Each time the reader may be tempted to feel that the plot structure has become familiar, and therefore create assumptions about what will happen next, the text turns itself in a completely different direction. The Western perspective of these stories simply is not relevant to Coyote, she cannot be bothered to get even simple facts like names sorted out. Perhaps more importantly, it gives the impression that these stories are not particularly important. It forces the reader to question what they know, if only for a moment. All of the facts in this story are completely mixed up as a result, the reader is alienated from the stories they are familiar with. We all wave and say here we are, here we are” (King 70). Maybe I tell you the one about Jacques Columbus come along that river. Find us Indians in a restaurant in Montreal. Maybe I tell you the one about Christopher Cartier looking for something good to eat. When trying to settle on a story to tell, Coyote considers: “Maybe I tell you the one about Eric the Lucky and the Vikings play hockey for the Oldtimers, find us Indians in Newfoundland, she says. From early on in the text, this blending of the familar with the unfamiliar is apparent. “The One About Coyote Going West” is a short story by Thomas King, which offers a creation story that at once seems very familiar and completely foreign. The One About Coyote Going West by Thomas King
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