2 Contemporary Literature, 1970 to Present
mixed status? What does Tayo’s quest for the cattle ultimately reveal about
having mixed heritage? Susan Blumenthal’s article and Louis Owens’s chapter
would be helpful for this undertaking.
- The female characters in Ceremony may be seen as incarnations of various
female goddesses and other figures from Pueblo myths and legends. Students
could research the stories of Yellow Woman, Thought Woman, Ts’eh, and oth-
ers, and compare those legends to the roles of the women who appear in the
novel. Silko’s volume Storyteller would be helpful for this purpose, as would
the article by Elizabeth Hoffman Nelson in Louise K. Barnett and James L.
Thorson. Alternatively, students could investigate the masculine roles in the
novel, including Uncle Josiah, Rocky, Emo, and Ts’eh’s husband, the Hunter.
Useful for the latter are Swan’s “Laguna Prototypes of Manhood in Ceremony”
and the article by Colleen Shapiro.
- When Tayo meets Old Betonie in the novel, we are given a detailed descrip-
tion of what the medicine man keeps in his house, ranging from old telephone
books, calendars, and newspapers to medicine pouches, sage, and mountain
tobacco. Betonie explains the purpose of these things to Tayo and argues that
ceremonies and rituals have changed many times over the years and must
continue to do so. Why must they change? What is Betonie’s reasoning? How
does it reflect on other aspects of the rituals and ceremonies depicted in the
novel? What does the novel suggest about people who do not want to see
changes made in the traditional ways? The articles by Naomi R. Rand and by
Daniel White in Barnett and Thorson could be consulted for this topic.
- Students could research the development of the atomic bomb and its testing in
the deserts of the Southwest, despite the proximity of Native American reserva-
tions. Also worthwhile to explore is the uranium mining that took place around
the Pueblos. The Jackpile mine was located near the Laguna village of Paguate
and was the largest instance of open pit uranium mining in the United States.
What controversies have arisen out of that history? What have been the results
of this mining? Did the Native communities profit? What problems were they
left with when the mining was finished? How does Silko integrate this history
into Ceremony, and how accurate is her depiction? Students will find informa-
tion on the Jackpile mine through online searches, as well as in Connie Jacobs’s
“A Toxic Legacy: Stories of Jackpile Mine,” in American Indian Culture and
Research Journal, 28 (Winter 2001): 41–52. For an environmentalist perspective,
students will want to consult the articles by Reyes Garcia and Lisa Orr.
- Tayo’s quest is to restore harmony and balance to his world so that the
rain will come and life can continue. How are individual and community
balanced in this novel? Is one more important than the other? Is Tayo’s
personal development more important than the health of his community, or
does community take precedence? The story of Tayo’s cousin Rocky might
be considered as a contrast to Tayo’s experiences. From another angle, one
might consider why Silko places Native cosmology uppermost by claiming
all the havoc was created by Native witchery. What does she gain, and what
does she lose by this strategy? James Ruppert and Garcia would be helpful
for these topics.
