The novel begins and ends with the traditional Jemez Pueblo words that begin and end a ritual chant or a story.

This mythic, timeless quality is not dispelled by Momaday's use of dates and places to mark Abel's linear, seven-year journey. The prologue is actually the end of the story (1952); the narrative then begins in 1945. This disjointed structure circles back on itself, framing the novel which seems to come from Abel's memories.

The novel itself divides into four parts, four being a sacred cultural number. Each part is dominated by a particular character and represents a segment of Abel's journey.

The first section, "The Longhair" (1945), establishes Abel's context and his conflicts. Through interspersed memories readers learn of Abel's childhood alienation from his tribe because of his illegitimacy. The letters which the Catholic priest, Father Olguin, reads and admires illustrate how detached the white world is from nativeAmerican cultural...