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The title in the poem Headwaters
by N. Scott Momaday suggests
the current water which is wild
at source and slow at the plain.
This poem depicts the quest
for the root to Native American
people who are subjected to
remain under the control and
influence of British migrated
people to America. Root searching
is the main theme of this poetry
and the poet has used the pastoral
setting to indicate the contemporary
human situation. Setting in
this poem is the intermountain
(valley) and time is afternoon;
12 pm. A log is lying, uprooted,
midday in a valley, there are
insects, this log is decaying
but still from its root water
is brimming; coming out. Its
noon at the intermountain and
there is a scant telling of
marsh; there is hardly any wet
land.
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He uses ‘there’
instead of ‘here’
which implies a distance
between speaker and
the land he is talking
about. Speaker belong
to Kiowa tribe and he
finds himself distance
from his original land
America after European
came. He too finds the
land dry because of
the loss of its natural
beauty. The log in the
poetry stands for Native
American tribe. Temporarily,
it has become lifeless.
It is “weather
stained” means
it has been exposed
to all kinds of weather.
This suggests the Native
American have been there
in America since time
immemorial. |
Moss and insect are the cause
of its lifelessness. Then moss
and insect symbolically stands
for European invaders. Because
of their invasion, Native American
identity has become identity
less. Momaday argues that the
natives have been together with
the pains and pleasure of America.
Therefore they deserved to be
the first class civilians of
the nations. From the roots
of this log water is brimming.
Then Momaday compares Natives
to the headwaters which becomes
slow when it comes to the plain.
At the root the headwater is
wild, stronger and archaic.
This means though Native Americans
look weak outside because of
subjugation, they are strong
at the source just like headwaters.
Its root is strong since time
immemorial. After all this poetry
is a challenge to the Euro American
tendency of undermining the
natives. This poem tells us
how the Native American views
the land and his eternal relation
to it; they are intended to
throw light on the present poem
“Headwaters” which
is a meditation of the persona
on his ancestry that evolved
from the lake and land in the
mountain where he is seated.
Headwaters - Poem by N. Scott
Momaday
Noon
in the intermountain plain:
There is scant telling of the
marsh –
A log, hollow and weather-stained,
An insect at the mouth, and
moss –
Yet waters rise against the
roots,
Stand brimming to the stalks.
What moves?
What moves on this archaic force
Was wild and welling at the
source.
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