Ceremony Summary and Analysis
Author: Leslie Marmon Silko. She is of mixed race (Laguna
Pueblo, Mexican, and white), just like the main character Tayo (though he is
only Laguno Pueblo and white).
Setting: Various times and places (past and present), depending
on the scene in the novel. Takes place in the New Mexico, where the Laguna
Pueblo have their reservation; in the hospital that Tayo stays at in
California; and in the Philippines during the war.
Plot:
So, I thought it might be easier to write the plot summary
in chronological order rather than the order that the book is in, that way it
could be somewhat more cohesive:
-Tayo grows up living in his aunt’s house and growing up
with his “brother” Rocky. He had always felt distanced from them because he was
of mixed race, not pure Laguna like the others. He was often frowned upon,
despite his adherence to Native values and traditions.
-Later, Tayo and Rocky sign up to go to war together and
Rocky is killed, leaving Tayo to come home alone. Tayo feels as though a part
of him is missing and can’t seem to function normally any more.
-Back in New Mexico, Tayo spends time at the bars with some
of his peers and eventually gets mad at one of them, Emo, and stabs him in the
belly.
-Tayo’s grandmother calls in a medicine (Ku’oosh) man to
help cure Tayo, but this doesn’t do much good.
-Ku’oosh then sends Tayo to another medicine man, Betonie.
Betonie preforms several rituals on Tayo and then instructs him to find Josiah’s
lost cattle.
-Tayo finds the cattle, but has to break into someone else’s
land to retrieve them. Police find him, but then a mountain lion comes and
distracts them.
-Ts’eh finds the cattle, and Tayo spends the rest of his
summer with her, away from his family.
-Tayo finds out that Emo and his followers are plotting
against him.
-Tayo encounters Harley and Leroy. He sees Harley being
killed and believes it to be part of a ceremony.
-Tayo returns home. Emo leaves for California.
-At the end, grandma says, “It seems like I already heard
these stories before… only thing is, the names sound different.”
Characters:
Tayo: The main character. He is of mixed race but seems to identify more with Laguna culture than even some of the full-bred members of the Laguna tribe. He fought in WWII, but can't seem to assimilate back into society after witnessing the death of his brother, Rocky.
Rocky: Tayo's "brother." He is actually Tayo's cousin, but they were raised essentially as brothers. He dies in the war and never really seemed to enjoy Laguna culture.
Betonie: He's a medicine man who helps Tayo. He tells Tayo about the ceremony that he needs to complete.
Emo: Seems to be the opposite of Tayo. He romanticizes the war and tells his friends lies about how great it was. Since Tayo is the only one who openly speaks out against him, the two quickly become enemies.
Josiah: Tayo's uncle, but also a sort of father for Tayo. He is much more accepting of Tayo than Auntie or even Rocky; he and Tayo are pretty close.
Auntie: Raised Tayo, but not quite like a son. She always made sure that he knew where he came from and that he was different due to his mixed race. Auntie, however, wasn't like the rest of the Laguna people because she was a Christian.
Grandma: embraces her Native American culture and takes Tayo to the medicine man.
Night Swan: She is a confident and beautiful Mexican woman and is Josiah's girlfriend. She later seduces Tayo as well.
Harley: one of Tayo's old friends. He also went to war but comes back addicted to alcohol and doesn't do much other than drink.
Quotes:
"'It seems like I already heard these stories before... only thing is, the names sound different.'" -Grandma
Through Grandma, Silko is demonstrating how destructive and violent stories are told over and over again, not only in Laguna culture, but in all of humanity. There has never been a time where violence and hate hasn't existed, no matter how hard people try to stray away from it. The two have been a prevailing theme throughout history.
Characters:
Tayo: The main character. He is of mixed race but seems to identify more with Laguna culture than even some of the full-bred members of the Laguna tribe. He fought in WWII, but can't seem to assimilate back into society after witnessing the death of his brother, Rocky.
Rocky: Tayo's "brother." He is actually Tayo's cousin, but they were raised essentially as brothers. He dies in the war and never really seemed to enjoy Laguna culture.
Betonie: He's a medicine man who helps Tayo. He tells Tayo about the ceremony that he needs to complete.
Emo: Seems to be the opposite of Tayo. He romanticizes the war and tells his friends lies about how great it was. Since Tayo is the only one who openly speaks out against him, the two quickly become enemies.
Josiah: Tayo's uncle, but also a sort of father for Tayo. He is much more accepting of Tayo than Auntie or even Rocky; he and Tayo are pretty close.
Auntie: Raised Tayo, but not quite like a son. She always made sure that he knew where he came from and that he was different due to his mixed race. Auntie, however, wasn't like the rest of the Laguna people because she was a Christian.
Grandma: embraces her Native American culture and takes Tayo to the medicine man.
Night Swan: She is a confident and beautiful Mexican woman and is Josiah's girlfriend. She later seduces Tayo as well.
Harley: one of Tayo's old friends. He also went to war but comes back addicted to alcohol and doesn't do much other than drink.
Quotes:
"'It seems like I already heard these stories before... only thing is, the names sound different.'" -Grandma
Through Grandma, Silko is demonstrating how destructive and violent stories are told over and over again, not only in Laguna culture, but in all of humanity. There has never been a time where violence and hate hasn't existed, no matter how hard people try to stray away from it. The two have been a prevailing theme throughout history.
Theme:
In Ceremony Silko
suggests that good and evil exist in everything and are therefore arbitrary
classifications; understanding this allows one to achieve a personal and
communal balance.
Hi Jackie,
ReplyDeleteI like the way you organized your plot! However, it seems like you're missing a lot of this post. You'll probably want to finish it at some point, because right now I don't think this will be very helpful for you if you choose to use it as a reference for the AP.
You'll especially want to go into more depth on the theme! I'd love to hear the rationale behind it, as it sounds really interesting to me. It feels like the theme my hour came up with was pretty different, so I would like to know what your hour was focusing on when writing this.
You have some work to do, but it's a good start!