Question

The voice that beautifies the land!

The voice above,

The voice of the thunder

Within the dark cloud

Again and again it sounds,

The voice that beautifies the land.

The voice that beautifies the land!

The voice below;

The voice of the grasshopper

Among the plants

Again and again it sounds,

The voice that beautifies the land.

—“Twelfth Song of the Thunder”

Based on the repetition in the song, is the voice from above more important to the Navajo people than the voice from below? Explain your answer in 1 – 3 sentences.

Answer 1

The song treats both the voice from above (thunder) and the voice from below (grasshopper) as important, each adding to the land's beauty through their respective sounds.

Step-by-step explanation:

Based on the repetition in the song, it is not clear that the voice from above is more important than the voice from below to the Navajo people. Both the voice of the thunder (above) and the voice of the grasshopper (below) are celebrated and repeatedly referred to as voices that beautify the land. This suggests that they are seen as equally important, each contributing uniquely to the beauty of the land.

Answer 2

In the poem "Twelfth Song of the Thunder," the Navajo people consider the voice of thunder and the voice of the grasshopper equally important. The narrator makes reference to the cycles of nature that make the land beautiful: the sound of thunder and the sound of the grasshopper, which are described with the same intensity.