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Impact Of Colonialist Values On Perceptions Of Native Americans

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The Impact of Colonialist Values on Perceptions of Native Americans in Green Grass, Running Water Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King largely deals with the consequences of the conflict between Native American values and colonialist foundations. In particular, King examines the reasons behind the misconceptions and false perceptions of aboriginal people within the dominant European North American culture. In the novel it is asserted that the problems of the Native American people are due to a narrowed perception caused by the influence of domination and colonialism. To prove his point, King uses metaphors and allusions, intervenes in literature with colonialist views to see how it differs compared to Native American traditions, and uses a clever narrative style to further echo his message. King allegorises the cultural conflicts between natives and European North American society by using his character’s situations to his advantage. In his novel, Lionel, the main protagonist, is continuously haunted by misconceptions of unfortunate past incidents. First, during his childhood, Lionel devised a plan to skip a few weeks of school by having is tonsils removed by faking tonsillitis (King 30-36). His plan goes awry when nurses confuse his identity with a heart surgery patient. Even long after this incident, it is still assumed that Lionel has a heart condition. Second, he is falsely accused of being involved of a violent activist group in the United States (King 57-64). Even

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