Author: This novel was written by Leslie Marmon Silko in the 1970s. She was a mixed woman of caucasian, mexican, and Laguna Pueblo descent. Silko was born in 1948 and lived in New Mexico. She attended the Bureau of Indian Affairs Schools, and then the University of New Mexico.
Setting: This novel is set shortly after World War II, however flashbacks go back to the main character’s adolescence in the 1920s. The story mostly takes place in a Laguna reservation, although there are flashbacks to the Philippines and other places that Tayo has been.
Plot: The protagonist, Tayo, is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He recently returned from his service in WWII and is continuing to mourn the death of his cousin Rocky who died during the war. Tayo is looking for a way to cure himself of his PTSD and decides to undergo a ceremony in an attempt to cure himself. Tayo is living in the midst of a draught at this time as while which he believes he caused because he prayed for rain to stop when he was at war. 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 friends Harley, Pinkie, Leroy, and Emo all fought in the war and returned to the reservation as well. They all suffer from some sort of post traumatic stress and they try to fix this problem with excessive drinking. While out, the group tries to relive their 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.
