House Made of Dawn 785how to distinguish between true Christians and
those who are abusing a heavenly pose for earthly
gain.
In effect, Orgon should emulate the king, who
immediately sees through Tartuffe’s posturing and
restores order via a representative. Orgon’s instinct is
to berate Tartuffe, but Cléante interrupts and once
again preaches forgiveness and tolerance. Cléante
hopes that Tartuffe will experience a religious con-
version, replacing his false performance of piety with
a true interior spirituality.
Dan Smith
momaDay, n. SCoTT House Made
of Dawn (1966)
N. Scott Momaday’s House Made of Dawn follows
Abel as he tries to readjust to life in his Pueblo com-
munity and also tries to find his place in American
society after World War II. Ill-equipped for war,
when Abel returns he is alienated, detached from
his community and tradition. Through the prologue
and each of the novel’s four sections, we follow only
a few days in his life. However, these days stretch
over a period of seven years as Abel struggles to
find himself through a series of devastatingly wrong
turns. His misdirection is revealed through his own
thoughts as well as through flashbacks and other
narrators. These narrative techniques provide insight
into Native American identity and the importance
of tradition, while also revealing the history of loss
and displacement Native Americans have endured.
The short prologue that introduces the novel
shows Abel running. While there is no date or sce-
nario for this section, the tone and language indicate
a transformation is occurring. The importance of
this becomes apparent later. It is not until the first
section, “The Longhair,” that the reader is given a
time and setting: the Jemez Pueblo in 1945. Arriv-
ing home from the war, Abel drunkenly stumbles
off the bus into his grandfather Francisco’s arms.
His arrival portends the disaster that follows. Out
of place, Abel finds he cannot reenter reservation
life. Even when he does participate, entering a tra-
ditional rooster pull, his awkwardness on horseback
is juxtaposed against the other participants’ ease. The
section culminates when he drunkenly murders an
albino Native American, believing him to be an evil
shapeshifter.
The last three sections are set in 1952 following
Abel’s release from prison. Relocated to Los Ange-
les, the sections entitled “The Priest of the Sun” and
“The Night Chanter” show Abel’s quick downward
spiral as he tries to fit into the white world around
him. The last section of the novel, “The Dawn
Runner,” comes full circle, picking up right before
and shedding light on the prologue. He returns to
the village to find his grandfather near death. After
Francisco dies, Abel commemorates his grandfather,
beginning a ceremonial, early morning run.
Lisa Wengeralienation in House Made of Dawn
From an early age, Abel feels alienated. This begins
when his mother returns to her Pueblo village,
bringing Abel and his brother. Since his father is
not Pueblo, Abel thinks of him, and by extension
himself, as an outsider. The deaths of his mother
and brother while he is still a child make him feel
even lonelier; suddenly Francisco is the only fam-
ily he has. His sense of alienation deepens during
his teenage years. Reaching an age where he can
actively participate in important tribal ceremonies,
Abel is allowed to aid the Eagle Watcher Society’s
eagle capture, an important ceremonial organiza-
tion and tradition. Once the eagle is captured,
though, Abel kills the bird rather than allowing his
people to ceremonially cage it. No one, including
his grandfather, understands his actions. Believing
he has no place in the community, Abel enlists,
leaving everything behind.
His alienation intensifies through his war experi-
ences. Calling him “chief,” his fellow soldiers’ reac-
tions to his weaponless and whooping charge at
an enemy tank denote their stereotypical views of
Native Americans. That is the sort of action they
expect from an “Indian”—insane and idiotic. It is
obvious, however, that the violence and destruc-
tion surrounding Abel has chipped away at him.
Everything is foreign: the war, the violence, the
battle-scarred countryside, the white soldiers around
him. His charge at the tank represents his complete
break, for he no longer understands or feels a part
of anything. By the time he returns to his Pueblo