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Lone Ranger, Hawkeye, Ishmael, and Robinson Crusoe are the four Indian elders who go missing from the psychiatric hospital where Dr. Hovaugh works. Each of these four elders narrates a portion of the story and also appears as a character within the story. They are very old and may even be supernatural figures who have lived for centuries. Although the figures are typically presented as male, some characters think they are female, and each is associated with one of the women from the novel’s four creation stories (Lone Ranger with First Woman, Ishmael with Changing Woman, Robinson Crusoe with Thought Woman, and Hawkeye with Old Woman). The elders partly embody the power of nature: they claim they are trying to fix the world but they also bring natural disasters, showing how destruction can nevertheless be healing to nature. They also represent the endurance of Indian traditions, with their long lives and with the stories they tell both creating a link from the present day all the way back to the beginning of creation.
Lone Ranger, Hawkeye, Ishmael, and Robinson Crusoe Quotes in Green Grass, Running Water
The Green Grass, Running Water quotes below are all either spoken by Lone Ranger, Hawkeye, Ishmael, and Robinson Crusoe or refer to Lone Ranger, Hawkeye, Ishmael, and Robinson Crusoe. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 1
Quotes
“In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep—”
“Wait a minute,” said Robinson Crusoe.
“Yes?”
“That’s the wrong story,” said Ishmael. “That story comes later.”
“But it’s my turn,” said the Lone Ranger.
“But you have to get it right,” said Hawkeye.
“And,” said Robinson Crusoe, “you can’t tell it all by yourself.”
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Sergeant Cereno leaned back in the chair and slowly swung it from side to side. “All right, Ms. Jones. These four Indians . . . what did they look like?”
“Like I said. They were Indians. Old ones.”
“How old would you say?”
“I don’t know . . . four, five hundred years . . .”
Part 4
Quotes
“Okay, okay, here goes,” says Coyote. “In the beginning, there was nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“That’s right,” says Coyote. “Nothing.”
“No,” I says. “In the beginning, there was just the water.”
“Water?” says Coyote.
“Yes,” I says. “Water.”
“Hmmmm,” says Coyote. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I says, “I’m sure.”
“Okay,” says Coyote, “if you say so. But where did all the water come from?”
“Sit down,” I says to Coyote.
“But there is water everywhere,” says Coyote.
“That’s true,” I says. “And here’s how it happened.”
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Lone Ranger, Hawkeye, Ishmael, and Robinson Crusoe Quotes in Green Grass, Running Water
The Green Grass, Running Water quotes below are all either spoken by Lone Ranger, Hawkeye, Ishmael, and Robinson Crusoe or refer to Lone Ranger, Hawkeye, Ishmael, and Robinson Crusoe. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 1
Quotes
“In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep—”
“Wait a minute,” said Robinson Crusoe.
“Yes?”
“That’s the wrong story,” said Ishmael. “That story comes later.”
“But it’s my turn,” said the Lone Ranger.
“But you have to get it right,” said Hawkeye.
“And,” said Robinson Crusoe, “you can’t tell it all by yourself.”
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Sergeant Cereno leaned back in the chair and slowly swung it from side to side. “All right, Ms. Jones. These four Indians . . . what did they look like?”
“Like I said. They were Indians. Old ones.”
“How old would you say?”
“I don’t know . . . four, five hundred years . . .”
Part 4
Quotes
“Okay, okay, here goes,” says Coyote. “In the beginning, there was nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“That’s right,” says Coyote. “Nothing.”
“No,” I says. “In the beginning, there was just the water.”
“Water?” says Coyote.
“Yes,” I says. “Water.”
“Hmmmm,” says Coyote. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I says, “I’m sure.”
“Okay,” says Coyote, “if you say so. But where did all the water come from?”
“Sit down,” I says to Coyote.
“But there is water everywhere,” says Coyote.
“That’s true,” I says. “And here’s how it happened.”
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