(mostly Catholic references) intertwined within the story. One must wonder why the story of a Native American's struggle to return to his cultural roots would be laced throughout with Catholic references, especially predominate Catholic character names. However, these same religious characterizations go far in giving the reader a structure for understanding this complex work. Of all the religious names found throughout this novel, the most immediately evident are those of the main characters Abel, Francisco, Angela, and Milly.

The first character we encounter is Abel. In the Bible, we know that Abel is the second son of Adam and Eve. In the Book of Genesis, it says, "Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. In the course of time . . . Cain was very angry, and . . . Cain said to his brother Abel, 'Let's go out to the field.' And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him (Genesis 4:2-3, 5, 8)." This image of Abel as the helpless victim can be applied to Momaday's character as well. First, it is interesting to note the altercation between Cain and Abel in comparison to Abel's killing of the white man

Some common words found in the essay are:
St John, Momaday's Abel, St Angela, St Francis, Dawn Catholic, Cain Abel, Saint Francis, St Mildred, Native American's, Egypt Exodus, st francis, st john, st angela, los angeles, st mildred, similar st, killing white, catholic online st, house dawn, catholic online, online st, abel's killing white, los angeles angela, angela pregnant husband, st angela npag,
Approximate Word count = 2279
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)