The Man to Send Rain Clouds

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The Man to Send Rain Clouds is a short story based on the death of a very old man at the Pueblo Indian reservation. This results to various issues from the conflicting spiritual aspects and Christianity aspects. At the beginning of the story, the body of the old man is identified lying under a cottonwood tree in the indicant reservation. The sheep owned by the old man are scattered in all locations of the arroyo Lavine. The two men who identify the body are Leon and Ken and they manage to bring back the camp where they found the old man’s body. The story focuses on the life of individuals in Laguna, New Mexico. It is written during the 1960s when there was an interest on the indigenous cultures in America. During the period, diverse Indians moved from the reservations and they settled and eventually adopted the American culture. This text focuses on various aspects portrayed in the short story setting, the major theme expressed and the culture of the Laguna American Natives is symbolic. The major theme expressed by Leslie Marmon Silko’s The Man to Send Rain Clouds is that of culture maintenance in the society. The Laguna Native Americans highly embrace their culture and this result to a conflict among the community and the Catholic denomination regarding the burying of the old man’s body. Both parties have different aspects of embracing death. This results to the old man’s body having both the catholic and Native American funerals. The setting of the story is on an Indian reservation in the Southwest, which is the major part of Silko’s story. The reservation is characterized by a dry and cold nature that indicates an isolation feeling and also depicts the issues and peace of the Native American inhabitants. The setti... ... middle of paper ... ...n of the old man. According to the Laguna culture, green represents health and life in the earth. All the colors, feather in the hair and the wrapping of the body represents the journey of an individual’s life on earth. In conclusion, it is evident that the setting of the story is convenient since it portrays the culture and beliefs of the Laguna American Natives. The story revolves around the aspect of maintaining an effective culture and this develops from the conflict that develops from both the religion beliefs of the Laguna American Natives and the Catholic denomination. According to Leslie Marmon Silko, all the aspects of the traditional Laguna burial rituals tend to be symbolic and they have several meanings attached to them. However, it is evident that the Laguna individuals are the only ones conversant with the symbolism of their rituals and tradition’s.

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