Abstract This paper analyzes the use of medicine in Leslie Marmon Silko's novel, "Ceremony". It discusses the disorders suffered by the protagonist Tayo, and how his ailments are treated by two different kinds of medicine namely, traditional western medicine and Native American medicine. It also explores the author's prospective on medicine.
From the Paper "To understand the use of medicine to cure illness in Leslie Marmon Silko's novel, "Ceremony" medicine must be regarded within a cultural context. Traditional Western medicine is based on the belief that illness is organically determined relying mainly on drugs ..."
Abstract This paper analyzes the novel "Ceremony" by Leslie Marmon Silko with the thesis that mythology is the core of the novel. The paper discusses the universality of myths as the central theme.
From the Paper "Mythology is an integral part of the protagonist Tayo's journey in "Ceremony." Although it is the Laguna people and their stories that form the backbone of the novel, the myths that Leslie Marmon Silko uses are archetypes found not only in Native American mythology but in Judeo-Christian tradition as well as other cultures. The universality of these myths is the central theme to "Ceremony," that by accepting these myths and his role within them, Tayo is able to find fulfillment."
Abstract In this article, the writer identifies the historical background and the origin of the Japanese tea ceremony and discusses how the complex nature of the tea ceremony bears the imprint of Japan's spiritual, ethics and aesthetic traditions. The writer argues that although the Japanese tea ceremony has its origin in China, it has now become a peculiarly cultural phenomenon to Japan, which has a great impact on many different aspects of Japanese culture. The writer maintains that the Japanese tea ceremony will continue to play an important role in Japanese culture and serve a great influence on intellectual and personal development of Japanese culture including pottery, calligraphy and flower arrangement. The writer concludes that it was the Japanese who expanded the ritual, philosophical, and aesthetic connotations in the tea ceremony, and turned it into a way of life.
From the Paper "Rikyu introduced the concept of ichigoichie that imprints Japan's spiritual and ethical tradition. The concept of ichigoichie explains that each occasion in our life would be only one chance that never can be repeated. This concept emphasises the value of each occasion to meet others and suggests that we should not neglect conducting appropriate behaviours and arrangements for it. Therefore, the utensils, flowers, vase and wall hangings in the tea ceremony are chosen carefully to suit the event, the time of year, and the desired atmosphere for each occasion.
"The selection of objects in a Japanese tea ceremony involves aesthetic traditions of the concept including wabi and sabi that are generally regarded as derived from the appreciation of Zen."
Abstract Tayo finds redemption by realizing the importance of ceremony. Silko's ceremony, therefore, serves as a vehicle to integration, fusing the individual not only with him/herself, but also with the community and the entire spiritual world.
Abstract This three-page undergraduate paper is on the texts "Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey and Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko". It includes the way both Abbey and Tayo (from Silko's Ceremony) share the impulse. It also discusses how this process works for both of them and whether it functions in the same way or both. What does it mean for each to identify with nature? Why do they wish to do so? How fully do they succeed, and what do they learn about the limits that they confront to this effort?
Abstract This paper discusses the novel, "Ceremony", by Leslie Marmon Silko. The paper analyzes the way in which myths and prose work together in the story and the effect that this creates. The papers also compares Silko's style in "Ceremony" to later works of her's and discusses some of the differences that are found between her earlier work and her later ones.
From the Paper "The publication of her widely praised first novel Ceremony in 1977 established Leslie Marmon Silko as a notable new talent in contemporary American literature. Modifying the traditional novel to reflect her Native American culture, Silko revealed a willingness to experiment with form that would continue to characterize her writing. The long-awaited Almanac of the Dead (1991) exhibited new facets of her extraordinary talent: this second novel is more complex, more shocking, and more apocalyptic than Ceremony in fact, than any other novel of the latter part of the century. Poised between these two texts, the collection of short fiction, photographs, and autobiography entitled Storyteller (1981) confirmed Silko's determination to alter traditional Euro-American literary forms to accommodate her own heritage."
Abstract This paper presents a comparison to Leslie Marmon Silko's ?Ceremony? and J.D. Salinger?s, "Catcher in the Rye". The writer of this paper takes the reader on an exploratory journey of both stories and details the theme of alienation of the two protagonists. Using quotes and summary opinion the writer argues that the alienation the protagonists experiences in the story is the very element that allows them the self-reflection that occurs.
From the Paper "Throughout history, authors of literary works have used their stories to uncover some aspect of their protagonists. It is a method that has withstood the test of time and continues to be popular today. The authors of two well-received books used this technique to illustrate alienation of a human being and the contribution the alienation made to the self-discovery of the protagonists. In Leslie Marmon Silko?s; "Ceremony" and J.D. Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye", we are directed on a journey that illustrates the alienation of each protagonist but as the stories draw to a close we are left with the understanding that the alienation allowed them to watch the world from the outside and reflect on their own inner souls."
Abstract This paper explains how traditions must change over time to remain relevant and shows how Leslie Marmon Silko illustrates the importance of oral tradition and language with Tayo's story in her novel, "Ceremony". It examines how Native Americans believe that when people speak, they exchange spirits and the addition of human breath transforms sounds into words and gives them life. The living word then becomes a part of each individual who hears it which is why oral tradition is so important to them. It compares Auntie and Josiah and how they view tradition and people outside their race and how Silko uses Auntie to represent people who blindly follow the traditions of the past while not believing in the spirit behind them.
From the Paper "Oral tradition includes many different forms including "letters, anecdotes, gossip, jokes, poems, legends, family stories, crafted stories"that must be included for a person to become self-knowing, to create community and even to comprehend the evil, the witchery, which disrupts community? (Brown). Silko uses many of these forms in Ceremony. The novel, as a whole, is an example of a crafted story. The different components of the novel are also important parts of the oral tradition. Grandma "liked to sit by her stove and gossip about the people who were talking about their family" (Silko 89). As she gossiped, she carried on that tradition. The story of Tayo is also a good example of Silko using the oral tradition, because it is an example of a family story."
Abstract This paper presents a detailed discussion about the novel Ceremony by Leslie Marmo Silko. The writer of this paper discusses the way Silko develops her characters and why she may have constructed them the way she did.
Abstract At first glance, "Ceremony" by Leslie Marmon Silko and "The Long Goodbye" by Raymond Chandler seem to have nothing in common. The former represents the psychological struggle of Native Americans in their search for identity in the United States, while the latter seems the usual detective story Marlowe has created. This paper, however, points out that there are several underlying motives and structures that do not make an attempt at comparing the two works futile. One would be a comparison between the two main characters, while another may compare the story's plot and the irony techniques that the writers use.
From the Paper "Tayo's suffering is physical, but, most of all, emotional and psychological. His distress does not come only from his imprisonment in Japan during the war, but also from his torment related to his place as a half Native American in the American post-war society. Integration seems, in the beginning, impossible for Tayo. This comes from his double ethnicity which means that he may be rejected by both societies. In many ways, this is something that Leslie Marmon Silko has experienced herself."
Abstract This paper presents a review of the book "Ceremony" written by Leslie Marmon Silko. The paper examines how Silko melds the themes of the difficulties of simply being an Indian in America with the difficulties of post-traumatic stress syndrome in returning World War II veterans. The paper focuses on the 'battle-fatigued' protagonist, Tayo, the product of a native and a Caucasian couple.
From the Paper "As a solider, Tayo experienced approval from Whites, but it was a false approval, only given to him because he was ready to be killed for White America, and a White cause. After his usefulness to America as a Marine has been expended, Tayo finds himself where other Indians who were cruelly treated by the American government are-back on a reservation, with nothing to show for his suffering. But from a narrative point of view, author's Silko's setting of a reservation enables her to weave ancient Pueblo Indian myths and songs, as well as Indian female experiences with the struggles and eventual coming of age of this troubled GI protagonist. "
Abstract This paper studies "Ceremony", a novel by Leslie Marmon Silko about native Americans. The paper analyzes how the novel seems to be focused on the most minute, bleak and tawdry details and yet it is actually commenting on the broadest realities, the deepest human longings and powers. The author of this paper demonstrates how Silko is microscopic in her portrayal of Tayo, the novel's main character. Through a discussion of Tayo's life experiences, character development and emotions, the paper asserts that Silko ultimately contrives her books so that Tayo can finally see the pattern -- the way in which all his stories fit together.
From the Paper "Silko can be unrelentingly microscopic in her attention to detail. She tells you more than you ever wanted to know about what it feels like to be really drunk, and really poor, and totally desperate, and guilty, and remorseful. She captures the dismal ambiance of cheap bars in Gallup, makes you know what it feels like to be a native American in despair at the loss of his people's honor and dignity--not to mention their land and their heritage. But she doesn't tell you in an elevated tone, through an essay or a lecture. She hits you at a gut level with all the violence and the vomit that accompanies alcoholism, poverty, and hopelessness. Silko doesn't just say that whites and Indians mistrust each other and treat each other badly. She uses the way Tayo's Auntie Thema, a Christian Indian, treats her half-white nephew, her subtle facial expressions and unexpressed anger and embarrassment, to reveal the subtleties of hatred and mistrust that characterize the underlying racial themes of the book."
Tags: native, american, white, world, war, II, tayo, veteran, drunk, alcoholic
Abstract The paper looks at how Silko brings out the conflict between traditionalism and modernity in Native-American life in her novel "Ceremony". The paper discusses how the central character, Tayo, rediscovers his heritage in a moment of crisis and learns how that heritage was taken away by the white culture that still dominates his people. The paper highlights the theme of discovery of the past and its relevance to the present.
From the Paper "Silko's young American Indian Tayo has faced a personal crisis as a prisoner of the Japanese during World War II, and his search for his roots on the reservation is a desperate need for an anchor for his life, something to hold after the horrors of war. The continuation of the way white society views Native American society is seen in the admonition by the Army doctor for "no Indian medicine" (p. 34). Tayo looks to the stories and ceremonies of his ancestors for comfort and finds resentment and anger as well as he remembers what the white settlers did to his people: "He lay there and hated them. Not for what they wanted to do with him, but for what they did to the earth with their machines, and to the animals with their packs of dogs and their guns. It happened again and again, and the people had to watch, unable to save or to protect any of the things that were so important to them. . . He wanted to kick the soft white bodies into the Atlantic Ocean; he wanted to scream to all of them that they were trespassers and thieves" (pp. 203-204)."
Abstract This paper analyzes Leslie Marmon Silko's book, "Ceremony", and shows how it is primarily about Silko's search for ways to deal with violence, rigidity of life, and loss of meaning and identity in America, as experienced by Native-Americans. The paper details the struggles experienced by Tayo, the main character, and relates that reading the novel is a confusing experience because it is difficult to understand one's own role in these processes. The paper then posits, however, that stories like this are an important tool for exposing the awkward stance many take towards Native-American issues.
From the Paper "Ceremony consists of the search of the radical voice of author Leslie Marmon Silko for ways to deal with violence, rigidity of life, loss of meaning and identity in America, which carry to great extremes the themes of heterogeneity, fragmentariness and meaninglessness in an experimental form. Tayo, the main character, returns from the Second World War with post-traumatic stress syndrome and struggles to assimilate into a society foreign to him. Meanwhile, as I read about Tayo's struggles I felt myself engaged in a parallel but opposite struggle to sympathize with a Native American narrative. As a white reader, I felt confused about my role in the healing narrative of Tayo; I felt alienated and other as well as responsible for Tayo's and the Native American population's alienation."
Abstract This paper examines the Hindu outlook on marriage as reflected in the elaborate traditions and rituals surrounding the marriage ceremony. Hindu marriage is further described as both an important means to foster love for the entire extended family, and as a means of spiritual growth for the couple. The three main parts of the marriage ceremony are described, including the pre-ceremony, the ceremony proper, and the conclusion of the ceremony. The author contends that the elaborateness of the rituals serve as a reminder of the importance of the marriage both to their families and the couples' own spiritual lives for the remainder of their union.
From the Paper "A Hindu marriage ceremony can be divided into three main parts: the pre-ceremony, the ceremony proper, and the conclusion of the ceremony. The pre-ceremony includes a reception that is held by the bride's parents for the groom and his parents at the entrance of the marriage hall. After this first reception, the bride's father meets the groom on the stage, and gives several presents to the couple. The daughter is then given away by the bride's parents (Hinduism.co.za). Pre-marriage ceremonies can also include Pair Pana (where sweets and gold coins are exchanged), and Milni (where sweets, ornaments and token money are exchanged) (Mypurohith). The bride's feet and palms are decorated with Mahendi before the ceremony (Vivaaha.org)."
