Question

In the article by McNamara, she states, " Throughout the book, Momaday emphasizes the importance of storytelling as a tool of Kiowa survival, and he meditates on the power of language to not only represent the world around him, but also to act in the world—for Momaday words can inspire emotions, they can create magic, and they are always powerful tools for understanding and shaping reality." Which of the following quotes supports this analysis of the Kiowa's belief in the power of language?

When the wild herds were destroyed, so too was the will of the Kiowa people; there was nothing to sustain them in spirit. But these are idle recollections, the mean and ordinary agonies of human history. The interim was a time of great adventure and nobility and fulfillment.

To look upon that landscape in the early morning, with the sun at your back, is to lose the sense of proportion. Your imagination comes to life, and this, you think, is where Creation was begun.

There is a perfect freedom in the mountains, but it belongs to the eagle and the elk, the badger and the bear. The Kiowas reckoned their stature by the distance they could see, and they were bent and blind in the wilderness.

Even now when they see the storm clouds gathering, the Kiowas know what it is: that a strange wild animal roams on the sky. ...But they speak to it, say "Pass over me." They are not afraid of Man-Ka-ih, for it understands their language."

Answer 1

The quote that supports the analysis of the Kiowa's belief in the power of language is the following:

"Even now when they see the storm clouds gathering, the Kiowas know what it is: that a strange wild animal roams on the sky. ...But they speak to it, say "Pass over me." They are not afraid of Man-Ka-ih, for it understands their language."

This quote clearly states the importance of storytelling and how it was a tool of Kiowa survival, this quote shows hos they acted upon the world, in this case, upon a natural phenomenon, through language.