Eli Stand Alone Essay

In the novel Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King there's quite a few characters you follow, one of the characters in particular is Eli Stand Alone. Eli’s story arc is so compelling for Native Americans today due to the fact, Native’s have the opportunity to live two different lives such as life on the reservation or integrating into white society. Eli and Lionel's story arcs explore this idea very vividly. Lionel's story is about him never leaving Blossom which he later regrets due to the fact he wanted to go to school and get an education. Eli's story is him choosing to go get an education and get a job far from Blossom. But what elevates Eli’s story from the rest is the fact he never comes home to visit the reservation or his family

There's a key turning point for Eli in the novel. It’s when Karen gets sick due to having cancer and after years of trial and error with the doctors trying to cure her. They thought she wouldn't survive, so her dying wish was to go to the Sundance festival again to see Elis' family and experience his heritage all over again after so many years. As she got healthier and healthier it was promising that she would be able to experience the Sundance Festival again. But then news struck of Karen dying in a car accident which led to a couple of weeks of Eli standing alone. It is until Norma informs him that their mother also passed away a couple weeks ago. Learning that information, Eli was furious that Norma didn't tell him sooner but Norma shunned Eli because he left the reservation and never came back. She went as far as not even inviting Eli to her funeral because her and Cameolet had it all covered. Norma states to Eli that she was going to call but she forgot and she refreshes his memory by letting him know that he never even visited them for twenty to thirty years, not even written them a letter in four to five years. The reason she called was to let him know about their mom’s house being demolished. She calls out Eli by saying “You were born there before you went off and became white”(122). Which made Eli

It's so symbolic that Eli Stands Alone ends up dying alone during the Sundance Festival in the house his mother built. The two people he lost so long ago were still with him during his final moments. Eli dying during the Sundance festival hits so much harder because of how much Karen loved the Sundance Festival. She wanted to attend it one last time before she passed. Him dying in the home he avoided for so long is so poetic in so many ways. He died due to the fact he prevented the new power plant from being used and built by Clifford Sifton. Sifton and Eli even build a nice friendship because Eli makes excellent coffee. Sifton even learns Eli is a retired professor of literature so he offers to give books to Eli in exchange for the excellent coffee. So if Sifton could've persuaded Eli to just let the home be demolished Eli would still be alive. But Eli couldn't live with himself after all those years of avoiding that home so he makes up for lost time and decides to live there by himself. In conclusion he has to stand alone after losing his wife and