Rhetorical Devices In The Way To Rainy Mountain By Momaday

In The Way To Rainy Mountain by N. Scott Momaday, Momaday uses stylistic devices and rhetorical strategies such as imagery, sensory details, and alliteration. The use of alliteration helps Momaday create the vivid imagery of the piece by displaying the active environment with the “brittle and brown grass“, “willow and witch hazel” and “Great green” grasshoppers. Through this, the great plain in Oklahoma is displayed as a landmark with an overactive and lively nature. Furthermore, sensory details are used by Momaday listing the “steaming foliage”, “cold rains of autumn”, the sound of “the frogs away by the river” and feeling “ the motion of the air.” Such stylistic devices help the author write his eulogy to his grandmother, by describing all the sights he saw, that his grandmother Aho once saw. Furthermore, these devices help Momaday connect back to his Kiowa culture and tribe, and displays his prideful tone towards his grandmother's memories, and

At this time, the Indian Termination policy had just ended, ceasing the forced assimilation of Indians into American society and customs. In addition to this, during the Termination period, two-million five hundred-thousand acres of trust land was removed from protected status, and sold to non-natives, leaving Native Americans without land and connections to their tribes. Due to this, the issue of Native American land became prevalent in America, but an authentic voice was still missing for the Native American community. In this, Momaday became that voice, and became a teacher to a society ignorant of other’s customs and traditions. With this, the audience of the work became the people of America who knew little about the people assimilated into their society. Because of this work, Momaday spread the important aspects of the Native American culture, and worked to preserve the Kiowa history by sharing the importance of protecting culture plus commemorating