Ben Benally Character Analysis in House Made of Dawn

Ben Benally is Abel’s friend and roommate in Los Angeles, as well as the narrator of “The Night Chanter.” Ben is a religious man who believes strongly in the power of prayer through song. He teaches Abel Navajo songs about healing and of appreciating and connecting to the beauty of nature. Like Abel, Ben thinks fondly of his native reservation and wishes to return, but he has convinced himself that city life is superior to living off the land. He believes that the federal policies designed to force Native Americans to assimilate into white culture were designed with Native Americans’ best interests in mind, since city life offers amenities and conveniences that “you’d be crazy not to want.” This naïve faith in the American way of life prompts Ben to adapt more easily to life off of the reservation than Abel does. Ben tries to help Abel adjust to life in Los Angeles, and he worries when Abel’s mental state deteriorates, but he is unable to protect Abel from the damage the city does to his psyche. When Abel decides to go back to Walatowa, Ben celebrates this choice and thinks longingly of Abel’s return home. He promises Abel that he will also return to his own reservation one day, but the story never acknowledges if Ben keeps this promise.

Ben Benally Quotes in House Made of Dawn

The House Made of Dawn quotes below are all either spoken by Ben Benally or refer to Ben Benally. 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:

Home, Belonging, and Identity Theme Icon

“No test is completely valid,” she said. “Some are more valid than others.”

But Milly believed in tests, questions and answers, words on paper. She was a lot like Ben. She believed in Honor, Industry, the Second Chance, the Brotherhood of Man, the American Dream, and him––Abel; she believed in him. After a while he began to suspect as much […].

Related Characters: Milly (speaker), Abel, Ben Benally

Page Number and Citation: 94

Explanation and Analysis:

Milly is Abel’s social worker who seeks to help him assimilate to white urban society after his release from prison. She tries to assess his mental state with a series of tests, and when Abel responds poorly to the tests, she reassures him that “no test is completely valid.” This explanation reveals that despite Milly’s limited understanding of Abel, who is generally opposed to bureaucracy in all forms, she is determined to find a way to relate to him. She tries to meet Abel at his level, but she doesn’t understand where he is coming from or why he is Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa.

We went up there on the hill, him and me, with Tosamah and Cruz. There were a lot of Indians up there, and we really got going after a while. […] Somebody built a fire, and we heated the drums until they were good and you could really hear them. Mercedes Tenorio had some turtle shells and she started doing a stomp dance.

You can forget about everything up there. […] We could see one whole side of the city, all the way to the water, but we couldn’t hear anything down there. All we could hear was the drums and the singing.

Related Characters: Ben Benally (speaker), Abel, Reverend John Big Buff Tosamah, Cruz

Page Number and Citation: 127-128

Explanation and Analysis:

To celebrate Abel’s last night in Los Angeles, Ben, Tosamah, and Cruz bring him to a party outside the city. As the novel continues to explore different modes of storytelling, this chapter is told entirely from Ben Benally’s first-person perspective. This shows the reader an insider’s perspective on Native American urban life, which contrasts with Abel’s perspective as an outsider to that world. This party represents an escape from that urban life, which the book establishes as stifling and lonely. The Native American partygoers physically distance themselves from Los Angeles, and though the city remains visible, the festivities drown it Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi nec

He was a longhair, like Tosamah said. You know, you have to change. That’s the only way you can live in a place like this. You have to forget about the way it was, how you grew up and all. Sometimes it’s hard, but you have to do it. Well, he didn’t want to change, I guess, or he didn’t know how. […] He was going to get us all in trouble, Tosamah said. Tosamah sizes him up right away and warned me about him. But, you know, Tosamah doesn’t understand either. He talks pretty big all the time, and he’s educated, but he doesn’t understand.

Related Characters: Ben Benally (speaker), Abel, Reverend John Big Buff Tosamah

Page Number and Citation: 131

Explanation and Analysis:

Tosamah describes Abel as a “longhair” to poke fun at his stereotypically Native American traits, with the word “longhair” evoking the image of a man who retains his traditional long hair rather than cutting it to assimilate with Western styles. Ben is in favor of assimilation, since he, like Milly, holds an unfounded faith in American way of life. He does not gloss over the difficulty of assimilation; he understands that it is an act of sacrifice, of one’s background, identity, and past. However, Ben also believes this sacrifice to be worth it in order to live “in a place Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores

“They gave him every advantage. […] But was he grateful? Hell, no, man, he was too dumb to be civilized. So what happened? They let him alone at last. They thought he was harmless. […] But it didn’t turn out that way. He turned out to be a real primitive sonuvabitch, and the first time he got hold of a knife he killed a man. That must have embarrassed the hell out of them.

“[…] They put that cat away, man. They had to. It’s part of the Jesus scheme. They, man. They put all of us renegades, us diehards, away sooner or later.”

Related Characters: Reverend John Big Buff Tosamah (speaker), Ben Benally, Abel

Page Number and Citation: 131-132

Explanation and Analysis:

Tosamah sees Abel less as a human being and more as a representative of how colonialism has failed. He disparages Abel as “dumb” and “primitive,” mocking both Abel and colonialism’s attempts to force “civilization” upon people resistant to it. According to Tosamah, Abel’s “primitive” nature overpowers his military training and renders him useless to the colonial institution. Then, when the colonial machine loosens its grip on him, Abel immediately resorts to mindless violence. Tosamah is entertained by this perceived primitivism, celebrating it as an embarrassment to agents of colonialism (in this case, the American justice system). He sees himself as Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam o

[Tosamah] doesn’t know how it is when you grow up out there someplace. […] You grow up in the night, and there are a lot of funny things going on, things you don’t know how to talk about. A baby dies, or a good horse. You get sick, or the corn dries up for no good reason. Then you remember something that happened the week before, something that wasn’t right. You heard an owl, maybe, or you saw a funny kind of whirlwind […]. And then you know. You just know. Maybe your aunt or your grandmother was a witch. Maybe you knew she was […]. You just know, and you can’t help being scared.

Related Characters: Ben Benally (speaker), Reverend John Big Buff Tosamah, Abel

Page Number and Citation: 131-132

Explanation and Analysis:

Though Tosamah is a priest of the pan-Indigenous peyote religion, he is dismissive of many Pueblo superstitions and spiritual beliefs. Ben attributes this scorn to Tosamah’s disconnect from the pueblos themselves. Throughout the book, Indigenous characters display a deep, often religious connection to their homelands. This connection allows Pueblo people to see magic in their lands and their communities that is not obvious to outsiders. This magic is as much a source of fear as a source of wonder. Ben often takes comfort in his religious beliefs, but he “can’t help being scared” of witches and the unexplainable, unspeakable “funny Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Pe

He was going home, and I wanted to pray. Look out for me, I said; look out each day and listen for me. And we were going together on horses to the hills. We were going to ride out in the first light to the hills. We were going to see how it was, and always was, how the sun came up with a little wind and the light ran out on the land. We were going to get drunk, I said. We were going to be all alone, and we were going to get drunk and sing. We were going to sing about the way it always was. And it was going to be right and beautiful. It was going to be the last time. And he was going home.

Related Characters: Ben Benally (speaker), Abel

Page Number and Citation: 166

Explanation and Analysis:

Ben narrates the implosion of Abel’s life in Los Angeles, and his subsequent decision to return to Walatowa; Ben has chosen not to return to his reservation. Ben’s repetition of “he was going home” has an almost jealous tone to it. It speaks to Ben’s own desire to return to his community, a fantasy that he indulges in with Abel. He imagines riding a horse again with his friend, and his narration emphasizes the landscape to demonstrate his desire to reconnect with the land. Ben imagines the reservation as a place of freedom and pleasure, where he and Abel can Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta

Ben Benally Character Timeline in House Made of Dawn

The timeline below shows where the character Ben Benally appears in House Made of Dawn. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...sea even though they are not of his world. He thinks of what his friend Benally told him about Navajo religious ceremonies that connect people to the earth, but the vast... (full context)

...congregation forms a circle, and people voice their thoughts, feelings, and drug-fueled impressions. One man, Ben Benally, sees a “house made of dawn.” As the ceremony concludes, Tosamah steps outside and... (full context)

...continues traveling in the shadows. His pain eventually overcomes him, and he sees Milly and Ben running on a moonlit beach. (full context)

...which also takes place in 1952 Los Angeles, is narrated in the first person by Ben Benally. He describes saying goodbye to a man (implied to be Abel) on a rainy... (full context)

Ben walks through Los Angeles in the rain, taking in the city. He goes to a... (full context)

Ben gets home and sees that he and Abel left a window open after trying to... (full context)

Ben’s thoughts turn to the previous night. In his memory, he, Abel, Tosamah, and Tosamah’s disciple... (full context)

Abel takes Ben aside, and they discuss their plans to return to their respective reservations and eventually reunite... (full context)

Ben believes that Abel is unlucky and could never fit in in Los Angeles. He notes... (full context)

Ben recalls meeting Abel at work, where they are stationed opposite each other at a factory... (full context)

In a long, italicized paragraph, Ben describes his childhood, briefly narrating in the second person. He focuses on the beauty of... (full context)

Ben reflects on Abel’s difficulty getting used to life in Los Angeles. Abel’s troubles worsen as... (full context)

...effectively quitting his job, and his alcoholism becomes worse when he is unemployed. He asks Ben for money, and when Ben eventually refuses to give him any, Abel starts asking Milly.... (full context)

Ben knows that Milly likes Abel more than him, and he worries that Abel will hurt... (full context)

In his memory, Ben meets the girl at Cornfields (a place on the reservation) after returning home from school.... (full context)

Ben’s memory shifts to a night when he and Abel are returning from their usual bar.... (full context)

Ben remembers taking Abel with him to Westwood on a delivery for the factory. While Ben... (full context)

Back in the present, Ben’s thoughts return to the rain and his wet floor, which makes him think of his... (full context)

Ben reflects on his life in Los Angeles. He enjoys life in the city, which is... (full context)

Ben thinks about how his relationship with Abel degraded as Abel grew more withdrawn and more... (full context)

At the hospital, a nurse asks Ben for information about Abel. Ben doesn’t know how to answer her questions, and he waits... (full context)

Ben is startled that Angela has made up a story that closely resembles a Navajo legend.... (full context)

Ben thinks again of the party he and Abel attended the previous night. Abel’s return home... (full context)

Ben Benally Character Analysis

Ben Benally Quotes in House Made of Dawn

8. The Priest of the Sun, January 26 Quotes

10. The Night Chanter, February 20 Quotes

Ben Benally Character Timeline in House Made of Dawn