Modernity vs Tradition in Silko;s Ceremony
Uploaded by VitruvianGirl on Feb 14, 2006
“I wonder what good Indian ceremonies can do against the sickness which comes from their wars, their bombs, their lies?” (132)
Ever since the Europeans landed in the New World in the fifteenth century, there has been a clashing of Native American and white cultures. The whites spread new diseases, were unconscious of the spirit of nature, and brought new modern technology, like swords and guns. The cultures have been at odds since; from this culture clash developed the issue of tradition versus modernity, old versus new culture. This quandary is evident in Ceremony, by Leslie Marmon Silko, a novel about the struggle of the mixed race protagonist, Tayo, to reconcile his opposing Native American and white cultures. Tayo must embrace the Native American traditions of love, community, respect for nature, and non-violence as he is confronted by the white modern ideas of drunkenness, poverty, war, sexism, racism, and greed. He is forced to tackle the conflict between the traditional culture of the Laguna Pueblo tribe and the modern white culture. Silko seems to believe that a fusion of the tradition and modern cultures is necessary, not simply adopting one or the other.
Tayo is enveloped in the Indian/white struggle of tradition versus modernity. The story the reader encounters is satiated with this concern to rectify the differences. But the reader can only get so far, for the reader is reminded that the novel is written in English and the story is meant to be in the old dialect, as much of it takes place in the Laguna Pueblo, where English is not always spoken. The old medicine man Ku’oosh explains to Tayo that in the Laguna Pueblo language “no word exists alone, and the reason for choosing each word had to be explained with a story about why it must be said this certain way” (35). The reader is left inaccessible and uncomfortable as to this gap between the traditional Laguna Pueblo language and the modern English. Tayo also feels uncomfortable with his opposing cultures as he tries to choose one over the other.
As a child, Tayo was told by his white teachers that his stories from childhood were all nonsense. However, like if one told a Catholic that his religion was all a lie, Tayo still believes in the old stories. The teachers told his cousin Rocky that “‘nothing can stop you now except one thing: don’t let...