Is Ayah's Connection With Nature In Leslie Marmon Silkos Lullaby

“She sat down with her back against the wide cottonwood tree, feeling the rough bark on her back bones; she faced east and listened to the wind and snow sing a high-pitched Yeibechei song. Out of the wind she felt warmer, and she could watch the wide fluffy snow fill in her tracks, steadily, until the direction she had come from was gone.” (225) From the beginning of Leslie Marmon Silkos’ essay “Lullaby”, you can tell the character has a connection with nature; it gives them a sense of a calming ease. The main character of this short story is Ayah, who has a strong connection with nature. The connection that Ayah has with nature helps her understand the environment around her; she’s able to detect whether something is right or wrong within

her surroundings. However her connection with nature is also a disadvantage because she has a weaker connection with people because of it.

What does Ayahs’ connection to nature have to do wit the story? As you read, “Lullaby” you’re faces with a reoccurring theme of nature in the story; which hints the significance of the relationship Ayah has with nature. From the birth of her first child Jimmie, to tucking her husband Chato in Jimmies’ blanket; nature has a role. It’s also an escape, and the only thing that is consistent in her life.

Many times in Ayahs’ life she needed and escape from reality.

She had two ways of escaping: mentally and physically. Ayah escaped mentally with her memories, and physically by running up to the hills. In my opinion the hills play a major role in Ayahs’ life; it’s the only place where she can be clear of thought. Thus adding more validity the relation of Ayah and nature. Whenever Ayah escaped to the hills—whether it was to run away from the doctors, or ignore Chato—¬¬she felt a sense of relief and refuge there. For example when she ran up the hills with her children. “She stayed up in the hills for the rest of the day, sitting on a black lava boulder in the sunshine where she could see for miles all around her.” “The sun warmth relaxed her and took the fear and anger away.” (227) The anxiety of the world is alleviated when Ayah goes to a natural

environment.

Despite Ayah having a strong relationship with nature, she has weaker relationship with people in her life. There are a couple factors that make this claim true, for instance: lack of people in her life, oppression and just the love for nature. The claim is true, when you recall that she doesn’t have anyone to talk to, or be herself with. All her children are dead and so is her mother. The only person she has in her life is Chato, but there is no communication between them after the Danny and Ella are taken. Ayah is all by herself, which is why her relationship becomes even stronger with nature, as she ages.

In case its not obvious Ayah is oppressed, she’s oppressed because of her socioeconomic status, and most importantly her lack of knowing the English language.

The socioeconomic status doesn’t only affect her, but her family too. Her family is forced to live in the shack that was given to them by Chatos’ employer, who was probably underpaid because of the circumstance they were in. However Ayahs’ main problem was she didn’t know how to speak English, which is why she’s unable to communicate with anyone other than Chato. The oppression of Ayah can be explained further through an essay called “An Ecofeministic Reading of Leslie Marmon Silko’s Storyteller, Lullaby and Yellow Woman” by Mohd Mohsin. According to Mohsin “Ecofeminists have described a number of connections between the oppressions of women and of nature that are significant to understanding why the environment is a feminist issue, and, conversely, why feminist issues can be addressed in terms of environmental concerns. Similarly ecofeminism argues that the way in which women and nature have been conceptualized historically in the Western intellectual tradition has resulted in devaluing whatever is associated with women. By means of this association, women are aligned with ‘emotion’, ‘animals’, ‘nature’, and the ‘body’, while simultaneously men are aligned with ‘reason’, ‘humans’, ‘culture’, and the ‘mind’ which are elevated in value by the nature of this association.” (Paragraph

3)

So if you take in Mohsin perspective, Ayah might actually be oppressing herself by having a relationship with nature. Which sounds odd to me because I think that nature is somewhat freeing, and allows you to “be yourself”; however in Mohsins’ essay it states that because of Western intellectual tradition women are compared to nature, which cause devaluing of women. I don’t agree with these claims because I don’t see anything wrong with being compared with nature; but nonetheless I do agree that Ayah was oppressed.

Ayahs’ relationship with nature is not really unique, but is beautiful. She’s able to remember how she felt more vividly because of it, and in a way relive that past because of it.