GGRW - is Lionel self actualized

Lionel Red Dog is a fascinating character in Green Grass, Running Water. His life choices and motivations are sometimes questionable, even though his intentions are good. The main focuses on Lionel throughout the book are on his attempts to better his life and his ties to his Indian background. In examining this character through a psychological lens, his motives can be seen more clearly.

“First, he would resign his position at Bursum’s….the second thing he planned to do was return to the University and get a degree….third, he wanted to talk to Alberta about his new life, about commitments, about babies….last, he wanted to go to the reserve and spend more time with his mother and father” (306-308). It is clear that Lionel has very good intentions, but he doesn’t seem to have a lot of motivation. Looking at Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, there are suggestions as to why this is so. Each person strives to become “self actualized.” This is defined by Maslow as: a person's need to be and do that which the person was "born to do." Clearly, Lionel does not feel that he was born to work at Bursum’s for his entire life, yet he does not seem to step away from it. Self actualization, however, cannot be achieved until physicological needs, needs for safety, belongingness and esteem are fulfilled. This character seems to have made it past the stage of ‘belongingness’ and is stuck in the level of the need for esteem. On his 40th birthday, Lionel feels a new sense of optimism. He makes his four goals and plans to become a new person. This, in itself, should not only make him feel better about himself and his life, but it would bring him closer to being a self-actualized person. If Lionel had achieved these goals, he would be well on his way. However, there is the question as to whether any were met.

Lionel isn’t a very assertive person in regards to his lifestyle. He knows that he would be able to respect himself more by getting a degree, just like Charlie, Eli, and Alberta, but there is confusion as to whether or not he does. At the end of the book he says, “well, maybe when the cabin is finished, I’ll live in it for a while…. Of course, I should probably go back to school…maybe that’s what I’ll do” (464). It can possibly be assumed that he goes back to the University, but Lionel doesn’t give the reader a definite answer. It seems more like another empty ambition, something he will think about, but never actually accomplish. It seems that Lionel might be actually be happy where he is, but feels that he has to do more in order to get respect from other people. He may feel that he has to go to school just because everyone else did. On another note, working at Bursum’s makes him feel inferior and un-accomplished, and he never actually tells Bursum of his plans to quit. This is not a sign of a self actualized person.

Lionel seems to be a man confused about what he wants to be: Indian or white. Although of Indian descent, he makes many efforts to be “white”: “Your uncle wanted to be a white man, just like you” (36). Some more evidence of this comes from his desire to be like John Wayne: “The John Wayne who saved stage coaches and wagon trains from Indian attacks” (265). This quote really shows his interpretation of Indians. He wants to be the man that saves white people from Indian attacks, as if Indians are always the enemy. This view changes slightly, however, at the end of the book. This is where the reader can begin to see more visible progressions through the level of esteem needs and towards self actualization. He starts to accept his culture more by going to Sun Dance and spending time with his family. He even speaks of staying in the cabin after it is rebuilt; the cabin that his mother had built. Another point is that he seems to have a better chance at a life with Alberta. Even though she usually seems declined towards marriage, Charlie had left to Los Angeles, leaving more time for Lionel to talk to Alberta about the things he had been wanting to.

There are varying views on whether or not Lionel became self actualized by the end of the book. The strongest interpretation, however, is that he failed. He created many goals, but he did not pursue them with confidence. He lacks the real motivation to accomplish his dreams and advance in life. Lionel is likely to spend his life working at Bursum’s selling televisions. One good thing that he achieved, is embracing his Indian culture to a farther degree. His appearance at the Sun Dance is a positive sign that at least in one aspect of his life, he is becoming who he was “born to be.”