgotten because of modern creation, in which the big mistake created. In the story there were ducks whom could have represent natives. The ducks state” We got more ducks than we need. I guess we got to be the Indians. And so they do that. Before Coyote or that big mistake can mess things up” (King 663). This quote, represents in the times of history how natives were conformity to change their culture to the white man standards. Additionally, the big mistake is the termination of most native culture and the crisis of future generations losing their native culture. To conclude, the coyote and the big mistake which are similar characters, demonstrate how their focus on changing people and nature to their standard evolves to the extinction of cultures that are not accepted towards their norms; in the end the natives have nothing left but to just adapt to what is considered acceptable in current society.
also acknowledges Coyote’s desire to change is her mistakes as shown when the narrator states” the first thing Coyote makes, I tell Coyote is a mistake” (King 657). As Coyote continues her journey west, she encounters the “big mistake” who symbolises white man and modern society. The “big mistake” is the founder of materialistic materials such as vacuum cleaners, air humidifier etc. Moreover, when Coyote becomes friends with big mistake their friendship develops further to the point of trusting one another. This story is a fable that consists of hidden meaning within each symbolic animal. Subsequently, the significance of big mistake is how the essence of native culture is diminished and completely forgotten because of modern creation, in which the big mistake created. In the story there were ducks whom could have represent natives. The ducks state” We got more ducks than we need. I guess we got to be the Indians. And so they do that. Before Coyote or that big mistake can mess things up” (King 663). This quote, represents in the times of history how natives were conformity to change their culture to the white man standards. Additionally, the big mistake is the termination of most native culture and the crisis of future generations losing their native culture. To conclude, the coyote and the big mistake which are similar characters, demonstrate how their focus on changing people and nature to their standard evolves to the extinction of cultures that are not accepted towards their norms; in the end the natives have nothing left but to just adapt to what is considered acceptable in current society.