Tayo's Identity In Ceremony

The inherent desire to belong to a group is one that is fundamental to human nature. In his article “Evolution and Our Inner Conflict,” Edward O. Wilson writes, “A person’s membership in his group – his tribe – is a large part of his identity.” Wilson explores multilevel group selection and the proclivity for people to define themselves based on their belonging to the group. He goes on to say that people often form these groups with those who look like them and belong to the same culture or ethnic group. In the novels Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko and The Puttermesser Papers by Cynthia Ozick, the identities of the protagonist are predominantly shaped by the ethnicities and heritages that they identify with. The identity of Tayo, the protagonist of the novel Ceremony is largely shaped by his ethnicity as both a Native American and part white. Tayo’s background leads directly to his own identity as an outsider and is central to the storyline. In the novel The Puttermesser Papers by Cynthia Ozick, the title character Puttermesser’s identity and

Tayo and his cousin Rocky grew up together practically as brothers and attended a school where they were taught by whites. Curiously, it was Rocky who denounced the Native American traditions and wanted to leave the community and to “win in the white outside world” (Silko 47). Traditions such as covering the head of the deer after hunting, was something that Tayo believed in and followed, along with other Native American traditions that Rocky, a full-blooded Native American, declared as superstition. Tayo, being half white, could have just as easily as Rocky worked toward a place in the city with white men, but because of his mixed identity, Tayo always thought of himself as an outsider. He felt even less at home with the white men, because he grew up around Native American culture and