I like how the intro in Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko starts off with a few poems though I’m not sure exactly what they mean. One thing I noticed is the structure of this book is far from traditional, in that it has poems randomly throughout and there is no chapters or sections, it’s all kind of just thrown together. One thing I detected early on is the stress and urgency in the tone of the passages, mostly because of Tayo feeling pain from the memories of being in World War II. As stated, “Liquor was medicine for the anger that made them hurt, for the pain of the loss, medicine for tight bellies and choked-up throats” (Silko 2006, Page 37). In this, Auntie is talking about the soldiers and how alcohol soothes their empty bellies and emotions. Its hard to know the emotions war puts you through unless you have been there. I do enjoy that this book is written with lots of dialogue and almost story-like because they are easy to read for extended periods of time. The book also touches on parts of Native American culture, the reservation Tayo lives on is facing a long-term drought that he thinks is his fault. The book talks a lot about ceremonies, hence the title, mostly revolving around rain and drought. A lot of the story is flashbacks and narratives trying to explain a Native American war veterans (Tayo) experiences in the past and how they affect the future.
Question: How can someone find meaning in life and get past trauma after being in a war?And, why is it that spiritual experiences enable people to view the world for what it is?
While reading the first section of Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko, I was pretty confused about exactly what Tayo was going through; his life after the war is so bleak and as scattered as a shattered piece of glass. As I read through the first 25 pages of the book, I was taken away by our protagonist’s experiences and subsequent hallucinations. During World War 2, in the Philippines, Tayo was told to kill Japanese soldiers who had already surrendered their arms and had their hands raised to their heads in fear. The commanding officer forced soldiers like Tayo and Rocky to shoot these opposing soldiers who had already surrendered themselves. Tayo, thinking he saw his uncle Josiah among the line of Japanese soldiers, refuses to fire his rifle and begins crying so hard that it turns his stomach and he vomits. Our author ventures back and forth in time, alternating between these young men’s experiences on Pacific Islands and in the United States. Tayo, when he is released from the Veteran’s Hospital is still not in good shape, he seems to be suffering greatly from post traumatic stress disorder and maybe malnourished. At the train station, he collapses after becoming “invisible” and feels like his body is dwindling away as smoke dissipates into the atmosphere. When he comes to a Japanese woman and her son (wearing an oversized Army hat) are standing over him, checking to make sure he is okay. Once Tayo fully regains his footing and his consciousness, he looks at the boy walking away and sees Rocky’s childlike face where the boys should have been. I cannot wait to read more and see how these indigenous people and their cultures are still being affected by the white man’s politics and wars.
Question: How was life on these reservations changed throughout the course of the second world war? What role did alcoholism play?
Leslie Marmon Silko, in Ceremony, brings forth the realms of tradition, Native heritage, Mother Earth, culture, and of course, ceremony in her writing. I am interested to learn further how gender themes contributed to Silko’s writing in the book, and how gender can be considered a core theme in Silko’s writing. Moreover, one of Silko’s underlying messages seems to introduce the ways in which the white man, eurocentric ideology, and how the metaphysical nature-dominance beliefs of colonial powers led to the eventual introduction of vast national and global economic and political systems, as well as militaristic standpoints, into the presence of Native American culture and the world-over. More fundamentally however, Silko introduces the idea of how evil was created in the world with traditional stories involving witches. Betonie, the second medicine man who Tayo visits tells the story. Betonie represents and shares many of the ways Native Americans have been marginalized in the United States as well. For one, he lives right outside the garbage dump where the homeless, marginalized and often times drunk Natives live, where white men throw glass bottles at the Native American women. Silko could also be introducing the idea of environmental racism in how Betonie acknowledges his marginalization by the white people, which is portrayed by him living a meager, but meaningful life near the garbage dump while he points out how white people enjoy luxurious lifestyles in their grand Californian houses. I feel as if Silko focuses on the underlying message of returning to a spiritual life that is grounded in tradition and a utter respect of, and life within, Mother Nature, alongside the resistance to the rule of the white man, which can be illustrated by the quote, “The deeds and papers don’t mean anything, it is the people who belong to the mountain” (118).
However, there is a complex introduction of how evil entered the world and Native lands, according to Silko, which goes deeper than simply the corruption of the white man. A quote from the character Betonie reads, “Indians wake up every morning of their lives to see the land which was stolen, still there, within reach, its theft being flaunted” (117), and then he goes on to say, “Witchery only manipulates a small portion” (121). Does the character Betonie introduce the idea of a ruling elite class and/or top 1% that asserts control over nature, indigenous people and broader society? In thinking of the more holistic Native American narrative, is the corruption and exploitation that has entered the lives of Tayo and his family a sign of a more deep-rooted evil in certain groups of ruling people?
My question is, in Silko’s section of writing with the second medicine man quoted above, what is the cause of evil in the world that Tayo has experienced so strongly?
My question for this week plays upon both Tayo and Ken Saro Wiwa. Tayo says “after not caring about being alive, it becomes much easier to live.” This mentality can be thought of as having nothing to lose. This is something that both ken and Leslie protagonist Tayo shared in common. Ken, like Tayo, had lost their culture and life to the white man. As we dive deeper into Tayos story I believe we will see action arise from this mindset.
My question is, do we as a collective society need to get to the point of “having nothing to lose” to make the radical changes needed to ensure our future?
it makes sense to me that Leslie Marmon Silko wrote Ceremony in a dark time, where she was saving her own life because her thoughts are sporadic in reference to gender & culture, and do not conform with white American society’s discourse. She does not feel the need to conform to regular western writing styles such as chapters, just as she does not feel the need to conform to the regular creation story, religious backgrounds, gender or even species that post colonialization United States citizens are accustomed to. All three poems at the beginning frame her indigenous, feminist, nonconformist point of view for the rest of the novel. One theme that I’m getting from her writing style is that everything is connected, not excluding the three poems. They are all connected by the power of storytelling or a ceremony. The second poem speaks to me the most. The way I’m reading it she uses personification heavily. She is personifying a community or society of people, perhaps a colonized society maybe Native Americans. “He” is the past leaders and voices of that community and he is talking to the “you” who is the present or the future of that community. “Their evil” is referring to the colonizers or the foreign corrupt government leaders. The community’s defense, life source, or nutrition are their past stories which bring them together. These stories, like a ceremony, have to become a part of you to really take hold and give you their energy. This is why she connects the stories as alive. The past community leaders are perpetuating the knowledge that stories have to be raised, harvested, and fed to the present and future community to really understand the energies that they create. The past leaders keep them in their stomach where they keep moving because they are special and full of life and must be protected! I believe that all three of the poems are connected and that is why she personifies the past community in this poem as a man. Her first poem depicts the universe’s creators as three female spiders, the third depicts a healing, important and wise leader as a woman. She is completely switching gender roles. The second poem depicts a man as carrying something precious and alive in his womb or belly.
My question is how can we take Leslie Marmon Silko’s philosophies on gender and religious fluidity into today’s society to pass on stories that will energize and inspire laypeople to care about their natural and social environment in a much more encompassing way?
Tayo’s blood is described as being a half breed, being neither fully native american or caucasian. Because of his ambiguous identity, Tayo finds it difficult to fully endorse native american traditions and is equally withheld from participating in caucasian society. Living on the reservation, yet being expected to uphold values of the caucasian society, placed significant strain on Tayo’s household and created barriers between their relationships and culture. The double standards for living from the native american perspective, as described by Auntie, Rocky, Tayo, and Tayo’s mother, describe a livelihood of conflicting moral, cultural, and historical values which hinder their ability to create and maintain a functioning society.
Modern psychology has suggested that a person’s values and perceptions of the world are shaped in early childhood through exposure to a certain experiences, cultures or locations. What experiences did Silko describe about Tayo’s upbringing that has inadvertently affected his psyche and cultural identity? Does a person’s bloodline signify cultural belonging? Is bloodline itself enough to be able to claim identity with a culture or society?
The themes presented in Ceremony I feel are even more important today then they were when the book was published. Tolerance is an issue in today’s society similarly to how it was then. Not just tolerance of Native Americans but also of other races. When Tayo goes to the doctor and then passes out on the concrete at the train station he is awoken by a Japanese family calling for help. When the depot man arrived and asked if he should call the Veteran’s Hospital, Tayo then says, “Those people, I thought they locked them up” (16). Both the Japanese and Native Americans have been discriminated against in US History. On page 38 Tayo goes on a rant that it is the uniform that garnered the Indians respect and not them as people. He criticizes the way white people act around him stating that he is a half-breed and that he speaks for both sides. Tayo’s main point is that racism did not end with the war. They felt acceptance during the war but once the war was over that acceptance ended and things reverted back to how they were before. On page 39 he was thinking about the way his friends reacted to his rant and he says “They never thought to blame white people for any of it; they wanted white people for their friends. They never saw that it was the white people who gave them that feeling and it was white people who took it away again when the war was over.”
Tayo struggles post-war with readapting back into society and picks up on things such as racism still being prevalent. Why do you think Tayo feels it is so important to understand the racism that is prevalent? Why doesn’t he brush it aside like his friends?
I found the first few pages of Ceremony difficult to follow, in that every couple of paragraphs the subject would change. I later grew to appreciate this because it replicates Tayo’s scattered thoughts as a consequence of his PTSD from fighting in WW2.
A common trait of Tayo in the first section of this book is his self-blaming. He blames himself for letting Rocky get carried away by the water while he was trying to save him. Even when the corporal tells him Rocky had already passed away, Tayo does not believe him. Rocky was the reason Tayo joined the military to begin with, yet he does not blame Rocky for his PTSD. He cursed the rain after the incident, and he now believes that the drought back at the Laguna reservation is a direct consequence of his wishes. He also has flashbacks of him killing Josiah in the war, even though that did not actually happen. He still blames himself for Josiah’s death as well, even though he had nothing to do with it.
My question is how do you think Tayo’s PTSD plays into his habit of self blaming for things he had nothing to do with? Do you think if he had not fought in WW2 that he would still blame himself for the drought at home?
Our discussion of Leslie Marmon Silko and the book revolves heavily around the place of storytelling, which I, of course, recognize the importance of it. While we have previously discussed works that involve heavy storytelling, I think this is probably the first since our icebreaker that we’ve discussed storytelling. I believe the icebreaker with our opportunity to tell a story of belonging was in direct reference to this book. What this has led me to think about is how storytelling interacts within our own culture, whether that be Appalachian State or our country as a whole. Also, how could storytelling play a part or benefit the discourse of sustainable development? Would there be broader population drawn to the discussion of sustainability if it were approached in more of a storytelling framework?
Leslie Marmon Silko’s novel explores the influences of alcoholism, PTSD, religion, culture, racism, and cognitive imperialism present in the main character, Tayo’s life. Most prominently, the act of storytelling (“ceremony”) comes into play as a way to heal, reclaim, and explain the situations Tayo faces in his present life and the situations he faced in his past. Marmon Silko periodically inserts poems throughout the course of the nonlinear, complicated timeline of the book.
My question regards the very act of “ceremony” and the ironic, not ironic, naming of the book.
Clearly, ceremony is a cultural tradition or action important to the Laguna Pueblo (as evidenced through the most recent section we have read, where Betonie, the medicine man, performs a healing ceremony on Tayo), and is continuously shown throughout the book through the mode of story telling. If storytelling is a way to heal, and ceremony is a way to heal, could it be possible that the title of the book, Ceremony, is a way for Marmon Silko to reclaim and heal from the cognitive imperialism she has faced? Is she reclaiming what the white people took from her by writing this book? Or, by interjecting seemingly random anecdotes with unknown characters/narrators, is she speaking on behalf of all of her ancestors and other native peoples facing similar oppressions and trauma from past colonial violence?
Side note: how do other historically oppressed/marginalized identities/communities reclaim or take back their identity and culture like Marmon Silko may be? Is it common to almost “rewrite” or correct their stories of oppression like Marmon Silko is? Can retelling, or even ficition-izing their experiences be a way of reclaiming culture and disengaging from the violence their people have endured?
To think Silko originally intended this book to be lighthearted is so interesting. The descriptive outlines of Tayo’s PTSD after coming home from war is anything but lighthearted. Tayo is stuck in his dreams and thoughts that take him back to the Philippines during the Second World war and life back home. Both involve his family, which seems to be a central theme of the book. The irony of how he longs to be with his uncle again and the reality that fact he believes he is responsible for his death plagues his mind. He seems to be a victim of trauma by which he takes full responsibility for and is burdened with guilt. Another example of this is that he feels he is responsible for the drought as he prayed for rain to stop 6 years prior to it. The fact he has killed others and the fact his family who also fought in the war did not survive seems to be central to his PTSD. Although he is content with being more or less alone on the reservation, it feels as if he won’t be able to truly heal this way.
How central to healing is community, family, and loneliness?
It struck me, seeing Betoni’s home how Tayo saw it; both a collection of old people junk and a time capsule to years upon years ago, an almost overwhelming collection of what was and what is. “He wanted to dismiss all of it as an old man’s rubbish, debris that had fallen out of the years” …”Talking like this is just as bad, isn’t it? Too big to swallow all at once.” (p.110, 111)
We see the struggle of a native cultures pitting against the surrounding dominant western cultures in the medical context; Tayo’s first attempt at ceremony didn’t work because the context for Ku’oosh’s medicine couldn’t fit the context of those touched by modern warfare “I wonder what good Indian ceremonies can do against the sickness which comes from their wars, their bombs, their lies?” (p.122). On the other end, the VA hospital was of insufficient help as well… “In that hospital they don’t bury the dead, they keep them in rooms and talk to them” (p.114). But in meeting Betonie (who was also of mixed native descent), Tayo gets to start a new ceremony that seems to so far have a more resounding effect on him.
In this section I also thought it was refreshing to get the poem on the origins of white people. Dark cave-hill people seeing only objects of things and fearing all and destroying it seems fairly appropriate, given the course of history. “Okay you win; you take the prize” (p.127) nearly had me wheezing at the abruptness, kind of like ‘wow that is indeed pretty wretched ahaha let’s not’, but it ended up being so anyway.
My questions this go around centers on this: When we pass on culture, and when we see other cultures passed on, should the focus be on maintaining the purity of what once and has been? Or should we be open to change, as time and people flow and become something new? (keeping in mind that most of us don’t even come from a background where we have the grounds to comment on this kind of matter for this particular culture in the first place)
Nothing stays stagnant, event the ceremonies. The gourds whither and are replaced, as are broken beads or crumpled feathers. “They think that if their children have the same color of skin, the same color of eyes, that nothing is changing”
Tayo is struggling with “battle fatigue”, now referred to post-traumatic stress disorder, as his dreams become vivid and violent, as he continues to fight and lose a sense of self in his dreams. Another instance where he is met with struggle of a sense of self while in bed is brought up by Night Swan. They lay with each other and Night swan expresses she has been observing him for quite a while, specifically has taken notice of the color of his eyes. Tayo responds; “I always wished I had dark eyes like other people. When they look at me they remember things that happened. My mother” (99). Night Swan responds to his feelings about that with a sense of pride of her own mixed identity that is reflected in the characteristics of her corporeal self;
They think that if their children have the same color of skin, the same color of eyes, that nothing is changing.” She laughed softly. “They are fools. They blame us, the ones who look different. That way they don’t have to think about what has happened inside themselves…You don’t have to understand what is happening. But remember this day. You will recognize it later. You are part of it now. (100)
Here Night Swan is commenting on how different skin color reminds Native Americans of the violence done to them and continue to be imposed on them, not only of colonization of the body but of the mind as well. It could be argued that these traditions and ceremonies help to not only bring about self-actualization, becoming more personal with oneself and the spirits around them, but to combat the effects that colonization has had. Night Swan is arguing for the acknowledgement of people that look different and how they should not be discriminated against but a reminder to again combat these forced colonizers by creating a new identity surrounding the changes that are occurring, reminding Tayo that he a part of this hybridity and that he should not be ashamed. Night Swan not only brings about questions and topics around gendered binaries, spirituality and “purity”, but a mixed “racial” identity as well and establishing her own identity amongst and beyond the barriers that these impose to others. Her dance is quite intriguing to me, I do not think it should simply be viewed as a way of seduction but as a form of expression of self, one that can bring about reflection and help in going beyond these barriers that impost dualistic ways of being. The question I have now concerning the role of Night Swan is does she represent some sort of cosmic female energy or would this be seen as an oversimplification, one that always seems to occur to a female character that is different than the rest, generalizing their existence as cosmic, as she is a unraveling to be a complex character I am unsure if this is an oversimplification or a fair analysis as at times I am reminded of Thought-Woman and their possible comparisons.
As I read the first part of Ceremony, I am constantly reminded of the importance of one’s sense of place. Tayo is pulled between two worlds, if not more. It troubles him deeply, in his words “he could get no rest as long as the memories were tangled up with the present”. (pg.6) In Tayo’s case, I want to argue that not only is he torn between the war and his present life on the ranch, but also between the ranch on the reservation in his present day and the reservation where he grew up.
He reflects on the days where the cattle had enough to eat and the livestock weren’t forced to be moved elsewhere because of the drought. This brings in a new dynamic of sense of place, the same place, but with climatic changes. This is incredibly relevant to our time. I think about a new wave a climate refugees, not necessarily geographically displaced, but displaced in Tayo’s sense. I want to argue that this form of climatic displacement happens when you have a deep sense of place tied to the flora and fauna, the weather patterns and the livelihoods of a place special to you, and with climate change unfamiliarity comes.
Do you see this becoming more common with more intense climate change? Will people notice, or are we too out of touch with our surrounding natural environments? What would Silko think of this claim?
Tayo and his veteran friends engage in a ritual at the bars, this ritual meant to allow them to forget their Indian-ness, and go back to reliving the glory days, where they were fighting the ‘white people’s big war’, and they themselves got to experience the life of a white man for some time. They slept with white women, got thanked for their service by old white ladies on the street, and had the time of their lives living away from the label of Native American. When the war ended, and they no longer had to wear their uniform on the streets, this privilege left them, and they were back to who they were under the disguise. When Tayo interludes and starts recounting the reality of their situations, he is hushed, his friends not wanting him to kill the vibes of their ceremony. This ritual is one for them to forget, and only remember what they want to remember. It is their way of unification, although Tayo is saddened by this, because it is not the ritual they should be recounting. He wants to retell this story, and reform their ceremony to acknowledge the deeply rooted exploitation hidden beneath their stories. The reminders that Tayo gives his friends about the reality of their place in the war is vital for Tayo to point out. If the ceremony continues to establish the praiseworthiness of their war times, it ignores the truth of the story beneath, and the stories that are told are those that will be retold for the rest of time. This speaks to the first poems of the book, where in class we discussed how the speaker of the story is not necessarily a person being the speaker, but more of the story itself being the speaker. On page 35, when Ku’oosh speaks, there is great emphasis on the power of words and language. Where Tayo felt ashamed of his ties with the English language, because it represents the oppression and hold over his people’s lives, Ku’oosh chooses his words deliberately, and they are seemingly not only his words, “As if nothing the old man said were his own but all had been said before and he was only there to repeat it” (34). Silko writes that the human being is responsible for the words that they speak, since those will be carried on.
On pages 57-59, Emo tells a story, and Silko even takes the poetic liberty to put his story into poem form, as she does with other ‘told stories’ throughout the overall story. This is what this group of friends are leaving a legacy to, Emo kind of stories. So my question is: how do you think Tayo could have more productively intervened in the negative and unproductive ceremony that his veteran friends indulge in? He could have had his own lasting legacy, reformed Emo’s story, and made it into one that would change their past and their future. Do you think there was a way that he could’ve approached the conversation with something that they would’ve responded positively to, instead of thinking he was just crazy and drunk and deranged?
When reading Silko’s Ceremony, the pieces that stick out most are Tayo’s mental fallout from war and the emotional pummelling that comes not only from being a part of a minority population, but also from not feeling like you fit with your people. I am reminded (probably because it is on my mind) of the current administration’s attack on LGBTQIA+ folks, especially trans men and women. “The Trump administration is considering narrowly defining gender as a biological, immutable condition determined by genitalia at birth” (Green, New York Times, 2018) In the midst of this war for identity and war for rights, there is mental fallout and emotional pummelling. My question is, how can we look at the world with honest eyes to the condition of our brothers and sisters who are parts of minority populations and once we do, how can we build places and moments of healing (the way that Silko uses storytelling) into our national discourse?
During the first part of Ceremony by Silko, Tako the protagonist is struggling between places in his dream, drifting from one language to the next, and slowly watches his surroundings deteriorate around him.He reflects on his time spent in the many different places hes been in; Laguna, the Philippines. It made me think of sense of place and how the concept is very important, not only to sustainable development but also to Native American cultures. As a person with three distinct different cultural backgrounds, Tayo lives in a very particular social environment.
Could sense of place also consider the social stature of someone? Is Tayo’s sense of place hindered by his diverse background?
It is important to note that Ken Saro-Wiwa and Leslie Marmon Silko have several integral pillars of thought and moral conscious in common. The similarities they share are the passion and standing that enabled them to write their respective novels, and to put their thoughts and beliefs to paper. Leslie Marmon Silko writes from an open minded point of view in that she does not conform to modern ideals of typical thought, just as Ken Saro-Wiwa lived his life going against the grain of what was expected of him from much of society- both in the name of living their truth. Just as Ken Saro-Wiwa said, “the writer must be…the intellectual man of action” (pg 55). What should be emphasized here is the part on action, the result of what motivated both Ken Saro-Wiwa, as well as Leslie Marmom Silko, to put their non-traditional thoughts to form. In Ceremony, Silko writes of events and memories that are enough to spur action such as the ways that Native American culture has been degraded and chipped away at. Both Saro-Wiwa and Silko, in those similarities they share, have faced marginalization at the hands of other groups of people with power. In the face of this attempted domination, they both show courage to speak up, to fight and to share their truth. At the face of these battles, all it takes is one individual like these two to speak up to create change.
What is it that motivates other individuals to create change or to take action without having their world being questioned, or being pushed to the edge of validity? How is it that such forces of injustice have become the seat in power to rule, to be able to marginalize others?
While there are several main themes and motifs to be found in Ceremony, the most prevalent is the concept of storytelling, and specifically, the storytelling found within Native American culture. Traditionally, stories teachings are passed down orally, and are typically incredibly communal, often resulting in a large gathering of people listen to someone captivate them with their tales or listening attentively to the lessons they’re giving. Often times, this results in a rhythmic tempo and potentially a degree of repetition, which is reflected in the way Ceremony is written, with prose and poetry intertwined throughout.
This method of storytelling also illustrates the relationship between Native Americans and whites at the time, at the consequences of the cultural contact. From the hopefulness and nationalism Tayo felt when meeting with the Army recruiter, to his reluctance to fight, and finally his struggles with readjusting to civilian life; all exemplify the nature of this relationship. That’s not to say that Ceremony is implying the two races would be better off separate, but rather suggest that both Native American and white cultures have common history, and thus can coexist without the need for the supremacy of one over the other, as is demonstrated by Tayo’s struggle to make it in a mostly white world without abandoning his Native American heritage and tradition.
My question is: With today’s world growing more and more diverse, how can we encourage the preservation of tradition and heritage without reinforcing cultural barriers? Or is it more important for different cultures to share and learn from each other, especially if they are part of a larger population, in order to create a unique cultural landscape based on coexistence and cooperation?
Throughout the first couple of pages in the book Ceremony, the reader can feel the intense inner conflict that Tayo struggles with as he tries to understand his place and identity within the multiple cultures that he has been exposed to and expected to adopt. Within this struggle one of the overarching in conflict is Tayo’s struggle with identifying with the English language and its polarization with the “old dialect.” “The word he chose to express “fragile” was filled with the intricacies of a continuing process, and with a strength inherent in spider webs woven across paths through sand hills where early in the morning the sun becomes entangled in each filament of web. It took a long time to explain the fragility and intricacy because no word exists alone, and the reason for choosing each word had to be explained with a story about why it must be said this certain way. That was the responsibility that went with being human, old Ku’oosh said, the story behind each word must be told so there could be no mistake in the meaning of what had been said; and this demanded great patience and love” (32).
I believe that Silko is showing us that the languages we speak not only reflect or express our thoughts but also shape the very thoughts we wish to express, and the structures that exist in our languages profoundly shape how we construct reality. Is the English language and other prominent languages throughout the world flawed in acknowledging our role as environmental stewards of the planet? Is this “responsibility that comes with being human” part of the of the SD goal platform?
In the Ceremony reading by Silko we read a few graphic passages about war. Tayo is fighting in WW2, and in this fighting Tayo has the connection between a Japanese soldier and a loved one back home. In his dream he thinks he has killed Josiah even though he is thousands of miles away. This inability to disconnect himself from his humanity is leading to Tayo suffering, he sees the Japanese soldiers as people, even loved ones.
Do you think this inability to separate himself from humanity is currently causing his suffering. Do you think this connection will be a strength later in his healing?
One of the more noticeable themes throughout the book immediately seen is the connection to dreams. The story is told in a very non-linear weaving fashion, almost as it is a dream. This fits well with the story and subject matter, given the Native American influences in the story.
The amount of internalized racism in this story is absolutely unreal. It seems to always be felt, even when direct white actors are not at play. This is why I appreciate Silko’s other running theme of the book as accepting changes as they come. This message seems to be epitomized in Night Swan, the Mexican women of mixed ancestry who helps Tayo with some of his identity crisis and feelings of isolation. She points out that change is all around everyone all the time, but that scares some people and is what makes them fearful or bigoted of other races or traditions. Rather than looking at his mixed ancestry as a curse, perhaps it can be his source of strength in gaining a new perspective (although it would not save him any grief in the eyes of others, such as Emo).
My question of the week: Is there an easy way to show the average person the boundlessness, necessity, and beauty of perpetual change? Or is it something that everyone needs to find for themselves in their own way?
In the beginning of Ceremony we are given an inside view of the way Tayo views the actions that are taking place in the chapter. When we read on page six and seven, Tayo is surrounded by the idea that killing for a purpose is okay and it is almost as if he is being desensitized to the fact that the soldiers are murdering other people. On page 7 when Tayo is ordered to kill the surrendered Japanese soldiers and has a dream or hallucination that he is seeing his uncle Josiah. As a soldier it is important to view the enemy as exactly that, an enemy. However, when a soldier begins to realize that the goal of their killing is not their own, but people who are in power. This realization brings Tayo back to the idea that people do matter, that people are people and the killing they are doing is wrong. On page 13 Tayo begins to show his true expressions from what he has been through, what he has seen and how it has affected his mind. In order for him to forget the things he has seen and dealt with, the writings describes how he is disassociated from himself by being pumped full of drugs and told how he should heal.
Does this reading show us a realization of humility and is that realization something that could be used in SD? In other words does it take a realization of the importance of human life and connection to cause people to see the issues that exist?
Racism and xenophobia are toxic, we all know that. While it is one of the most extreme examples of disrespect, it is also so much more. These ideals often stem from fear of the unknown or misunderstood. Behavior based upon both racism and xenophobia is so much more than isolation and/or direct violence, it is truly detrimental to all groups for many reasons. We can see on pages 29 and 30 of “Ceremony” that such ideals can create indirect violence, too. When Tayo comes home from being treated by white doctors, he still is not well. His grandmother suggests that they are not truly helping him and that she wants him to see a medicine man. This, too, is problematic. Because Tayo does not have full native blood there is risk of judgement and/or refusal if he attempts to seek care from the medicine man. He is stuck in between, and this sort of indirect attack and judgement is directly affecting Tayo’s health and wellbeing. Where do we see similar social issues today? Think about current immigration politics and similar sociopolitical issues such as gentrification.
Leslie Silko is not afraid of diving into the heavy stuff right at the beginning of her book. She writes about Tayo’s extreme PTSD and his family’s attempts to take care of him. Tayo remembers some of the horrible memories of the war in great detail. Harley seems to be handling his own post-war issues by drinking more. This story really touches on a lot of problems that are very real in the world, but one of the ideas that stood out to me was something talked about by the medicine man, Ku’oosh. During his healing ceremony with Ku’oosh the idea of “white warfare” (33), comes up. This new type of warfare is much different than any kind that Ku’oosh is familiar with. Tayo is unsure whether he killed anybody or not because they had guns and most of the combat took place from long distances. Ku’oosh is used to the “old way of warfare” (33), where it is all up close and there would be no way to be unsure about anything. Ku’oosh cannot understand the way Tayo is feeling because this new type of warfare is completely unknown to him, and because of this Ku’oosh tells Tayo that, “there are some things we can’t cure like we used to,… not since the white people came”(35). This brings up a question about the disconnect between generations. Thoreau talked about how we should not trust what our elders say, but rather we should experience life for ourselves, but for Tayo, he holds on to the old stories he was told as a child so intensely that when he sees the disconnect between himself and the old ways that Ku’oosh knows, he is devastated. How should we use the experiences and knowledge our elder’s pass down to us in our own lives? At what point is it okay to renounce their ideas and mark them as outdated? How is this different in extremely traditional cultures, like the one Tayo is living in, versus a less traditional culture like we have today?
As I was reading Ceremony, the thing that stood out to me so heavily was the pain of Silko’s words and the urgency that she portray’s through Tayo’s thoughts and emotions. He really embodies who Silko is, coming from both Native American and white descent, both Silko and Tayo share a connection deeper than just struggle. As the book explains that Silko wrote ceremony during a difficult and dark time in her life, she really expresses this through Tayo and his experiences and emotions. Is it possible to thoroughly heal through the creative process of writing, putting our pain and concentrating it onto another character? Does it make it more difficult, articulating it into thought and words, the struggle and pain that we are facing or does Silko use it as a freeing agent?
In the first section of the book, Tayo struggles with his own identity as he sees people around him. For example, when he sees the Japanese man, he doesn’t want to kill him, and doesn’t think of him as the enemy. Rocky, on the other hand, is the opposite. He doesn’t hesitate to kill the enemy. Tayo can see through “the fog of war” and sees each person as they are. Tayo also struggles with his own identity when he is in the hospital and on drugs. He fells like he cant speak and is surrounded by a haze. He feels trapped in this area because he doesn’t feel like this is his home. But, ironically, they first attempt at healing him traditional doesn’t do him much good.
My question is this: Why does Tayo see people in war differently? What kind of upbringing made him like this and made Rocky the opposite?
In “Ceremony the main character Tayo visits a modern doctor about his post traumatic stress brought on by his service in World War II. “For a long time he had been white smoke”(13). While in this state Tayo was hollow and describes only seeing things in outlines while in the hospital. This trauma is the result of an incident where he was told to execute Japanese soldiers but he saw his family in the men and could not fire his rifle.The prescriptions and medications the doctors give Tayo do not help his condition. This inability for modern doctors to help Tayo drives him to seek more traditional help. The incident that scared him left Tayo traumatized as he had more empathy for the enemy than any of the other soldiers did. Tayo did not dehumanize the enemy like many of the others he had a connection with them. In that situation many of the soldiers did dehumanized the enemy allowing them to commit executions unlike Tayo. This connection Tayo felt to the Japanese soldier when others did not is a representation of his culture realizing the interconnectedness of humanity. Tayo embraces his Native American culture while Rocky rejects it being complicit in the executions and fast to follow whatever the others are doing despite his traditional upbringing. In simple terms you could argue that one was simply more American than the other. Going off the differences displayed between Tayo’s empathy and Rocky what connections does this allude to about the influences society, predominately a Western one, use to coerce people to assimilate and follow the ideals, patriotism, and sentiments of the country even if the views involve killing?
Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko begins with a few poems that brings the readers insight on the culture of Native American story telling and how stories are shared and remembered. What I drew from these poems were that there is not one author who is speaking throughout this book, but there are many stories being shared through different lenses. I was taken back by the first chapter of the intensity of Tayo’s PTSD and how Rocky responded to Tayo thinking the Japanese solider he was shooting was Josiah. I was very much intrigued in how Rocky had given in to the colonialist ideas of dehumanization and how he truly believed that this was what they were “supposed” to be doing. It was obvious that Tayo had felt differently about giving into believing that he should be killing these other humans. I am interested in the psychological effects of the colonialist ideas being pressed onto Native Americans and not only this specific scenario but any scenario where your ideals are being deeply challenged and removed and how easy it is for humans to give into that or not?
In Ceremony, Silko examines the way nature and western science interact through metaphor and physical explorations of the human psyche. Through experiences of war and trauma we see reflected major themes of trauma due to colonization and dehumanization. Silko uses these topics to present PTSD, depression, and other results of trauma. The book title “Ceremony” is a description of so many of the things in the book. More than just physical ceremonies for healing or understanding, the ceremonies of storytelling, the ceremonies of family, and the ceremonies of death are all explored in Silko’s writing. Does Tayo, one of the main characters of the book, use ceremony as a distraction from the horrors in front of him and as a form of healing? Or are the ceremonies in Silko’s writing as real and true as the physical things happening? Does Tayo represent the balance of ceremony and reality? Does his reality call to question whether the ceremonies in his life are useful or whether he should lean on his whiteness for healing?
When we first start reading Ceremony, we assume that Tayo is primarily suffering from PTSD from his time fighting in WW2. As the story progresses, however, we come to realize that much of his sickness comes from his position at the center of two worlds: the traditional, ancestral culture of the Laguna people and the modern, Western culture of white people. In the process of healing, Tayo uses his memories and stories to bring him some type of peace in the face of the massive changes occurring all around him on the reservation and in his life. While the modern, violent world seems to hurt Tayo, exploring how he fits into the traditional past (and how he will support its perpetuity) brings him some form of redemption. Despite this seeming polarity, the first healing ceremony performed by Ku’oosh, which was very traditional, failed to heal Tayo while the ceremony of Betonie, which was more modern, had more success. What does this say about Tayo’s character development as well as the need for adjustments in the face of change? What role does Tayo play for the two opposing worlds?
In the first section of Ceremony, we see Tayo’s conflict of identity, being both Native American and white. We also see his prejudice resulting from the war and the white imperialist ideals ingrained in him and the racism he picked up during his time in the war. On page 18, Tayo collapses in the train station and is approached by a Japanese women trying to help him. After they leave him, he refers to them as “Those people” to the depot man and said, “I thought they locked them up,” (Silko, 18). This particular scene demonstrates Tayo’s “brainwashing” by white people and his time in the war. How does this racism translate to Tayo’s own identity and view of himself?
The idea of ritual comes up a lot in this first part of Ceremony. Every time a new phase of their time at the bar takes place, it is called the next step in “the ritual”. It is interesting because ritual has connotations of sacredness rather than a night at the bar. But for the group at the bar, this reminds them of the comradery and sense of support and home in some ways. The ritual has a certain level of importance to everyone involved, which we can see when they desperately try to get Tayo to stop talking badly about the war or the military, and instead try to get him to have a good time and feel the way they felt in the old days.
What is Silko trying to accomplish or show us by using the term ritual like this? What does Tayo’s break in the ritual mean?
I really love that Ceremony begins with three poems which sort of set the tone of Silko’s mentality throughout the novel. Following is a page with only the word “sunrise” and then the novel begins. It becomes clear that the character “Tayo”, who fought in World War 2, is now suffering from major PTSD. He has terrible dreams which haunt him as he also struggles with separating his dreams and reality. His thoughts are very scattered and confused which only upsets him. PTSD is a very sad subject but I’m glad it is being discussed here because without discussion of it people like Tayo feel even more isolated. Tayo has many feelings of confusion, isolation and self doubt because of his PTSD and it impacts him greatly in his every day life. My question is, would Tayo struggle so greatly with his identity had he not fought in the war?
In Ceremony, Silko uses incredible detail, and slightly complicated sequencing, to share the life of Tayo, a half white, half Native American man who has experienced several traumatic events as a child and as an American soldier in the Japanese war. His mixed race has been met with contempt from both ethnic groups, neither seeing him as a true member of their community. As a result, Tayo struggles to find purpose in his life, and furthermore struggles with the balance between traditional Native American culture and white culture. Tayo is strong in sticking to what his grandmother has taught him, but Rocky’s persistence in being accepted by the white society and his strong support for modern science are conflicting. This difference is explicitly expressed in the ways that Tayo and Rocky respond to the demands of the war. Whereas Rocky prides himself on the number of Japanese people killed, even going so far to remove the teeth of one soldier, Tayo claims to have not killed anyone that he knows of. Despite not having killed anyone directly, Tayo experiences extreme PTSD in the form of nightmares, hallucinations, vomiting fits, and sudden violent outbursts (although these have often been instigated by racial discrimination towards him). On the other hand, Rocky is boastful about the men he has killed, and expresses no remorse whatsoever. Tayo is unable to kill the “enemy” because he sees his very own family in their faces–he recognizes humanity in each of them, whereas Rocky has been brainwashed with the idealized American dream and desire to win.
Rocky is entirely Native American and Tayo is only half, yet Rocky is more dedicated to the war than Tayo. I think this proves that race has nothing to do with what one desires or supports in life, at least in this story. This idea makes me think about the current voter suppression in states like North Dakota with high Native American populations, who are now ineligible to vote because they do not permanent addresses on reservations. Throughout reading this text, I thought a lot about how we have manipulated minority groups, particularly Native Americans, depending on the political atmosphere. For example, during the war when we needed soldiers to fight, Native Americans were encouraged to take the chance to show how much they love America, our country and their country. However, now that it has been shown that as a minority group they are more likely to vote a certain way, they have lost their ability to participate in our government. Tayo is very aware of the changes in white peoples attitudes towards him during and after the war.
Why do Rocky and Tayo have different perspectives on the war, even though they were raised in the same house? Are there other factors, besides different racial experiences and upbringing, that can affect one’s position on morality towards other humans? How important is it that we adopt Tayo’s ideas of interconnectedness (in nature, among humans, and between the two) and universal humanity? Are these ideas necessary for SD?
I’m interested in the dynamics of collectivity and individuality that Silko seems to be playing with in Ceremony. When Tayo first talks to Ku’oosh, Ku’oosh takes time to explain the fragility of the world, clarifying terminology very specifically. He says that he does this because no word exists alone, and because it is the responsibility of being human to tell the stories behind each word so that there is no mistake in meaning. He says that it is very important to “all of us” that Tayo get well, “for this fragile world” (33). Ku’oosh also says that “I am afraid of what will happen to all of us if you and the others don’t get well.” This suggests that there is a consequence to Tayo’s illness that is greater than Tayo as an individual. What does this suggest about the manner in which Tayo must heal? What does it say about the nature of injury, war, and what may be termed mental illness upon the collective? What is wrong with Tayo?
Similar questions arise for me when reading about Tayo’s belief that he brought a drought into existence after praying the water away for Rocky’s safety. What responsibility rests with Tayo? What is the difference between his belief and the cause of the drought? Is there a difference? His beliefs that he caused the drought apparently originate with Josiah, who said that “the old people used to say that droughts happen when people forget, when people misbehave.” What does this suggest about the relationship between earth, individual, and collective? What kind of “misbehavior” causes droughts? What can we learn about collective and individual responsibility from Ceremony?
On page 37 at the bottom of the page Tayo states “White women never looked at me until I put on that uniform, and then by God I was a U.S. Marine and they came crowding around. All during the war they’d say to me, ‘Hey soldier, you sure are handsome. All that black thick hair.’ ‘Dance with me,’ the blonde girl said….I mean those white women fought over me. Yeah, they did really! I went home with a blonde one time. She had a ’38 Buick. Good car. She let me drive it all the way.”
This passage speaks to the way white culture accepts outsiders who assimilate to their norms. It was after Tayo became a Marine, a position of respect within American society that white women started to pay attention to him. It was when he ascribed to a position taken by their friends, brothers, fathers, and lovers that they were able to see him in the same light, as a man. And yet, they still have to point out his non-whiteness, they feel the need to comment on his hair. I think this is a fitting commentary on the way white culture has always responded to groups they have worked to dominate or oppress. White culture strives to force its values and norms on other groups of people, but it is never quite enough. Comments about hair, skin tone, speech patterns and other factors still prevail as a form of quiet discrimination and oppression. In essence, we forced millions of people to “become white” and then constantly criticized them for not being “white enough”. I believe this is a recurrent theme throughout the novel as Tayo battles the white smoke in himself.
The PTSD that Tayo experiences from the war continuously had me thinking of my Uncle Tommy who fought in the Vietnam War when he was in his late teens. My mom remembers when he returned being faced every night with nightmares and restless sleep. Screaming and crying day and night, not being able to block out the sounds, visons, and feelings he experienced. He did not talk about it to anyone when he was younger, and he still does not address the war or its impact on him. He has been a functioning alcoholic since he was in his forties. His PTSD still haunts his mind and dreams as he reaches his 70’s. And for what? I do not know his feelings on the war, whether he despises the American actions taken for “patriotic justice” or if he knows that his service was part of maintaining world “peace” for others. It hurts me so much to know that he had to do those things and there’s no way to take away those images and feelings he continuously lives with in his mind.
Tayo’s actions to addressing his PTSD and his actions moving forward now that he is home is a very different narrative, as the representation of destruction and fight for control in WW2 is parallel with how white society has controlled and hurt Native Americans yet it is viewed in entirely different ways. He takes the process of addressing his internal pain and experiences to putting towards alleviating the social impacts put upon Native society.
My question is can people who resonate with the wars they were a part of address social issues created by them with the same ideas in mind as Tayo? Like can people both accept the meaning of their actions and the meaning of war and still fully be addressing social issues that are a result of violence and war?
Throughout the beginning of Ceremony, we can feel the metaphorical essence of Tayo’s everyday experiences, those that manifest within the mind and occur simultaneously with the perceived world. We begin to understand the pain and confusion that comes with pressured individuality in a world of racial, ethnic, and cultural divisions, while also manifesting one’s true sense of community. When the doctor is speaking to Tayo, he says “ ‘He can’t talk to you. He is invisible. His words are formed with an invisible tongue, they have no sound.’” (Silko 15). This represents the sense of powerlessness and lack of agency that not only comes along with Tayo’s PTSD, but the representation of the lacking of health in the world and in the greater global community. Tayo’s floating through time and space with the current of the fog/white smoke can help us understand the fragility of the human spirit when faced with aggression and hatred. What, specifically, does the white smoke represent for us currently?
Ceremony and A Month and A Day & Letters can have competing ideas. Both being such powerful stories, I see the correlation of healing between Tayo and Ken Saro-Wiwa. Personally I feel as if Saro-Wiwa in his writing was coming to terms with the idea that he was not going to be able to be such a strong pronate figure in the change that was needed in the Niger river delta with the Ogoni People. Then with Tayo his healing of learning to love the land and earth and use the power of those things to appreciate what life has to offer.
How can learning to heal be important in life and when dealing with the changing nature of society? How does the Sustainable Development provoke the idea of healing?
SD 3800 Voices in Sustainable Development 
I like how the intro in Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko starts off with a few poems though I’m not sure exactly what they mean. One thing I noticed is the structure of this book is far from traditional, in that it has poems randomly throughout and there is no chapters or sections, it’s all kind of just thrown together. One thing I detected early on is the stress and urgency in the tone of the passages, mostly because of Tayo feeling pain from the memories of being in World War II. As stated, “Liquor was medicine for the anger that made them hurt, for the pain of the loss, medicine for tight bellies and choked-up throats” (Silko 2006, Page 37). In this, Auntie is talking about the soldiers and how alcohol soothes their empty bellies and emotions. Its hard to know the emotions war puts you through unless you have been there. I do enjoy that this book is written with lots of dialogue and almost story-like because they are easy to read for extended periods of time. The book also touches on parts of Native American culture, the reservation Tayo lives on is facing a long-term drought that he thinks is his fault. The book talks a lot about ceremonies, hence the title, mostly revolving around rain and drought. A lot of the story is flashbacks and narratives trying to explain a Native American war veterans (Tayo) experiences in the past and how they affect the future.
Question: How can someone find meaning in life and get past trauma after being in a war?And, why is it that spiritual experiences enable people to view the world for what it is?
While reading the first section of Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko, I was pretty confused about exactly what Tayo was going through; his life after the war is so bleak and as scattered as a shattered piece of glass. As I read through the first 25 pages of the book, I was taken away by our protagonist’s experiences and subsequent hallucinations. During World War 2, in the Philippines, Tayo was told to kill Japanese soldiers who had already surrendered their arms and had their hands raised to their heads in fear. The commanding officer forced soldiers like Tayo and Rocky to shoot these opposing soldiers who had already surrendered themselves. Tayo, thinking he saw his uncle Josiah among the line of Japanese soldiers, refuses to fire his rifle and begins crying so hard that it turns his stomach and he vomits. Our author ventures back and forth in time, alternating between these young men’s experiences on Pacific Islands and in the United States. Tayo, when he is released from the Veteran’s Hospital is still not in good shape, he seems to be suffering greatly from post traumatic stress disorder and maybe malnourished. At the train station, he collapses after becoming “invisible” and feels like his body is dwindling away as smoke dissipates into the atmosphere. When he comes to a Japanese woman and her son (wearing an oversized Army hat) are standing over him, checking to make sure he is okay. Once Tayo fully regains his footing and his consciousness, he looks at the boy walking away and sees Rocky’s childlike face where the boys should have been. I cannot wait to read more and see how these indigenous people and their cultures are still being affected by the white man’s politics and wars.
Question: How was life on these reservations changed throughout the course of the second world war? What role did alcoholism play?
Leslie Marmon Silko, in Ceremony, brings forth the realms of tradition, Native heritage, Mother Earth, culture, and of course, ceremony in her writing. I am interested to learn further how gender themes contributed to Silko’s writing in the book, and how gender can be considered a core theme in Silko’s writing. Moreover, one of Silko’s underlying messages seems to introduce the ways in which the white man, eurocentric ideology, and how the metaphysical nature-dominance beliefs of colonial powers led to the eventual introduction of vast national and global economic and political systems, as well as militaristic standpoints, into the presence of Native American culture and the world-over. More fundamentally however, Silko introduces the idea of how evil was created in the world with traditional stories involving witches. Betonie, the second medicine man who Tayo visits tells the story. Betonie represents and shares many of the ways Native Americans have been marginalized in the United States as well. For one, he lives right outside the garbage dump where the homeless, marginalized and often times drunk Natives live, where white men throw glass bottles at the Native American women. Silko could also be introducing the idea of environmental racism in how Betonie acknowledges his marginalization by the white people, which is portrayed by him living a meager, but meaningful life near the garbage dump while he points out how white people enjoy luxurious lifestyles in their grand Californian houses. I feel as if Silko focuses on the underlying message of returning to a spiritual life that is grounded in tradition and a utter respect of, and life within, Mother Nature, alongside the resistance to the rule of the white man, which can be illustrated by the quote, “The deeds and papers don’t mean anything, it is the people who belong to the mountain” (118).
However, there is a complex introduction of how evil entered the world and Native lands, according to Silko, which goes deeper than simply the corruption of the white man. A quote from the character Betonie reads, “Indians wake up every morning of their lives to see the land which was stolen, still there, within reach, its theft being flaunted” (117), and then he goes on to say, “Witchery only manipulates a small portion” (121). Does the character Betonie introduce the idea of a ruling elite class and/or top 1% that asserts control over nature, indigenous people and broader society? In thinking of the more holistic Native American narrative, is the corruption and exploitation that has entered the lives of Tayo and his family a sign of a more deep-rooted evil in certain groups of ruling people?
My question is, in Silko’s section of writing with the second medicine man quoted above, what is the cause of evil in the world that Tayo has experienced so strongly?
My question for this week plays upon both Tayo and Ken Saro Wiwa. Tayo says “after not caring about being alive, it becomes much easier to live.” This mentality can be thought of as having nothing to lose. This is something that both ken and Leslie protagonist Tayo shared in common. Ken, like Tayo, had lost their culture and life to the white man. As we dive deeper into Tayos story I believe we will see action arise from this mindset.
My question is, do we as a collective society need to get to the point of “having nothing to lose” to make the radical changes needed to ensure our future?
it makes sense to me that Leslie Marmon Silko wrote Ceremony in a dark time, where she was saving her own life because her thoughts are sporadic in reference to gender & culture, and do not conform with white American society’s discourse. She does not feel the need to conform to regular western writing styles such as chapters, just as she does not feel the need to conform to the regular creation story, religious backgrounds, gender or even species that post colonialization United States citizens are accustomed to. All three poems at the beginning frame her indigenous, feminist, nonconformist point of view for the rest of the novel. One theme that I’m getting from her writing style is that everything is connected, not excluding the three poems. They are all connected by the power of storytelling or a ceremony. The second poem speaks to me the most. The way I’m reading it she uses personification heavily. She is personifying a community or society of people, perhaps a colonized society maybe Native Americans. “He” is the past leaders and voices of that community and he is talking to the “you” who is the present or the future of that community. “Their evil” is referring to the colonizers or the foreign corrupt government leaders. The community’s defense, life source, or nutrition are their past stories which bring them together. These stories, like a ceremony, have to become a part of you to really take hold and give you their energy. This is why she connects the stories as alive. The past community leaders are perpetuating the knowledge that stories have to be raised, harvested, and fed to the present and future community to really understand the energies that they create. The past leaders keep them in their stomach where they keep moving because they are special and full of life and must be protected! I believe that all three of the poems are connected and that is why she personifies the past community in this poem as a man. Her first poem depicts the universe’s creators as three female spiders, the third depicts a healing, important and wise leader as a woman. She is completely switching gender roles. The second poem depicts a man as carrying something precious and alive in his womb or belly.
My question is how can we take Leslie Marmon Silko’s philosophies on gender and religious fluidity into today’s society to pass on stories that will energize and inspire laypeople to care about their natural and social environment in a much more encompassing way?
Tayo’s blood is described as being a half breed, being neither fully native american or caucasian. Because of his ambiguous identity, Tayo finds it difficult to fully endorse native american traditions and is equally withheld from participating in caucasian society. Living on the reservation, yet being expected to uphold values of the caucasian society, placed significant strain on Tayo’s household and created barriers between their relationships and culture. The double standards for living from the native american perspective, as described by Auntie, Rocky, Tayo, and Tayo’s mother, describe a livelihood of conflicting moral, cultural, and historical values which hinder their ability to create and maintain a functioning society.
Modern psychology has suggested that a person’s values and perceptions of the world are shaped in early childhood through exposure to a certain experiences, cultures or locations. What experiences did Silko describe about Tayo’s upbringing that has inadvertently affected his psyche and cultural identity? Does a person’s bloodline signify cultural belonging? Is bloodline itself enough to be able to claim identity with a culture or society?
The themes presented in Ceremony I feel are even more important today then they were when the book was published. Tolerance is an issue in today’s society similarly to how it was then. Not just tolerance of Native Americans but also of other races. When Tayo goes to the doctor and then passes out on the concrete at the train station he is awoken by a Japanese family calling for help. When the depot man arrived and asked if he should call the Veteran’s Hospital, Tayo then says, “Those people, I thought they locked them up” (16). Both the Japanese and Native Americans have been discriminated against in US History. On page 38 Tayo goes on a rant that it is the uniform that garnered the Indians respect and not them as people. He criticizes the way white people act around him stating that he is a half-breed and that he speaks for both sides. Tayo’s main point is that racism did not end with the war. They felt acceptance during the war but once the war was over that acceptance ended and things reverted back to how they were before. On page 39 he was thinking about the way his friends reacted to his rant and he says “They never thought to blame white people for any of it; they wanted white people for their friends. They never saw that it was the white people who gave them that feeling and it was white people who took it away again when the war was over.”
Tayo struggles post-war with readapting back into society and picks up on things such as racism still being prevalent. Why do you think Tayo feels it is so important to understand the racism that is prevalent? Why doesn’t he brush it aside like his friends?
I found the first few pages of Ceremony difficult to follow, in that every couple of paragraphs the subject would change. I later grew to appreciate this because it replicates Tayo’s scattered thoughts as a consequence of his PTSD from fighting in WW2.
A common trait of Tayo in the first section of this book is his self-blaming. He blames himself for letting Rocky get carried away by the water while he was trying to save him. Even when the corporal tells him Rocky had already passed away, Tayo does not believe him. Rocky was the reason Tayo joined the military to begin with, yet he does not blame Rocky for his PTSD. He cursed the rain after the incident, and he now believes that the drought back at the Laguna reservation is a direct consequence of his wishes. He also has flashbacks of him killing Josiah in the war, even though that did not actually happen. He still blames himself for Josiah’s death as well, even though he had nothing to do with it.
My question is how do you think Tayo’s PTSD plays into his habit of self blaming for things he had nothing to do with? Do you think if he had not fought in WW2 that he would still blame himself for the drought at home?
Our discussion of Leslie Marmon Silko and the book revolves heavily around the place of storytelling, which I, of course, recognize the importance of it. While we have previously discussed works that involve heavy storytelling, I think this is probably the first since our icebreaker that we’ve discussed storytelling. I believe the icebreaker with our opportunity to tell a story of belonging was in direct reference to this book. What this has led me to think about is how storytelling interacts within our own culture, whether that be Appalachian State or our country as a whole. Also, how could storytelling play a part or benefit the discourse of sustainable development? Would there be broader population drawn to the discussion of sustainability if it were approached in more of a storytelling framework?
Leslie Marmon Silko’s novel explores the influences of alcoholism, PTSD, religion, culture, racism, and cognitive imperialism present in the main character, Tayo’s life. Most prominently, the act of storytelling (“ceremony”) comes into play as a way to heal, reclaim, and explain the situations Tayo faces in his present life and the situations he faced in his past. Marmon Silko periodically inserts poems throughout the course of the nonlinear, complicated timeline of the book.
My question regards the very act of “ceremony” and the ironic, not ironic, naming of the book.
Clearly, ceremony is a cultural tradition or action important to the Laguna Pueblo (as evidenced through the most recent section we have read, where Betonie, the medicine man, performs a healing ceremony on Tayo), and is continuously shown throughout the book through the mode of story telling. If storytelling is a way to heal, and ceremony is a way to heal, could it be possible that the title of the book, Ceremony, is a way for Marmon Silko to reclaim and heal from the cognitive imperialism she has faced? Is she reclaiming what the white people took from her by writing this book? Or, by interjecting seemingly random anecdotes with unknown characters/narrators, is she speaking on behalf of all of her ancestors and other native peoples facing similar oppressions and trauma from past colonial violence?
Side note: how do other historically oppressed/marginalized identities/communities reclaim or take back their identity and culture like Marmon Silko may be? Is it common to almost “rewrite” or correct their stories of oppression like Marmon Silko is? Can retelling, or even ficition-izing their experiences be a way of reclaiming culture and disengaging from the violence their people have endured?
To think Silko originally intended this book to be lighthearted is so interesting. The descriptive outlines of Tayo’s PTSD after coming home from war is anything but lighthearted. Tayo is stuck in his dreams and thoughts that take him back to the Philippines during the Second World war and life back home. Both involve his family, which seems to be a central theme of the book. The irony of how he longs to be with his uncle again and the reality that fact he believes he is responsible for his death plagues his mind. He seems to be a victim of trauma by which he takes full responsibility for and is burdened with guilt. Another example of this is that he feels he is responsible for the drought as he prayed for rain to stop 6 years prior to it. The fact he has killed others and the fact his family who also fought in the war did not survive seems to be central to his PTSD. Although he is content with being more or less alone on the reservation, it feels as if he won’t be able to truly heal this way.
How central to healing is community, family, and loneliness?
It struck me, seeing Betoni’s home how Tayo saw it; both a collection of old people junk and a time capsule to years upon years ago, an almost overwhelming collection of what was and what is. “He wanted to dismiss all of it as an old man’s rubbish, debris that had fallen out of the years” …”Talking like this is just as bad, isn’t it? Too big to swallow all at once.” (p.110, 111)
We see the struggle of a native cultures pitting against the surrounding dominant western cultures in the medical context; Tayo’s first attempt at ceremony didn’t work because the context for Ku’oosh’s medicine couldn’t fit the context of those touched by modern warfare “I wonder what good Indian ceremonies can do against the sickness which comes from their wars, their bombs, their lies?” (p.122). On the other end, the VA hospital was of insufficient help as well… “In that hospital they don’t bury the dead, they keep them in rooms and talk to them” (p.114). But in meeting Betonie (who was also of mixed native descent), Tayo gets to start a new ceremony that seems to so far have a more resounding effect on him.
In this section I also thought it was refreshing to get the poem on the origins of white people. Dark cave-hill people seeing only objects of things and fearing all and destroying it seems fairly appropriate, given the course of history. “Okay you win; you take the prize” (p.127) nearly had me wheezing at the abruptness, kind of like ‘wow that is indeed pretty wretched ahaha let’s not’, but it ended up being so anyway.
My questions this go around centers on this: When we pass on culture, and when we see other cultures passed on, should the focus be on maintaining the purity of what once and has been? Or should we be open to change, as time and people flow and become something new? (keeping in mind that most of us don’t even come from a background where we have the grounds to comment on this kind of matter for this particular culture in the first place)
Nothing stays stagnant, event the ceremonies. The gourds whither and are replaced, as are broken beads or crumpled feathers. “They think that if their children have the same color of skin, the same color of eyes, that nothing is changing”
Tayo is struggling with “battle fatigue”, now referred to post-traumatic stress disorder, as his dreams become vivid and violent, as he continues to fight and lose a sense of self in his dreams. Another instance where he is met with struggle of a sense of self while in bed is brought up by Night Swan. They lay with each other and Night swan expresses she has been observing him for quite a while, specifically has taken notice of the color of his eyes. Tayo responds; “I always wished I had dark eyes like other people. When they look at me they remember things that happened. My mother” (99). Night Swan responds to his feelings about that with a sense of pride of her own mixed identity that is reflected in the characteristics of her corporeal self;
They think that if their children have the same color of skin, the same color of eyes, that nothing is changing.” She laughed softly. “They are fools. They blame us, the ones who look different. That way they don’t have to think about what has happened inside themselves…You don’t have to understand what is happening. But remember this day. You will recognize it later. You are part of it now. (100)
Here Night Swan is commenting on how different skin color reminds Native Americans of the violence done to them and continue to be imposed on them, not only of colonization of the body but of the mind as well. It could be argued that these traditions and ceremonies help to not only bring about self-actualization, becoming more personal with oneself and the spirits around them, but to combat the effects that colonization has had. Night Swan is arguing for the acknowledgement of people that look different and how they should not be discriminated against but a reminder to again combat these forced colonizers by creating a new identity surrounding the changes that are occurring, reminding Tayo that he a part of this hybridity and that he should not be ashamed. Night Swan not only brings about questions and topics around gendered binaries, spirituality and “purity”, but a mixed “racial” identity as well and establishing her own identity amongst and beyond the barriers that these impose to others. Her dance is quite intriguing to me, I do not think it should simply be viewed as a way of seduction but as a form of expression of self, one that can bring about reflection and help in going beyond these barriers that impost dualistic ways of being. The question I have now concerning the role of Night Swan is does she represent some sort of cosmic female energy or would this be seen as an oversimplification, one that always seems to occur to a female character that is different than the rest, generalizing their existence as cosmic, as she is a unraveling to be a complex character I am unsure if this is an oversimplification or a fair analysis as at times I am reminded of Thought-Woman and their possible comparisons.
As I read the first part of Ceremony, I am constantly reminded of the importance of one’s sense of place. Tayo is pulled between two worlds, if not more. It troubles him deeply, in his words “he could get no rest as long as the memories were tangled up with the present”. (pg.6) In Tayo’s case, I want to argue that not only is he torn between the war and his present life on the ranch, but also between the ranch on the reservation in his present day and the reservation where he grew up.
He reflects on the days where the cattle had enough to eat and the livestock weren’t forced to be moved elsewhere because of the drought. This brings in a new dynamic of sense of place, the same place, but with climatic changes. This is incredibly relevant to our time. I think about a new wave a climate refugees, not necessarily geographically displaced, but displaced in Tayo’s sense. I want to argue that this form of climatic displacement happens when you have a deep sense of place tied to the flora and fauna, the weather patterns and the livelihoods of a place special to you, and with climate change unfamiliarity comes.
Do you see this becoming more common with more intense climate change? Will people notice, or are we too out of touch with our surrounding natural environments? What would Silko think of this claim?
Tayo and his veteran friends engage in a ritual at the bars, this ritual meant to allow them to forget their Indian-ness, and go back to reliving the glory days, where they were fighting the ‘white people’s big war’, and they themselves got to experience the life of a white man for some time. They slept with white women, got thanked for their service by old white ladies on the street, and had the time of their lives living away from the label of Native American. When the war ended, and they no longer had to wear their uniform on the streets, this privilege left them, and they were back to who they were under the disguise. When Tayo interludes and starts recounting the reality of their situations, he is hushed, his friends not wanting him to kill the vibes of their ceremony. This ritual is one for them to forget, and only remember what they want to remember. It is their way of unification, although Tayo is saddened by this, because it is not the ritual they should be recounting. He wants to retell this story, and reform their ceremony to acknowledge the deeply rooted exploitation hidden beneath their stories. The reminders that Tayo gives his friends about the reality of their place in the war is vital for Tayo to point out. If the ceremony continues to establish the praiseworthiness of their war times, it ignores the truth of the story beneath, and the stories that are told are those that will be retold for the rest of time. This speaks to the first poems of the book, where in class we discussed how the speaker of the story is not necessarily a person being the speaker, but more of the story itself being the speaker. On page 35, when Ku’oosh speaks, there is great emphasis on the power of words and language. Where Tayo felt ashamed of his ties with the English language, because it represents the oppression and hold over his people’s lives, Ku’oosh chooses his words deliberately, and they are seemingly not only his words, “As if nothing the old man said were his own but all had been said before and he was only there to repeat it” (34). Silko writes that the human being is responsible for the words that they speak, since those will be carried on.
I forgot to ask a question here:
On pages 57-59, Emo tells a story, and Silko even takes the poetic liberty to put his story into poem form, as she does with other ‘told stories’ throughout the overall story. This is what this group of friends are leaving a legacy to, Emo kind of stories. So my question is: how do you think Tayo could have more productively intervened in the negative and unproductive ceremony that his veteran friends indulge in? He could have had his own lasting legacy, reformed Emo’s story, and made it into one that would change their past and their future. Do you think there was a way that he could’ve approached the conversation with something that they would’ve responded positively to, instead of thinking he was just crazy and drunk and deranged?
When reading Silko’s Ceremony, the pieces that stick out most are Tayo’s mental fallout from war and the emotional pummelling that comes not only from being a part of a minority population, but also from not feeling like you fit with your people. I am reminded (probably because it is on my mind) of the current administration’s attack on LGBTQIA+ folks, especially trans men and women. “The Trump administration is considering narrowly defining gender as a biological, immutable condition determined by genitalia at birth” (Green, New York Times, 2018) In the midst of this war for identity and war for rights, there is mental fallout and emotional pummelling. My question is, how can we look at the world with honest eyes to the condition of our brothers and sisters who are parts of minority populations and once we do, how can we build places and moments of healing (the way that Silko uses storytelling) into our national discourse?
During the first part of Ceremony by Silko, Tako the protagonist is struggling between places in his dream, drifting from one language to the next, and slowly watches his surroundings deteriorate around him.He reflects on his time spent in the many different places hes been in; Laguna, the Philippines. It made me think of sense of place and how the concept is very important, not only to sustainable development but also to Native American cultures. As a person with three distinct different cultural backgrounds, Tayo lives in a very particular social environment.
Could sense of place also consider the social stature of someone? Is Tayo’s sense of place hindered by his diverse background?
**Not Tako, Tayo.** I’m unaware of how to edit
It is important to note that Ken Saro-Wiwa and Leslie Marmon Silko have several integral pillars of thought and moral conscious in common. The similarities they share are the passion and standing that enabled them to write their respective novels, and to put their thoughts and beliefs to paper. Leslie Marmon Silko writes from an open minded point of view in that she does not conform to modern ideals of typical thought, just as Ken Saro-Wiwa lived his life going against the grain of what was expected of him from much of society- both in the name of living their truth. Just as Ken Saro-Wiwa said, “the writer must be…the intellectual man of action” (pg 55). What should be emphasized here is the part on action, the result of what motivated both Ken Saro-Wiwa, as well as Leslie Marmom Silko, to put their non-traditional thoughts to form. In Ceremony, Silko writes of events and memories that are enough to spur action such as the ways that Native American culture has been degraded and chipped away at. Both Saro-Wiwa and Silko, in those similarities they share, have faced marginalization at the hands of other groups of people with power. In the face of this attempted domination, they both show courage to speak up, to fight and to share their truth. At the face of these battles, all it takes is one individual like these two to speak up to create change.
What is it that motivates other individuals to create change or to take action without having their world being questioned, or being pushed to the edge of validity? How is it that such forces of injustice have become the seat in power to rule, to be able to marginalize others?
While there are several main themes and motifs to be found in Ceremony, the most prevalent is the concept of storytelling, and specifically, the storytelling found within Native American culture. Traditionally, stories teachings are passed down orally, and are typically incredibly communal, often resulting in a large gathering of people listen to someone captivate them with their tales or listening attentively to the lessons they’re giving. Often times, this results in a rhythmic tempo and potentially a degree of repetition, which is reflected in the way Ceremony is written, with prose and poetry intertwined throughout.
This method of storytelling also illustrates the relationship between Native Americans and whites at the time, at the consequences of the cultural contact. From the hopefulness and nationalism Tayo felt when meeting with the Army recruiter, to his reluctance to fight, and finally his struggles with readjusting to civilian life; all exemplify the nature of this relationship. That’s not to say that Ceremony is implying the two races would be better off separate, but rather suggest that both Native American and white cultures have common history, and thus can coexist without the need for the supremacy of one over the other, as is demonstrated by Tayo’s struggle to make it in a mostly white world without abandoning his Native American heritage and tradition.
My question is: With today’s world growing more and more diverse, how can we encourage the preservation of tradition and heritage without reinforcing cultural barriers? Or is it more important for different cultures to share and learn from each other, especially if they are part of a larger population, in order to create a unique cultural landscape based on coexistence and cooperation?
Throughout the first couple of pages in the book Ceremony, the reader can feel the intense inner conflict that Tayo struggles with as he tries to understand his place and identity within the multiple cultures that he has been exposed to and expected to adopt. Within this struggle one of the overarching in conflict is Tayo’s struggle with identifying with the English language and its polarization with the “old dialect.” “The word he chose to express “fragile” was filled with the intricacies of a continuing process, and with a strength inherent in spider webs woven across paths through sand hills where early in the morning the sun becomes entangled in each filament of web. It took a long time to explain the fragility and intricacy because no word exists alone, and the reason for choosing each word had to be explained with a story about why it must be said this certain way. That was the responsibility that went with being human, old Ku’oosh said, the story behind each word must be told so there could be no mistake in the meaning of what had been said; and this demanded great patience and love” (32).
I believe that Silko is showing us that the languages we speak not only reflect or express our thoughts but also shape the very thoughts we wish to express, and the structures that exist in our languages profoundly shape how we construct reality. Is the English language and other prominent languages throughout the world flawed in acknowledging our role as environmental stewards of the planet? Is this “responsibility that comes with being human” part of the of the SD goal platform?
In the Ceremony reading by Silko we read a few graphic passages about war. Tayo is fighting in WW2, and in this fighting Tayo has the connection between a Japanese soldier and a loved one back home. In his dream he thinks he has killed Josiah even though he is thousands of miles away. This inability to disconnect himself from his humanity is leading to Tayo suffering, he sees the Japanese soldiers as people, even loved ones.
Do you think this inability to separate himself from humanity is currently causing his suffering. Do you think this connection will be a strength later in his healing?
One of the more noticeable themes throughout the book immediately seen is the connection to dreams. The story is told in a very non-linear weaving fashion, almost as it is a dream. This fits well with the story and subject matter, given the Native American influences in the story.
The amount of internalized racism in this story is absolutely unreal. It seems to always be felt, even when direct white actors are not at play. This is why I appreciate Silko’s other running theme of the book as accepting changes as they come. This message seems to be epitomized in Night Swan, the Mexican women of mixed ancestry who helps Tayo with some of his identity crisis and feelings of isolation. She points out that change is all around everyone all the time, but that scares some people and is what makes them fearful or bigoted of other races or traditions. Rather than looking at his mixed ancestry as a curse, perhaps it can be his source of strength in gaining a new perspective (although it would not save him any grief in the eyes of others, such as Emo).
My question of the week: Is there an easy way to show the average person the boundlessness, necessity, and beauty of perpetual change? Or is it something that everyone needs to find for themselves in their own way?
In the beginning of Ceremony we are given an inside view of the way Tayo views the actions that are taking place in the chapter. When we read on page six and seven, Tayo is surrounded by the idea that killing for a purpose is okay and it is almost as if he is being desensitized to the fact that the soldiers are murdering other people. On page 7 when Tayo is ordered to kill the surrendered Japanese soldiers and has a dream or hallucination that he is seeing his uncle Josiah. As a soldier it is important to view the enemy as exactly that, an enemy. However, when a soldier begins to realize that the goal of their killing is not their own, but people who are in power. This realization brings Tayo back to the idea that people do matter, that people are people and the killing they are doing is wrong. On page 13 Tayo begins to show his true expressions from what he has been through, what he has seen and how it has affected his mind. In order for him to forget the things he has seen and dealt with, the writings describes how he is disassociated from himself by being pumped full of drugs and told how he should heal.
Does this reading show us a realization of humility and is that realization something that could be used in SD? In other words does it take a realization of the importance of human life and connection to cause people to see the issues that exist?
Racism and xenophobia are toxic, we all know that. While it is one of the most extreme examples of disrespect, it is also so much more. These ideals often stem from fear of the unknown or misunderstood. Behavior based upon both racism and xenophobia is so much more than isolation and/or direct violence, it is truly detrimental to all groups for many reasons. We can see on pages 29 and 30 of “Ceremony” that such ideals can create indirect violence, too. When Tayo comes home from being treated by white doctors, he still is not well. His grandmother suggests that they are not truly helping him and that she wants him to see a medicine man. This, too, is problematic. Because Tayo does not have full native blood there is risk of judgement and/or refusal if he attempts to seek care from the medicine man. He is stuck in between, and this sort of indirect attack and judgement is directly affecting Tayo’s health and wellbeing. Where do we see similar social issues today? Think about current immigration politics and similar sociopolitical issues such as gentrification.
Leslie Silko is not afraid of diving into the heavy stuff right at the beginning of her book. She writes about Tayo’s extreme PTSD and his family’s attempts to take care of him. Tayo remembers some of the horrible memories of the war in great detail. Harley seems to be handling his own post-war issues by drinking more. This story really touches on a lot of problems that are very real in the world, but one of the ideas that stood out to me was something talked about by the medicine man, Ku’oosh. During his healing ceremony with Ku’oosh the idea of “white warfare” (33), comes up. This new type of warfare is much different than any kind that Ku’oosh is familiar with. Tayo is unsure whether he killed anybody or not because they had guns and most of the combat took place from long distances. Ku’oosh is used to the “old way of warfare” (33), where it is all up close and there would be no way to be unsure about anything. Ku’oosh cannot understand the way Tayo is feeling because this new type of warfare is completely unknown to him, and because of this Ku’oosh tells Tayo that, “there are some things we can’t cure like we used to,… not since the white people came”(35). This brings up a question about the disconnect between generations. Thoreau talked about how we should not trust what our elders say, but rather we should experience life for ourselves, but for Tayo, he holds on to the old stories he was told as a child so intensely that when he sees the disconnect between himself and the old ways that Ku’oosh knows, he is devastated. How should we use the experiences and knowledge our elder’s pass down to us in our own lives? At what point is it okay to renounce their ideas and mark them as outdated? How is this different in extremely traditional cultures, like the one Tayo is living in, versus a less traditional culture like we have today?
As I was reading Ceremony, the thing that stood out to me so heavily was the pain of Silko’s words and the urgency that she portray’s through Tayo’s thoughts and emotions. He really embodies who Silko is, coming from both Native American and white descent, both Silko and Tayo share a connection deeper than just struggle. As the book explains that Silko wrote ceremony during a difficult and dark time in her life, she really expresses this through Tayo and his experiences and emotions. Is it possible to thoroughly heal through the creative process of writing, putting our pain and concentrating it onto another character? Does it make it more difficult, articulating it into thought and words, the struggle and pain that we are facing or does Silko use it as a freeing agent?
In the first section of the book, Tayo struggles with his own identity as he sees people around him. For example, when he sees the Japanese man, he doesn’t want to kill him, and doesn’t think of him as the enemy. Rocky, on the other hand, is the opposite. He doesn’t hesitate to kill the enemy. Tayo can see through “the fog of war” and sees each person as they are. Tayo also struggles with his own identity when he is in the hospital and on drugs. He fells like he cant speak and is surrounded by a haze. He feels trapped in this area because he doesn’t feel like this is his home. But, ironically, they first attempt at healing him traditional doesn’t do him much good.
My question is this: Why does Tayo see people in war differently? What kind of upbringing made him like this and made Rocky the opposite?
In “Ceremony the main character Tayo visits a modern doctor about his post traumatic stress brought on by his service in World War II. “For a long time he had been white smoke”(13). While in this state Tayo was hollow and describes only seeing things in outlines while in the hospital. This trauma is the result of an incident where he was told to execute Japanese soldiers but he saw his family in the men and could not fire his rifle.The prescriptions and medications the doctors give Tayo do not help his condition. This inability for modern doctors to help Tayo drives him to seek more traditional help. The incident that scared him left Tayo traumatized as he had more empathy for the enemy than any of the other soldiers did. Tayo did not dehumanize the enemy like many of the others he had a connection with them. In that situation many of the soldiers did dehumanized the enemy allowing them to commit executions unlike Tayo. This connection Tayo felt to the Japanese soldier when others did not is a representation of his culture realizing the interconnectedness of humanity. Tayo embraces his Native American culture while Rocky rejects it being complicit in the executions and fast to follow whatever the others are doing despite his traditional upbringing. In simple terms you could argue that one was simply more American than the other. Going off the differences displayed between Tayo’s empathy and Rocky what connections does this allude to about the influences society, predominately a Western one, use to coerce people to assimilate and follow the ideals, patriotism, and sentiments of the country even if the views involve killing?
Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko begins with a few poems that brings the readers insight on the culture of Native American story telling and how stories are shared and remembered. What I drew from these poems were that there is not one author who is speaking throughout this book, but there are many stories being shared through different lenses. I was taken back by the first chapter of the intensity of Tayo’s PTSD and how Rocky responded to Tayo thinking the Japanese solider he was shooting was Josiah. I was very much intrigued in how Rocky had given in to the colonialist ideas of dehumanization and how he truly believed that this was what they were “supposed” to be doing. It was obvious that Tayo had felt differently about giving into believing that he should be killing these other humans. I am interested in the psychological effects of the colonialist ideas being pressed onto Native Americans and not only this specific scenario but any scenario where your ideals are being deeply challenged and removed and how easy it is for humans to give into that or not?
In Ceremony, Silko examines the way nature and western science interact through metaphor and physical explorations of the human psyche. Through experiences of war and trauma we see reflected major themes of trauma due to colonization and dehumanization. Silko uses these topics to present PTSD, depression, and other results of trauma. The book title “Ceremony” is a description of so many of the things in the book. More than just physical ceremonies for healing or understanding, the ceremonies of storytelling, the ceremonies of family, and the ceremonies of death are all explored in Silko’s writing. Does Tayo, one of the main characters of the book, use ceremony as a distraction from the horrors in front of him and as a form of healing? Or are the ceremonies in Silko’s writing as real and true as the physical things happening? Does Tayo represent the balance of ceremony and reality? Does his reality call to question whether the ceremonies in his life are useful or whether he should lean on his whiteness for healing?
When we first start reading Ceremony, we assume that Tayo is primarily suffering from PTSD from his time fighting in WW2. As the story progresses, however, we come to realize that much of his sickness comes from his position at the center of two worlds: the traditional, ancestral culture of the Laguna people and the modern, Western culture of white people. In the process of healing, Tayo uses his memories and stories to bring him some type of peace in the face of the massive changes occurring all around him on the reservation and in his life. While the modern, violent world seems to hurt Tayo, exploring how he fits into the traditional past (and how he will support its perpetuity) brings him some form of redemption. Despite this seeming polarity, the first healing ceremony performed by Ku’oosh, which was very traditional, failed to heal Tayo while the ceremony of Betonie, which was more modern, had more success. What does this say about Tayo’s character development as well as the need for adjustments in the face of change? What role does Tayo play for the two opposing worlds?
In the first section of Ceremony, we see Tayo’s conflict of identity, being both Native American and white. We also see his prejudice resulting from the war and the white imperialist ideals ingrained in him and the racism he picked up during his time in the war. On page 18, Tayo collapses in the train station and is approached by a Japanese women trying to help him. After they leave him, he refers to them as “Those people” to the depot man and said, “I thought they locked them up,” (Silko, 18). This particular scene demonstrates Tayo’s “brainwashing” by white people and his time in the war. How does this racism translate to Tayo’s own identity and view of himself?
The idea of ritual comes up a lot in this first part of Ceremony. Every time a new phase of their time at the bar takes place, it is called the next step in “the ritual”. It is interesting because ritual has connotations of sacredness rather than a night at the bar. But for the group at the bar, this reminds them of the comradery and sense of support and home in some ways. The ritual has a certain level of importance to everyone involved, which we can see when they desperately try to get Tayo to stop talking badly about the war or the military, and instead try to get him to have a good time and feel the way they felt in the old days.
What is Silko trying to accomplish or show us by using the term ritual like this? What does Tayo’s break in the ritual mean?
I really love that Ceremony begins with three poems which sort of set the tone of Silko’s mentality throughout the novel. Following is a page with only the word “sunrise” and then the novel begins. It becomes clear that the character “Tayo”, who fought in World War 2, is now suffering from major PTSD. He has terrible dreams which haunt him as he also struggles with separating his dreams and reality. His thoughts are very scattered and confused which only upsets him. PTSD is a very sad subject but I’m glad it is being discussed here because without discussion of it people like Tayo feel even more isolated. Tayo has many feelings of confusion, isolation and self doubt because of his PTSD and it impacts him greatly in his every day life. My question is, would Tayo struggle so greatly with his identity had he not fought in the war?
In Ceremony, Silko uses incredible detail, and slightly complicated sequencing, to share the life of Tayo, a half white, half Native American man who has experienced several traumatic events as a child and as an American soldier in the Japanese war. His mixed race has been met with contempt from both ethnic groups, neither seeing him as a true member of their community. As a result, Tayo struggles to find purpose in his life, and furthermore struggles with the balance between traditional Native American culture and white culture. Tayo is strong in sticking to what his grandmother has taught him, but Rocky’s persistence in being accepted by the white society and his strong support for modern science are conflicting. This difference is explicitly expressed in the ways that Tayo and Rocky respond to the demands of the war. Whereas Rocky prides himself on the number of Japanese people killed, even going so far to remove the teeth of one soldier, Tayo claims to have not killed anyone that he knows of. Despite not having killed anyone directly, Tayo experiences extreme PTSD in the form of nightmares, hallucinations, vomiting fits, and sudden violent outbursts (although these have often been instigated by racial discrimination towards him). On the other hand, Rocky is boastful about the men he has killed, and expresses no remorse whatsoever. Tayo is unable to kill the “enemy” because he sees his very own family in their faces–he recognizes humanity in each of them, whereas Rocky has been brainwashed with the idealized American dream and desire to win.
Rocky is entirely Native American and Tayo is only half, yet Rocky is more dedicated to the war than Tayo. I think this proves that race has nothing to do with what one desires or supports in life, at least in this story. This idea makes me think about the current voter suppression in states like North Dakota with high Native American populations, who are now ineligible to vote because they do not permanent addresses on reservations. Throughout reading this text, I thought a lot about how we have manipulated minority groups, particularly Native Americans, depending on the political atmosphere. For example, during the war when we needed soldiers to fight, Native Americans were encouraged to take the chance to show how much they love America, our country and their country. However, now that it has been shown that as a minority group they are more likely to vote a certain way, they have lost their ability to participate in our government. Tayo is very aware of the changes in white peoples attitudes towards him during and after the war.
Why do Rocky and Tayo have different perspectives on the war, even though they were raised in the same house? Are there other factors, besides different racial experiences and upbringing, that can affect one’s position on morality towards other humans? How important is it that we adopt Tayo’s ideas of interconnectedness (in nature, among humans, and between the two) and universal humanity? Are these ideas necessary for SD?
I’m interested in the dynamics of collectivity and individuality that Silko seems to be playing with in Ceremony. When Tayo first talks to Ku’oosh, Ku’oosh takes time to explain the fragility of the world, clarifying terminology very specifically. He says that he does this because no word exists alone, and because it is the responsibility of being human to tell the stories behind each word so that there is no mistake in meaning. He says that it is very important to “all of us” that Tayo get well, “for this fragile world” (33). Ku’oosh also says that “I am afraid of what will happen to all of us if you and the others don’t get well.” This suggests that there is a consequence to Tayo’s illness that is greater than Tayo as an individual. What does this suggest about the manner in which Tayo must heal? What does it say about the nature of injury, war, and what may be termed mental illness upon the collective? What is wrong with Tayo?
Similar questions arise for me when reading about Tayo’s belief that he brought a drought into existence after praying the water away for Rocky’s safety. What responsibility rests with Tayo? What is the difference between his belief and the cause of the drought? Is there a difference? His beliefs that he caused the drought apparently originate with Josiah, who said that “the old people used to say that droughts happen when people forget, when people misbehave.” What does this suggest about the relationship between earth, individual, and collective? What kind of “misbehavior” causes droughts? What can we learn about collective and individual responsibility from Ceremony?
On page 37 at the bottom of the page Tayo states “White women never looked at me until I put on that uniform, and then by God I was a U.S. Marine and they came crowding around. All during the war they’d say to me, ‘Hey soldier, you sure are handsome. All that black thick hair.’ ‘Dance with me,’ the blonde girl said….I mean those white women fought over me. Yeah, they did really! I went home with a blonde one time. She had a ’38 Buick. Good car. She let me drive it all the way.”
This passage speaks to the way white culture accepts outsiders who assimilate to their norms. It was after Tayo became a Marine, a position of respect within American society that white women started to pay attention to him. It was when he ascribed to a position taken by their friends, brothers, fathers, and lovers that they were able to see him in the same light, as a man. And yet, they still have to point out his non-whiteness, they feel the need to comment on his hair. I think this is a fitting commentary on the way white culture has always responded to groups they have worked to dominate or oppress. White culture strives to force its values and norms on other groups of people, but it is never quite enough. Comments about hair, skin tone, speech patterns and other factors still prevail as a form of quiet discrimination and oppression. In essence, we forced millions of people to “become white” and then constantly criticized them for not being “white enough”. I believe this is a recurrent theme throughout the novel as Tayo battles the white smoke in himself.
The PTSD that Tayo experiences from the war continuously had me thinking of my Uncle Tommy who fought in the Vietnam War when he was in his late teens. My mom remembers when he returned being faced every night with nightmares and restless sleep. Screaming and crying day and night, not being able to block out the sounds, visons, and feelings he experienced. He did not talk about it to anyone when he was younger, and he still does not address the war or its impact on him. He has been a functioning alcoholic since he was in his forties. His PTSD still haunts his mind and dreams as he reaches his 70’s. And for what? I do not know his feelings on the war, whether he despises the American actions taken for “patriotic justice” or if he knows that his service was part of maintaining world “peace” for others. It hurts me so much to know that he had to do those things and there’s no way to take away those images and feelings he continuously lives with in his mind.
Tayo’s actions to addressing his PTSD and his actions moving forward now that he is home is a very different narrative, as the representation of destruction and fight for control in WW2 is parallel with how white society has controlled and hurt Native Americans yet it is viewed in entirely different ways. He takes the process of addressing his internal pain and experiences to putting towards alleviating the social impacts put upon Native society.
My question is can people who resonate with the wars they were a part of address social issues created by them with the same ideas in mind as Tayo? Like can people both accept the meaning of their actions and the meaning of war and still fully be addressing social issues that are a result of violence and war?
Throughout the beginning of Ceremony, we can feel the metaphorical essence of Tayo’s everyday experiences, those that manifest within the mind and occur simultaneously with the perceived world. We begin to understand the pain and confusion that comes with pressured individuality in a world of racial, ethnic, and cultural divisions, while also manifesting one’s true sense of community. When the doctor is speaking to Tayo, he says “ ‘He can’t talk to you. He is invisible. His words are formed with an invisible tongue, they have no sound.’” (Silko 15). This represents the sense of powerlessness and lack of agency that not only comes along with Tayo’s PTSD, but the representation of the lacking of health in the world and in the greater global community. Tayo’s floating through time and space with the current of the fog/white smoke can help us understand the fragility of the human spirit when faced with aggression and hatred. What, specifically, does the white smoke represent for us currently?
Ceremony and A Month and A Day & Letters can have competing ideas. Both being such powerful stories, I see the correlation of healing between Tayo and Ken Saro-Wiwa. Personally I feel as if Saro-Wiwa in his writing was coming to terms with the idea that he was not going to be able to be such a strong pronate figure in the change that was needed in the Niger river delta with the Ogoni People. Then with Tayo his healing of learning to love the land and earth and use the power of those things to appreciate what life has to offer.
How can learning to heal be important in life and when dealing with the changing nature of society? How does the Sustainable Development provoke the idea of healing?