An Analysis Of Leslie Silko's Ceremony

A ceremony could have many or very little steps, however many steps a ceremony has, it could be stated that the journey through the ceremony is much more important than it’s purpose. Leslie Silko’s novel, Ceremony, is the story of returning to one’s roots. This is done by playing into the bleak reality of the assimilation of Native American tribes and how destructive this assimilation was to the Native American culture. The novel attempts to portray a realistic perspective of the actuality of the Native American life through the eyes of a biracial man, Tayo, who is a half caucasian, half Laguna man, as he struggles to come to terms with the past, while simultaneously grappling with the question of where his life is headed. Tayo embodies the

two intersecting cultures because of his mixed ethnicities, an aspect which he must struggle with as he is not fully accepted into either culture. He could, therefore, be seen as a man who lacks a personal identity; he is lost, treading on the border of the two cultures but never falling completely into either. Silko’s writing paints a picture of the underbelly of the American ideals; America, where freedom is it’s slogan, also blatantly discriminates against and undermines its indigenous people. Ceremony is not only the story of Tayo’s journey and his own personal ceremony ending in his assimilation back into society, but it also represents the Native American’s own assimilation into a society which has rejected them.
Ceremony follows Tayo’s personal journey of assimilation not only into society but also into his own, enabling Tayo to come to terms to events which he had experienced.

It can be seen that there are small shifts in Tayo’s life which requires him to readjust himself in order to adapt with what is being required and expected of him. Within the story it can be seen that there are three major changes within Tayo’s life: the first time being when Tayo’s mother leaves him with her sister; forcing him to adjust to the expectations of his aunt and the expectations of the rest of the family. The second major adjustment that Tayo experiences is how status in the community changes when he enlists in the army. Lastly, there is Tayo’s final shift of once again becoming part of society as a mixed-Laguna

man.
There are quite a few references to Tayo’s childhood throughout Ceremony, many of which illustrate Tayo’s hardships of living a life on the Laguna reservation as a biracial child who is consequently seen differently in the community as well as treated differently when at home. As a child, Tayo’s Aunt as well as his community, were constant reminders that he was not entirely one of them — for instance when asked if Tayo and his cousin Rocky were brothers, Tayo’s Aunt quickly states “‘They’re not brothers [.…] that’s Laura’s boy. You know the one’” (65). This purposeful separation of the two boys parallels the separation of her pride (Rocky) and her shame for her sister(Tayo). Tayo’s Aunt, however, takes her shame out on Tayo; publicly and privately dismissing him as a member of the family. By being treated in such a way, Tayo begins to feel the separation between him and the rest of the community; bringing him closer to understanding that his acceptance in the community is contingent upon his familial connection to his Aunt. Although Tayo is treated differently than Rocky, when there is no one in the house except for his Aunt, Tayo finds balance and understanding in the way his Aunt treats him. On the other hand, this unfair treatment that Tayo endures and Rocky witnesses never effects the mutual respect and understanding between the two boys. If anything it strengthens their bond, especially in a time of need, as can be seen by their inseparability during their time together in the army. Rocky and Tayo’s bond is strengthened when Rocky inmates the notion of brotherhood when asking the army recruiter if they would be allowed to stay together throughout their training and supposedly the war, “And my brother [….], Can we stay together?”(65) Through this action, Rocky eradicates the invisible barrier that his mother had constructed between the two.
Tayo’s position in society is altered drastically once he joins the army, opening his eyes to the inequality that he and other Native Americans had to endure at the hands of the whites. By joining the army Tayo and other Native Americans were finally allowed to taste the America which everyone wanted to be part of. They were, for once, treated the same as the white men — creating the illusion that the Native Americans who were serving their country were now first class citizens, when in reality everything was still the same. By joining the military Native Americans “had the uniform and they didn't look different no more. They got respect” (42). The uniform temporarily erased the Native American-ness, allowing the illusion that Tayo and the rest of the Native Americans were finally becoming part of the white world. However, with the ending of the war, this illusion disappeared with it. This is a reality that Tayo uncovers once the war has ended, making him painfully aware of the inequality which he is surrounded by; an inequality which he had fought for in the war. Yet this was a fact that the rest of the Native Americans were ignoring.
These Indians fucked white women, they had as much as they wanted too. They were MacArthur’s boys; white whores took their money same as anyone…
See these dumb Indians thought these good times would last. They didn't ever want to give up the cold beer and the blonde cunt […] They were America the Beautiful too…
The war was over, the uniform was gone.

All of a sudden that man at the store waits on you last, makes you wait until all the white people bought what they wanted. 41-42
These are the truths the group is not allowing themselves to see or to admit. They are determined to live in the same manner as they had during the war; within the illusion that they are still equal to the whites. The apparent frustration that Tayo displays in this scene is not only Tayo’s frustration, but the daily frustration of the Native American people. By fighting the war, Tayo, and the many more Native Americans, were fighting for a country that did not treat the indigenous people as equal, first class citizens.
Silko strategically uses Emo and Tayo in order to illustrate the two paths which could be taken after a traumatizing ordeal such as war. Emo embodies the man who lives in the past, ignoring the obvious signs of a changing time; or in this case Emo is ignoring the signs that everything in his life is returning to how it was pre-war. Whereas Tayo represents the man who is able to shift with the tides, by allowing himself to accept that brining him closer to the Laguna people than he had been previously. When faced with the reality that things are returning to how it was pre-war, Emo and the rest of the group are forcibly faced with the fact that the good times were not coming

back.
Emo hated him. Because he spoiled it for them. Here they were trying to get back the good times, […] trying to bring back that mold feeling, that feeling they belonged to America the way they felt during the war. They blamed themselves for losing the new feeling; they never talked about it, but they claimed themselves just like they blamed themselves for losing the land the white people took. […] They 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. 42-43
This is a representation of the frustration many Native Americans felt, and their attempts at being accepted as part of the white community. However, Tayo realizes that these attempts were futile. They weren't wanted within the white community; therefore it was time to move on and accept their own heritage and culture. The internal struggle which Tayo and Emo experience in order to find solace is a representation of the struggle that all men who returned from the war are subjected to.
The ending of the war brought Tayo closer to his roots and heritage, as it allowed him to fully experience and embrace the traditional ceremonies that would help him heal, emotionally, from the results of war. Upon returning from the war, Tayo uses alcohol as a crutch in order to come to terms with his experiences as it allows him to cry and vomit freely. Through crying and vomiting, Tayo is purging the sadness for his people, the war, the death, and the feeling guilt from within his body and soul. “They don't know he’s crying for them”(43), the Native Americans with their heads in the clouds thinking that they’ll be able to continue the white life they lived while in the army. They’re unaware that his sadness does not stem from the wars casualties, but from the inequality in his home, The tears that flows are for his own people and himself. Because of the war, Tayo is drawn closer to his family, especially his Aunt. “Auntie stared at him the way she always had, reaching inside him with her eyes, calling up the past as if it were his future too, as if things would always be the same for him. They both knew then she would keep him and take are of him all the months he would lie in a bed too weak to walk. This time she would keep him because he was all she had left” (29). With the death of Rocky, the barrier between Tayo and his Aunt falls. They are now on equal ground as they both mourn Rocky’s death equally. Tayo’s recovery happens when, at the encouragement of his Grandmother, he accepts a Laguna medicine man to help him with his illness. Tayo’s physical illness is a reflection of his emotional distress, however through ceremonies Tayo slowly begins to embrace his heritage, which leads to recovery.
In conclusion there are many steps and levels in Tayo’s personal ceremony that he is unknowingly participating in. The processes which Tayo take in order to mentally and physically heal from his ordeals are all, in a sense, small ceremonies- bringing him closer to closure. The story starts with sunrise, a metaphor for the start of a new journey. Symbolically starting the ceremony that will lead to Tayo’s recovery. By ending the story with the sunrise, Silko artfully signifies the end of the ceremony, through the opening of a new day, a new journey and a new experience. Unlike in the opening sentences, this time Tayo is ready to take the step into the new day.