Kaylyn Locklear Dr. Jesse Peters ENG 2200 14 Oct. 2016 A Story of How A Wall Stands Response Essay Simon Ortiz is a Native American storyteller and poet. Through his poetry, he discloses events from the past as well as memories. In his poem, “A Story of How A Wall Stands,” Ortiz discusses a time where his father revealed to him traditions and culture, to create a new appreciation of bits and pieces of history and events that have gained lesser attention in the past. The poem describes a wall that surrounds a graveyard connected to a Catholic church in Acoma that was built by the Aroma people. The wall is ancient, weathered, and almost 400 years old, and appears as if it may fall but it will indeed last a long time. Ortiz’s father reveals to him that the walls appearance covers a well-structured surface that was “built carefully” (519). …show more content…
His father is speaking in first person through present tense, while Ortiz is writing in third person. The poem gradually becomes more of a story about history instead a time of observation for Ortiz. He states, “My father, who works with stone,” providing a visual for the reader (Ortiz 518). He takes the reader thoroughly through the process of forming this wall. The father makes it clear to the reader that the stone is “just the part you see, the stones which seem to be just packed in on the outside.” His father is disclosing that the reader should look past the obvious. The father then states that, “underneath what looks like loose stone, there is stone woven together,” meaning that is the center of the structure, the part that is not physically