A Note on "The Closing In": The Fall of the Kiowas

The main theme that I got out of "Closing In" was tragedy, bravery, and
honor. Momaday does a great job of comparing the West and the Kiowas
by talking about the outcomes of the two different stories: the two brothers
and the Utes, and the giving up of the horses at Fort Sill. The Ute chief
stood by his word and set them free however the Westerners continued to
treat the Kiowas horribly by the killing of the horses.   This comparison
illustrates that Native American tribes honor words that are promised. Again
going back to the importance of language and the power of words. Similar to
the "Going On" the use of words and language are critical for survival. From
the book it is obvious that animals are extremely significant to the Kiowas
culture. I believe the horses are a metaphor of the falling of the Kiowa
people. In a sense the story ends where it begins. As Momaday says in the
prologue, the rise of the Kiowa tribe was a struggle and so was the end and
we did see that at the end. The italicized paragraph on page 83 I really
liked how he used the phrase "remembered earth."  By using this phrase
Momaday demonstrates his reflection of Kiowas of  how it was and how it is
now. No doubt the events that happened was tragic but what I think
Momaday is hinting at is that everything do come to an end but people
have to move on.

The structure did not change in this 3rd part however the stories ( normal
font and italicized font) starts to connect. On page 72 when Mammedaty is
introduced Momaday continues to write about Mammedaty on page 73.
Similarly, on page 82 the page talks about his grandmother and so does
page 83. I'm not sure why Momaday does this since in the rest of the book
the stories and his life are not as connected. Anyone know why?

The epilogue is factual information about the Kiowas history without or less
of the blending of folklore. Momaday brings up the character of Ko-sahn but
doesn't really introduce her as well as I would have liked. So who is this
Ko-sahn and her relationship to Momaday's grandmother or even to himself?

~K.L