Ceremony
Leslie Marmon Silko
Summary:
Ceremony, by Leslie Marmon Silko, weaves together poetry and prose to tell the story of Tayo, a Native American man suffering from mental illness after returning home from a Veteran's Hospital during World War II. As Tayo"s story is told, it is paralleled with poems telling older stories of his people. Tayo was driven out of his mind by watching his cousin die and thinking he saw his uncle's face in a crowd of Japanese soldiers that he was ordered to kill. Upon returning home from the Veteran's Hospital, Tayo faces his family's disappointment about the loss of his cousin, and his own sadness at the death of his favorite uncle, Josiah. He also regrets his prayer against rain that he had made when he was in the Philippines, which he thinks is causing the draught on the reservation. Tayo slowly realizes that he's not alone, when he discovers that his friends Harley, Leroy, Emo, and Pinkie, who also fought in the war are also dealing with post-traumatic stress and are dealing with it with alcohol. As Tayo begins to wish he could go back to the Veteran's Hospital, his grandmother takes him to the medicine man, who performs a ceremony for warriors who have killed during battle. Both men are afraid that the ceremony might not apply to this situation, although it helps him. Tayo goes to another medicine man, who starts another ceremony but Tayo is sent home before it is complete. Tayo finds out that Emo has been spreading rumors about him and that he and the police are looking for Tayo. While running from Emo and the police, he finds a mine, spends the night there, and realizes that the ceremony is complete. He then returns home again.
Tayo:
Tayo is the embodiment of Native American culture being mixed with white culture, and both are present in his ancestry and experiences, which brings him from the reservation, to the Army, the Philippines, Veteran's Hospital, and back home to the reservation. Tayo finds problems with the white way of life and sticks mostly with the Native American culture that he had learned from his family. He is a bridge between the older and younger generations of Native Americans. Tayo's awareness of the connections between all living things makes it difficult for him to kill in a war that he doesn't understand so far from home. Unlike the majority of Native American Veterans who came home from the war, who drown their anger in alcohol, Tayo was more sad than angry, and was very aware of the mistreatment of Native Americans by the whites. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression when he gets home and gets help from the medicine man.
Setting:
Ceremony is set on the Laguna Pueblo reservation where Leslie Marmon Sliko grew up. Pueble Indians refers to the Hopi, Zuni, and Laguna Indians from the Pueble Crescent, which runs from central New Mexico through northeastern Arizona. The reservation is between Alburquerque and Los Alamos, New Mexico. The setting is important to the story because it adds to the culture of the Native Americans in the story.
Conflicts:
The conflicts in the book are both man vs. self and man vs. man. Tayo battles both PTSD and his former friend Emo.
Themes:
The Importance of Storytelling: Storytelling is a particularly important part of Native American tradition. Stories are intended to pass on information that will be remembered.
The Destructiveness of Contact Between Cultures: In Ceremony, the contact between Native American and white cultures are largely destructive. Ceremony presents an attempt to deal with the reality of mixed cultures.
The Necessity of Tradition: Preserving tradition is essential to saving the Native American community and culture.
The Destructiveness of Contact Between Cultures: In Ceremony, the contact between Native American and white cultures are largely destructive. Ceremony presents an attempt to deal with the reality of mixed cultures.
The Necessity of Tradition: Preserving tradition is essential to saving the Native American community and culture.
Symbols:
The Ceremony: The ceremony is a symbolic view of the Native Americans by the whites.
Spotted Cattle: These animals are wild and untamed animals that refuse to stay in their fences, and are symbolic of the Native Americans.
Dead Seed: Silko uses the symbol of the dead seed to show the absence of life in the ways and culture of the whites.
Spotted Cattle: These animals are wild and untamed animals that refuse to stay in their fences, and are symbolic of the Native Americans.
Dead Seed: Silko uses the symbol of the dead seed to show the absence of life in the ways and culture of the whites.
Sources:
SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Ceremony.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2002. Web. 14 Mar. 2013.
"Symbols." Symbols. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2013.
"Symbols." Symbols. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2013.