Response Piece – Silko & Benedict As noted in the response by Janet Tallman, there are three main themes concerning Ruth Benedict’s ethnography of Pueblo culture, Patterns of Culture, and Leslie Marmon Silko’s novel Ceremony. Both detail the importance of matrilineage, harmony and balance versus change, and ceremonies to the Pueblo Indians. It is important to note that Silko gives the reader a first-hand perspective of this lifestyle (she was raised in the Laguna Pueblo Reservation), while Benedict’s book is written from a third-person point of view. Because of this, it was fairly easy to see how much of the actual culture was overlooked or misinterpreted in Benedict’s work. While the above-mentioned themes about Pueblo Indians were indeed mentioned in her book, Ceremony allows the reader comes away with a better understanding of why they lived as they lived, and how their lifestyle choices impacted every decision they made. As in my first assignment, my interpretation of the books was that Silko’s was from a much more personal perspective; a luxury provided because her book is to be enjoyed as a fictional novel instead of an academic text. Set against the backdrop of post-WWII reservation life, the struggles of the Laguna Pueblo culture to maintain its identity while adjusting to the realities of modern day life are even more pronounced in Ceremony. Silko uses a wide range of characters in order to give a voice to as many representatives of her tribe as possible. The main character, Tayo, is the person with whom the reader is more than likely to relate. The story opens with him reliving various phases of his life in flashbacks, and through them, the reader shares his inability to discern reality from delusion, past from present and right from wrong. His days are clouded by his post-war sickness, guilt for being the one to survive while his cousin Rocky is slain, and his inability to cope neither with life on the reservation or in the outside world. He is one of several representations of the beginnings of the Laguna Pueblo youth interacting with modern American culture. Tayo’s aunt (Auntie) is the personification of the Pueblo culture’s staunch opposition to change. She is bound to her life and the people around her; more so because of the various “disgraces” brought upon her family by her nephew Tayo being a “half-breed”, her brother Josiah’s love af... ... middle of paper ... ...of looking within themselves for the causes of their misery, they chose to blame the white man for their misfortunes. At the same time, they were causing pain and suffering unto themselves by punishing those who were deemed too different (Emo trying to kill Tayo and settling on Harley) and shunning any changes to life as they knew it. By the end of the novel, Tayo represents the potentially new world for Pueblo culture. As Betonie said, elements in the world began to shift and it became necessary to create new rituals in order to keep the ceremonies strong. This represents a very modern view on Pueblo life (Silko’s) of the price tribe people must pay in order to survive in this world. As shown by Tayo’s final change, Silko sees it as necessary to maintain the essential parts of Pueblo culture in order to maintain the web that connects all its people together; but one must also learn to adapt and accept the new world created around him or her in order to survive. “Don’t let them stop you,” Betonie said in page 152, “Don’t let them finish off with this world.” Stagnation is just as damaging as overwhelming change. Leslie Marmon Silko - Ceremony Ruth Benedict - Patterns of Culture
In Ceremony, change is associated with life, while unproductivity is accompanying with death. Tayo, the cattle, and the traditional Native American ceremonies all have to adapt to new circumstances if they 're going to survive and carry on. According to the Night Swan, “people who resist change because they 're afraid of new things are fools." These “fools” express their ignorance in their prejudice against interracial relationships and people of mixed ethnicity, which is something Tayo struggles with throughout the
James Welch relies heavily on documented Blackfeet history and family stories, but he merges those actual events and people with his imagination and thus creates a tension between fiction and history, weaving a tapestry that reflects a vital tribal community under pressure from outside forces. Welch re-imagines the past in order to document history in a way that includes past and future generations, offers readers insight into the tribal world-views of the Blackfeet, examines women's roles in the tribe, and leads to a recovery of identity. Welch also creates a Blackfeet world of the late 1800s--a tribal culture in the process of economic and social change as a result of the introduction of the horse and gun and the encroachment of the white invaders or "seizers" as Welch identifies them.
As a member of the Taos Pueblo I know that tradition and keeping it alive is very important to us. It is for this reason that I feel the need to share what it is like to spend your days in a village of the Taos Pueblo. We are located in New Mexico, about 70 miles north of Santa Fe. One might think that being so close to a city like Santa Fe we would be modernized as a people, but that is not the case. We like to keep our traditions alive.
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” - Laozi. In Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko, Tayo’s journey is being told. The reader travels in time with Tayo to experience pre and post war living, and to an extent, the role Native Americans play during that era. Through Tayo’s life, we see the importance of storytelling, and how without it, a culture is lost. Silko uses Tayo’s perception as a template to explain how storytelling guides a person mentally, strengthens a person physically, and supports a person emotionally. Without the cultural aspect of tradition and storytelling, there would be no journey because Tayo wouldn’t have known how to take that first step.
Ceremony is very much a story about stories, with Tayo’s story interspersed with Silko’s poetic re-telling of Pueblo myths, and the side by side of the two, emphasizes many of the novel’s themes. It reveals the connection between all things, the healing power of storytelling, and the circular nature in history. You cannot help but to root for Tayo throughout the story, from a little boy struggling to prove is worth to his dismissive and prejudiced Auntie, through constant obedience and love, to the traumatized army veteran of mixed ancestry who returns to the reservation of the Laguna Pueblo Indians, in the New Mexico desert. Scarred and physically sick by his experience as a prisoner of the Japanese, his only redemption is to immerse himself in the Indian traditions of his past ancestors. His journey of redemption is the driving plot that depends on Tayo’s interaction with the land, the soil, wind, weather, and the scared topography of the northern New Mexico desert, which is charged with a peculiar, bittersweet magic. Silko’s novel is a beautiful reflection on the ways in which we are interconnected as humans and all of nature.
A brief description of the Pueblo Indian culture and religion are needed to get a full understanding of why their dances were misinterpreted by white settlers and why the Indians were judged and treated in such an unjust way. Pueblo Indians lived in Arizona and New Mexico and had a very different culture religiously than the white man. White religious history shows us that women were not seen, in European and new American culture, as not being significant to religious practices. In the Pueblo religion, however the woman was regarded in a different light. They rarely practiced in religious rituals but were the center of their people’s religion. Pueblos had rituals that were performed exclusively by men, and there, these men imitated women’s reproductive pow...
Reid, Betty (2011) Navajo Women: Doorway Between Traditional and Modern Life Terrain.org. Web. Accessed December 4, 2011.
The Navajo Indians used to live in northwestern Canada and Alaska. 1,000 years ago the Navajo Indians traveled south, because there was more qualities they had seeked there. When the Navajo Indians traveled south there was a lot of oil in the 1940’s. Today the Navajo Indians are located in the Four Corners.
Kathryn book Life in the Pueblo is based on excavations that she did at Lizard Man Village (Kamp, 1997). This was a small pueblo located in Arizona which is believed to be inhabited between 11th and 13th century. These ancient excavations were first carried out by United States Forest Service and were parts of Grinnell College field school (Kamp, 1997). The aim of the book was to describe Lizard Man Village and present excavation processes and analysis. Kamp 1997 offers archaeological interpretation of the site in relation to the past understandings. She bring out successfully three narratives. These narratives include ethnographic data in relationship to traditional accounts from Hopi (a place which is believed to be the first resident of Lizard Man) (Kamp, 1997). He also bring out clearly the issue of archaeology as well as fictional account basing it on both ethnography and archaeology.
I was lost, abandoned, my pride flowing into the muddy, dark, rivers of Lake Texcoco. Life hadn’t treated me well; or I guess, the way Quetzalcoatl had promised. In the blink of an eye, I had run out of my family hut, and had jumped in the river, having a bit of hope that I would regain my pride and courage. With a jolt, I roused from my sleep. I felt relief when I thought about the end of the nightmare, but I couldn’t help but think if my dream had a deeper meaning to it. It’s probably telling me about my future, I thought. Well, I can’t worry about that right now. I’ve got a busy day today. Helping father with the chinampas, going to school, and if I have time, start preparing for the military. I quickly put on a simple loincloth and a tilma,
Change is one of the tallest hurdles we all must face growing up. We all must watch our relatives die or grow old, our pets do the same, change school or employment, and take responsibility for our own lives one way or another. Change is what shapes our personalities, it molds us as we journey through life, for some people, change is what breaks us. Watching everything you once knew as your reality wither away into nothing but memory and photographs is tough, and the most difficult part is continuing on with your life. In the novel Ceremony, author Leslie Silko explores how change impacted the entirety of Native American people, and the continual battle to keep up with an evolving world while still holding onto their past. Through Silko’s
To state again, the misconception of the word feminism has misinformed a lot of people about the different types of feminism in the world. Feminism has been defined differently by many, but only one perspective has been the voice of the movement. Liberal feminism, Black feminism, Individualist feminism, Socialist and Marxist feminisms, Post structural feminism, Postmodern feminism these are all different types of feminism listed on the article Feminism, New World Encyclopedia. They all have different ideologies and apply to different people, but the Media oversaturated the ideology of Radical feminism. The New World Encyclopedia defines radical feminism as identifies “the capitalist sexist hierarchy as the defining feature of women’s oppression.” Most believe that capitalism needs to be uprooted and reconstructed for women to ever be free. Radical feminism receives the most attention because of the language that they use. Radical feminism have been classified to use assertive, vulgar, aggressive, loud styles of persuasion. They are more often screaming at their opponent rather than exchanging viewpoints. Certain feminist speak this way because this is how they can grab the attention needed from the press. This, unfortunately, has caused the concept of feminism to become diluted and homogenized into one
Liberal Theory of Feminism is a starting point to other theoretical schools of feminism . This theory is also a focus on the flow of the other theories to be modified and incorporated into their theory . In the 18th century , men in Europe have begun menetang monarchy . This incident sparked the absolute power of feminism began questioning the men. Liberal Feminism theory emphasizes a rational approach . Representatives of Liberal Feminism Theory consists of Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) , Margaret Fuller (1810-1850) and Betty Friedan ( 19 210 . They have disseminate this theory to women to assert that women are also able to think rationally . Injustices that exist are due to customs and the education system defects . Women should be given the same standard of education so that the injustice ...
The following essay will analyze Netflix Company’s social commerce strategy. It includes the definition of social commerce, company history, social commerce strategy that the company is engaging, the effect of social commerce for the company and measuring social commerce success of the company. Below, brief definition of social commerce and the company history.
The war of gender equality has been in existence throughout history and it is only until recently that it is being taken seriously. It was not until the 19th and 20th centuries that women have pushed to make their rights on the same level as men. Through the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities, Feminism was formed around this time and those involved with it have changed history since they first started. Feminism has been through three waves, each with their own set of goals and ideas they had wished to accomplish throughout those times. In spite of this, there are those who oppose their views and feel as if the feminists have accomplished nothing. Even if discrimination of women still exists, feminists have come close to accomplishing their goal of equal rights between genders through the passing of women’s suffrage, equal education opportunities, and equal pay.