Pre-writing considerations

• How does Momaday's lyrical, cyclical prose style reflect Abel's psychological and spiritual journey?
• What significance do specific ceremonies or rituals (e.g., the dawn running) hold in Abel's healing process?
• How does the Jemez Pueblo landscape serve as more than just a backdrop — as a vibrant presence linked to identity?
• In what ways does Abel's experience in Los Angeles differ from his life on the reservation in terms of language and community?

In your essay, be sure to:

• Develop a clear, defensible thesis that explains how at least two of the three motifs (language, land, ritual) work together to support Momaday's main argument about identity.
• Use specific textual evidence (scenes, imagery, dialogue, or narrative structure) to back up your claims.
• Analyze how Momaday's writing style — including his incorporation of oral storytelling traditions, lyrical descriptions, and shifting perspectives — strengthens your argument.
• Address a counterclaim: consider how Abel's ongoing failures and silences might imply that cultural recovery is incomplete or unattainable, then refute or complicate this interpretation.
• Conclude by linking your argument to a broader theme concerning the relationship between place, memory, and selfhood.

Evaluation Criteria

Clarity of thesis, quality of textual evidence and analysis, engagement with complexity and counterargument, and proficiency in academic writing.

In your essay, make sure to:

Support your argument with textual evidence and engage with the novel's themes of trauma, memory, and belonging.

• Analyze at least two specific scenes or passages that highlight the conflict between Abel's indigenous background and the prevailing white culture.
• Examine how Momaday's non-linear narrative structure reflects Abel's psychological and cultural fragmentation.
• Discuss the role of language, ritual, and the land as vital sources of identity and potential healing.
• Consider how the novel's conclusion — Abel's return to running — serves as either a reclaiming of identity or an ambiguous act of resistance that remains unresolved.