Ceremony

Author:  Leslie Marmon Silko is only half Native American.  Knowing this helps readers understand Tayo’s struggle in the liminal space, as he too is only half Native American. 

Setting:  Laguna where Tayo and his family live.  In Laguna we see Tayo in bars and his home and also in the mountains.  Each setting is a significant symbol.  For instance the mountains are where spirits are so it is only natural that Tayo goes there for part of the ceremony.  There are also glimpses of Tayo in the Philippines at war.  He is in the jungle, which rains constantly, and where he has to fight for his life and take other’s lives.

Plot:  

• Tayo is trying to find himself and is trying to fit in with Native Americans.
• Tayo’s mother becomes pregnant with him by a non-Native American man.  Auntie refuses to accept Tayo as her own and make sure there is a distinction between him and Rocky. 
• Before the war Tayo has encountered Night Swan who is a yellow woman,
• Rocky and Tayo sign up for the war together but Rocky is killed.
• Tayo is said to have PTSD but the Natives think his issue is something else.  After being in the hospital Tayo returns to Laguna and becomes hopeless as he lies in bed all day.  When he regains his strength he hangs out with his old friends and they go to bars and drink while they remember when they used to be something. 
• Old Ku’oosh who is a Native medicine man visits Tayo and starts the process healing Tayo.  This, however, is not enough so Tayo is sent to Betonie who truly begins the Ceremony
• Tayo feels that he must go find the Josiah’s cattle and carryout Josiah’s plans.  While in the mountains searching for cattle Tayo meets Ts’eh who is a yellow woman and he falls in love with her.  She and the mountain lion protect Tayo.
• After the cattle have been returned Tayo goes to stay near where Ts’eh is.  During his absence Emo spreading rumors about Tayo’s sanity.  As a result Tayo must hide from Emo and his men, and while he is walking along a rode Harley and Leroy pick him up.  At first Tayo thinks that they are still his friends but soon comes to the realization that they have turned against him.  After escaping Tayo runs to an old mine.  Eventually Emo and his men arrive, they pull Harley out of the truck and begin to mutilate and torcher him.  Through strength from yellow woman Tayo remains where he is and is restrained from saving Harley.  This is when the ceremony is complete.

Characters:

Tayo:  He is cousins to Rocky and he is struggling for his identity.  He is only half Native American so he is not fully accepted by the tribe, his family, and himself.  Tayo respects Native culture and learns to embrace it.

Rocky:  He is Auntie and Robert’s son and Tayo’s cousin.  He shows true friendship toward Tayo especially when he refers to Tayo as his brother.  He is all about the American way and rejecting Native culture.

Auntie:  She cares about what people think and she wants people to feel sympathy for all her burdens in life.  She adores Rocky and plans for him to achieve what no other Native has, success in the white world.  She is married to Robert and Rocky is her son. 

Josiah:  He is Auntie’s brother and a father figure to Tayo.  He has wisdom and someone who helps and directs Tayo’s life even after he (Josiah) is dead.

Betonie:  He truly begins Tayo’s healing as he encourages Tayo to fulfill the ceremony.  He is a medicine and has much experience and authority.

Ts’eh:  She is a yellow woman and guides/strengthens Tayo.  She is seen in the sky when Tayo is in the mine when he has to restrain himself.

Emo:  He is jealous of Tayo and is immersed in witchery.  He is angry that he is not white and does not have the same opportunity as whites do and because of this he is bitter and resents Tayo who is half white.

•        The narrative voice is from Tayo’s perspective.  Due to it being from his perspective the tone often shifts from depressed to hopeful as Tayo struggles with his two identities and tries to find a place where he is accepted.  To help convey what is occurring in the story Silko uses poems about ancient Native stories.  These stories are the “backbone” of the novel and reinforce the theme of storytelling.  They provide clarification as to why certain things are happening.  The imagery in the poems, especially when describing the witches, helps the reader understand the story more thoroughly.  Not only are there poems but the story is also all over the place.  Tayo’s mind is thinking about his childhood at one moment and the war the next.  These are flashbacks and at the end, all of the flashbacks put together show Tayo’s life and struggles and how he has grown to accept himself.  Josiah even though he is dead helps Tayo complete the ceremony.  Part of Tayo’s struggle was from feeling guilty about the cattle.  These cattle symbolize the stolen clouds and the resulting drought.  Tayo claims responsibility for this, thus it is his burden and the novel focuses on him discovering a dichotomy between white ways and Native ways.

Quotes:

·       “They never thought to blame the 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 the white people who took it away again when the war was over”.

o   This quote sums up the issue between whites and Natives.  The Natives blame themselves for their problems but in reality the white are at fault.  Tayo understands that Natives will never be accepted and that natives would be better off if they stopped treating whites as gods.

·       “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”.

o   This shows the circular symbolism.  All the stories are interconnected and all are a part of the stories; everyone plays a role.  Tayo has to learn that he is a part of the story and has a role to play.

Theme:  Throughout Silko’s novel Ceremony the idea that Tayo is stuck in the liminal space is reinforced as Tayo struggles to reconcile the two cultures to which he belongs.

•        The majority of the story takes place on Native soil but portions of the story take place in the Philippines and on white people’s land.  This is significant because it shows the difference between the two cultures.  While on Native soil Tayo is expected to follow Native tradition, however, when he is at war or being assimilated into American culture his orders are contrary to Native ways.  The setting is such that Native are prevented, literally by barbed wire, from entering white territory.  Inequality is conveyed through the setting.
•        The plot of the story revolves around Tayo trying to find where he belongs.  After years of facing discrimination for being half white Tayo tries to bring his two cultures together.  During his journey he discovers who witches are and their intent on destroying the world.  As Tayo is in the liminal space Emo attempts to destroy him, however, through help from yellow woman Tayo is able to complete the ceremony.
•       Ceremony as the title informs readers that there will be a ceremony throughout the novel.  The purpose of this ceremony is to cure Tayo and from this he learns that he is an equal and that he too is a part of the story.  Due to going through the ceremony Tayo no longer feels trapped in the liminal space.
•        The narrative voice is in third person and it is hard to follow at times.  Similarily Tayo’s life is hard to follow because he is confused about who he is.
•       Silko uses poems throughout the novel to explain what is occurring in the story.  The poems are the backbone and reinforce the idea that the stories repeat themselves.  The poems give reason for Tayo’s struggles and explain why Tayo takes a certain course of action.  The poems guide Tayo through the ceremony.
•        The tone of the novel is melancholy yet also hopeful.  The story is from Tayo’s perspective so it is only natural that it is Tayo’s emotions that direct the story.  For example when Tyao is discouraged because he feel that he will never be accepted and find a way out the tone is melancholy as opposed to when he is in love and excited the tone is hopeful.
•         Imagery used to describe the division in the land between native and white territory depicts and image of isolation and inequality.  Tayo cuts the wire and creates a hole.  This is Tayo bridging the two cultures through himself and taking charge.
•       Circles are a symbol for the reoccurring stories in Ceremony.  Tayo is in the liminal space and is struggling to find a place in one of the worlds.  During the ceremony he learns that he has importance and the constant occurrence of the stories involve him and everyone else.  Every story is the same but it is retold