Author: This novel was
written by Leslie Marmon Silko, who was of a mixture of Mexican, white, and
Laguna Pueblo ancestry. She was born in 1948 and lived in New Mexico. She
attended Bureau of Indian Affairs Schools, and then the University of New
Mexico. This was written in the 1970s.
Setting: This novel is set
to be shortly after World War II, however flashbacks range since the main
character’s adolescence in the 1920s. The main location of it is in a Laguna
reservation near route 66, although there are flashbacks to the Philippines and
other places that Tayo has been.
Plot: The main character,
Tayo, is suffering from what we would call post-traumatic stress disorder. He
has returned from fighting in WWII and his cousin Rocky died there. He is
looking for a way to cure himself of his PTSD—a ceremony. They are also in the
midst of a draught where Tayo lives (which he believes to be his fault because
he prayed for rain to stop when he was at war), so the ranch has suffered. Tayo’s
uncle Josiah died while he was at war and he had a delusion, seeing Josiah as
one of the Japanese soldiers who was killed. When Tayo returned to the United
States he stayed at the veteran’s hospital until he was well enough to return
home. Even then, he was under the care of his Auntie, Robert, and Grandma.
Tayo’s friend Harley and Pinkie, Leroy, and Emo all fought in the war
and returned to the reservation. They all suffer some sort of stresses and they
let it out through booze. While out, they relive the “glory days” and reminisce
in the respect that they got while wearing their uniforms and Tayo realizes how
much discrimination there is. Tayo wasn’t getting better and considered
returning to the veteran’s hospital, but his grandmother called in a medicine
man to help him. He performs a ceremony but the ancient remedies are not suited
for his issue. It helps a little, but doesn’t make a huge impact. Tayo starts
to think about his past. He remembers how close him and Rocky were the summer
before they went off to the war and how Rocky called them brothers. That same
summer, Josiah had a scandalous relationship with Night Swan, who was a Mexican
woman. She gave him the idea to purchase Mexican cattle as well so Tayo helped
him get them and watch them. There was a draught that summer so Tayo goes to a
spring to do a rain ceremony and the next day it rains. Because of this, Josiah
can’t make it to go see Night Swan so he asks Tayo to deliver a note for him.
She seduces Tayo.
After the medicine
man sees that the ceremony hasn’t succeeded he sends Tayo to a city called
Gallup where Tayo lived with his mom. He sees Betonie because he supposedly
knows more about mixing cultures. Betonie says they will need to invent a new
ceremony and tells him about his grandfather Descheeny and the ceremony to end
the white witchery. After Betonie is done, he reminds Tayo that the ceremony is
not fully complete. On his way home, Tayo is picked up by Harley, Leroy, and
Helen Jean on their way to a bar. He stays for a while but then leaves and
follows the signs Betonie told him about. He ends up at Ts’eh’s house where he
stays the night with her and then leaves for the mountains. He finds Josiah’s
cattle in a white man’s fence so he breaks into it but the cattle run away so
he searches for them all night. In the morning, a mountain lion approaches him
and leads him to the cattle but patrolmen catch him for trespassing but let him
go so he can get the mountain lion. At this, it begins to snow so Tayo can’t
find any tracks so he goes back to Ts’eh’s house and she has the cattle.
Tayo returns home
with the cattle and feels better but the draught still hasn’t ended. Robert
warns Tayo that Emo has been spreading rumors about him. Emo and the police
come for Tayo and Ts’eh tells him how to avoid capture. On his way, Harley and
Leroy pick him up but they end up working with Emo so he runs away to an
abandoned mine. He realizes that he just needs to spend the night there and the
ceremony will be complete. Emo and Pinkie arrive and Tayo has to watch them
torture Harley. Tayo returns home after the ceremony is complete and tells the
medicine man. The draught ends and the white destruction stops. He spends one
night at the medicine man’s house and the ceremony is completed.
Characters: Tayo: The main
character. He is only half Laguna because his mother was loose with men before
she died. He maintains belief in the traditional culture despite going off to
fight in the war. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Rocky: Tayo’s cousin. They were very close and fought in WWII together,
but he died there. He did not believe in the traditional culture as much as
Tayo.
Auntie: Tayo’s aunt and Rocky’s mother. She is the sister of Tayo’s
mother. She tends to favor conforming into the white society and cares a lot
about image and reputation. Married to Robert.
Josiah: Tayo’s uncle (the brother of his mother). He was a father
figure for Tayo. He taught Tayo about the traditions.
Betonie: The medicine man that helps Tayo make and perform his
ceremony. He is looked down upon by many because he strays from tradition to
blend with the times.
Harley: Tayo’s best friend who also fought in the war with him. He is
an alcoholic.
Grandma: Tayo’s grandmother who intervenes at key moments and is a wise
figure.
Ku’oosh: The medicine man that takes Tayo to Betonie.
Emo: Tayo’s acquaintance since childhood who also fought in the war. He
is very critical of his mixed background. Antagonist of the novel.
The Woman: Ts’eh. She is a sacred character that helps Tayo complete
the ceremony at three points of time.
Voice: This novel is written
as a third person narrative but it is the voice of someone who sees the
thoughts of grandmother Spiderwoman. It is a relatively uninvolved narrator,
but since it comes from the memory of Spiderwoman, it may not be completely
reliable. The tone is uninvolved. There is a lot of symbolism involving animals
and important figures in Laguna traditional belief. The author also described
in great detail and provided intense imagery.
Quotes: “It seems like I
already heard these stories before… only thing is, the names sound different.”
(Grandma, 260) This quote is significant because it shows the cyclical nature
of Tayo’s ceremony. The fact that Grandma has heard the story before, means
that she has either heard a legend pertaining to it (such as the poems in the
novel), or she has heard of another similar situation. Since she has heard of
it before, and it has happened again, it implies that it will occur again and
again—it is a repeating cycle.
“Sunrise.” (4) and “Sunrise, / accept this offering, / Sunrise.” (262).
The repetition of “sunrise” after the ceremony has taken place, emphasizes the
cyclical nature of the novel, and life itself. This reaffirms the idea that the
ceremony is a repeated pattern throughout history that is only slightly carried
with time.
Theme: The theme of this
novel is that everything is cyclical and the importance of finding a balance of
culture. This is affirmed by Betonie’s ceremony working on Tayo because it is a
new ceremony that combines old ceremonies with new tradition and ideas. By
blending cultures to cure the world of white destruction, the author shows that
a cooperative mixture of the two cultures is necessary to have good again in the
world.
