...In Ceremony, Tayo embodies the combination of both Native American and white cultures. Taking on two cultures makes Tayo bear the effect of a whole society’s confusion at the ways in which the world is changing. Tayo encounters difficulty in identifying his identity, especially since he never knew his father and he was abandoned by his mother at the age of four. He is raised by his aunt who constantly reminds him of his difference. Tayo is educated by a predominately ran white school. However, unlike his friends, he often finds the white ways of life damaged and continues to respect and believe in the Native American traditions that he learns from his family. However, even though Tayo views the white ways of life faulty, he learns that he has to embrace the American culture in order to reflect back to his Native American culture. This explanation is what Tayo learns about being an American. Furthermore, World War II interrupts Tayo's life drastically as it does to most Americans of his generation. The majority of the Native American men who return from World War II turn to alcohol to drown their trauma, which is full of confused anger. More specifically, Tayo along with his cousin Rocky were in World War II. Rocky was killed in war and Tayo became emotionally disturbed. Tayo was more violent when he came back from war. He was disoriented and changed by the foreign culture of war. His aunt who watches over him is still in shock and continues to change the sheets for her two...
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...Ceremony begins in 1945 as Tayo arrives home to New Mexico, a veteran of World War II. This postmodern narrative stories our protagonist’s journey in finding peace within himself, his family, and his community at the Laguna Pueblo reservation. Born from a white father and a Native American mother, Tayo’s complicated heritage makes him feel ashamed and alienated from the culture for which he grows up in; he is neither truly white, nor Laguna. By interweaving traditional Native American poetry into the prose of the novel, Leslie Marmon Silko is able to tell a powerful account of this man’s quest to defeat his “virulent afflictions” through a traditional ceremony. This ceremony helps Tayo to reach a resolution, one that rids him of both his despair...
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...When the past has eroded ones will to carry through because it has only resulted in a loss of identity, what does one do to live, not just exist in a world? Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko introduces Tayo, a wounded veteran of World War II that is suffering from what was then called “battle fatigue,” better known as post-traumatic stress disorder in today’s society (33). Tayo attempts to combat daily life by resorting to alcohol and violence. His family brings in spiritual renewals and ceremony recoveries to help tackle the “battle fatigue.” While the rituals, in the beginning, failed Tayo in efforts to a stronger self, the ending ceremonies did justice for him, however, it is through deep analysis of Silko’s addition of animals that benefited Tayo’s growth and gave him reason to live. To understand what is wrong in Tayo’s life, it’s important to acknowledge the white man’s world and how they viewed men of a different race, in particular, American Indians. During the years of World War II, the only color that each person saw was green, the same color each of Tayo’s fellow marines wore. Skin color was something to put behind them, in the meantime at least. However, when discussing the difference in...
Words: 1830 - Pages: 8
