The Road to Rainy Mountain is by no means a normal novel. It doesn't have the same cookie-cutter build-up as most books, where the plot unfolds from start to finish in neat little chapters. It's not just a book, it's a meaningful book, and it's a book that makes its readers think. It's a book about ties to the past. These connections are like puzzle pieces that the main character, N. Scott Momaday, must put together on his journey to truly understand his heritage. Through the past, Momaday finds a way to honor her grandmother's memory and connect with her Kiowa culture. The past comes in many different forms; it could be the distant past spanning hundreds of years or just a minute ago. Momaday uses the past to complete his journey and add to the meaning of the book as a whole; this past includes the history of the Kiowa people, the memory of his grandmother, and his own childhood memories. The history of the Kiowa people comes in two forms: the facts about the tribe, but also the myths and legends that have been passed down. from generation to generation. This story is part of Momaday culture; it's part of him and it's a really important part of the book. Every culture has a beginning, a place of origin, and ultimately everything also has an end. The Kiowas had both, they had a past filled with different events, some were happy and some were sad, but all were part of the culture they created. Rainy Mountain is part of that history and is essentially the most important place for the Kiowas. This mountain or butte is located in the plains of Oklahoma. This land is described by Momaday thus: “Looking at the landscape early in the morning, with...... middle of paper... who has been deprived of a true Kiowa education. He was part of a generation that didn't really have any connections with those who were more traditional. Momaday took it upon himself to bridge these two generations, to connect with his grandmother. His journey began long before he was born. It started with the history of the Kiowas, the past and origins of the tribe, then it led him to his grandmother and all the memories he had of her, and finally he connected the two to his own past, his own memories. . The past is what made this book so unique because Momaday took all these different forms of it and he connected them in a way that made the puzzle complete. In doing so, he ended his journey and, in one way or another, he bridged the space between his grandmother and him, the traditional and the modern. He connected the Kiowas together; he made it a whole, a tribe.