Richard Long

Richard Long Dr. Carole McAllister English 630 Bibliography for Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony Allen, Paula Gunn. “Special Problems in Teaching Leslie Marmon Silko's ‘Ceremony’.” American Indian Quarterly 14.4 (1990):379-386. Allen's article offers an honest look at the ethics of teaching Ceremony from both sides: teacher and American Indian. Allen notes that Silko's novel presents a unique challenge because of the use of ritual in the novel. Allen gives an excellent background on the issue of sacred texts used in public non-sacred forms. Allen offers ideas on teaching the novel that respects the literature and the tradition it portrays. Arnold, Ellen L. “An Ear for the Story, An Eye for the Pattern: Rereading Ceremony.” MFS Modern Fiction Studies 45.1 (1999):69-92. Arnold calls for "a rereading of Ceremony that bridges science and spirituality, and suggests that this new orientation might be described as fractal" (71). It is accomplished by using the lens of Silko's more recent novel Almanac of the Dead. In this novel and Ceremony, Silko uses the astrology to mark the changes in character and story. Blumenthal, Susan. “Spotted Cattle and Deer: Spirit Guides and Symbols of Endurance and Healing in ‘Ceremony’.” American Indian Quarterly 14.4 (1990):367-377. Blumenthal's work uses Ceremony as a center point to examine several other works from the American Indian canon. It also serves a primer for a discussion for connection to animals and spirit guides that often prevalent in this genre. Gilderhaus, Nancy. “The Art of Storytelling in Leslie Silko's ‘Ceremony’." The English Journal 83.2 (1994):70-72. Gilderhaus's article aims to pedagogical aspects of the novel. She both looks at storytelling though in brief and shows how to teach it in the high school and even the college classroom. Gilderhaus uses visual aids to achieve her purposes that help the instructor as reader and teacher. She brings understanding to the barrier of culture. Gilderhaus, in a short space, gives a structure that any reader at any level can find useful.

Holm, Sharon. “The ‘Lie’ of the Land: Native Sovereignty, Indian Literary Nationalism, and Early Indigenism in Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony.” The American Indian Quarterly 32.3 (2008):243-274. Holm studies the struggle to reconcile the land and the Indians that most readers bring to the novel. She says that it is wrongheaded and rooted in western traditions. She calls for a reevaluation of the novel with the issue of sovereignty and what Silko's book says to this idea. Holm's article is excellent in its new vision of the text by taking an old look. Mitchell, Carol. "‘Ceremony’ as Ritual.” American Indian Quarterly 5.1 (1979):27-35. Mitchell falls in line with one of the themes of Ceremony: new rituals rooted in old faith must rise. In this vain, Mitchell sees Ceremony as a ritual, in which the reader participates with the work. Mitchell's article offers great insight into the work, but also creates a structure to experience the novel both as reader and instructor. Like Blumenthal, Mitchell uses sparseness to accentuate the message of structure in the novel. Owens, Louis. "‘The Very Essence of Our Lives’: Leslie Silko's Webs of Identity." Other Destinies: Understanding the American Indian Novel. Norman: U of Oklahoma P, 1992. 167-191. Owens approaches the text from a personal point of view of being mixed blood like Silko. Owens gives wonderful commentary. He examines Ceremony as a whole novel and in doing so gives commentary on structure and them throughout the work. Owens' work is an excellent beginning point for research on the novel. Rice, David A. “Witchery, Indigenous Resistance, and Urban Space in Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony.” Studies in American Indian Literatures 17.4 (2005):114143. Rice discusses the journey that Tayo takes through three cities: San Diego, Los Angeles, and Gallup, New Mexico. In addition to these cities, his journey in the war places into the recovery that Tayo must make in order to reconcile himself to the tribe and home. Rice points to the idea of witchery that inhibits both home and away. Rice's article provides the counterpart to Tayo's life on the reservation, a section of the book often neglected. Roemer, Kenneth M. “Silko's Arroyos as Mainstream: Processes and Implications of Canonical Identity. Modern Fiction Studies 45.1 (1999):10-37. Roemer points out that Ceremony is widely accepted from high school to graduate school curriculum. He elucidates the forces behind the stature of Ceremony. From the political and social changes of the 1960s and '70s to the fact that it simply a

great novel, Roemer points to right place, right time, and right novel. He further explores the implications of the instillation into the canon of American literature. Swan, Edith. “Laguna Prototypes of Manhood in Ceremony.” MELUS 17.1 (1991): 39-61. An examination of prototypes in the Laguna culture yields great insight to Ceremony. Swan looks social models within this culture. She focuses on Tayo as hero of the culture and his relationship to the land. She also looks at lessons for a warrior. This comprehensive view helps the scholar gasps the masculine side of the culture and story dominated by women.

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Richard Long Summary of Carol Mitchell’s Ceremony as Ritual Mitchell describes Silko's Ceremony working on three distinct yet interconnected levels: human, socio/cultural, and myth/ritual. She writes, "The novel itself can and should be viewed as a part of the changing rituals in which the novelist has become the healer or shaman and the readers are the participants in the new ceremony" (27). Mitchell furthers the book's stance that ritual must fluid and changing instead of static. The scalp ritual performed by the Laguna Ku'oosh helps Tayo, but it does fully restore him. Tayo must go to Bentonie, a Navajo for the nest level of healing. Mitchell forwards that thought that Silko created a fluid new ritual for this generation. Mitchell initiated the journey at the beginning. She notes that the novel begins with a Laguna creation story. It is the beginning of healing for Tayo and the other Indians. It also harkens to the Western tradition of invoking the muses. The ritual/novel then explains the connection between the stories and the ceremony. Silko writes that "in the belly of this story the rituals and the ceremony are still growing" (2). The calendar time of the novel is from May of one year to September of the next. The springtime is a time for purification ceremonies to be held. Tayo's story is intercut with traditional stories, each with their own meaning. The first is story of Reed Woman and Corn Woman. There is a misunderstanding, and a drought ensues. Tayo does not understand the tradition of the Laguna and calls upon the rain to stop, which causes a drought. In the next story, the war brothers are blinded by Ck'o'yo. In the modern world, Rocky and others abandon the rituals of the deer and stop believing in the rituals. They look to the white world and block out the traditional ways; in other words, they are blinded. The final story tells of the witches who create the white people. This same witchery causes the violence and broken-

ness that dominates everyone including the Laguna. From the war to Gallup to Emo, the witchery destroys at a whim. Mitchell turns her attention to the cures for each these stories. The scalp ritual does fully cure. Tayo begins to believe and practice the traditional ways and finally confronts the witchery in the form of Emo. She also discusses the ceremonies throughout the novel, distortion of time, and yellow woman.

Summary of Edith Swan’s Laguna Prototypes of Manhood Swan's article begins with a discussion of the Pueblo social order, which orientated toward women. Children belong to women, and then when a man marries he leaves his home to live with his wife's family. In addition, women own the land. In this paradigm, the most important male in a boy's life is my uncle, his mother's brother. He is "their primary teacher, guardian and disciplinarian; he is the source of their inheritance, makes arrangements for their marriages, and has responsibility for collecting the brideprice for his nephews' marriages" (41). Josiah is such a man to Tayo. Josiah’s words and thoughts create a new reality for Tayo even after Josiah's death. After Tayo returns home from the war, his aunt's husband Robert assumes this role in his life. Ceremony uses the social models to aid in the recovery of Tayo and the tribe. Swan also points to Tayo being a hero for the culture. The reader sees Tayo as a broken man not a hero. He is a traditional folklore hero" (46). In the Laguna culture, the name Tayo represents story of a hero who flew on the wings of eagles and went on great journeys. There is an in-laid story that anticipates the completion of our Tayo's journey. In his journey to completion, Tayo must master the skills of warrior and hunter. As a hunter, "his fundamental battle is within himself" (47). As a hunter, he journeys through the mountains herding the cattle. Here he finds the mountain loin gives him

guidance. The lion is from the North and is the helper of the hunter. When Tayo is caught by the border patrol, the lion provides the tracks to lead them away from Tayo. As he comes down from the mountain, he can hear the deer chant providing his meddle as a hunter. His final test comes from the witchery in the form of Emo. Tayo must use resistant with his new skill and not harm Emo unlike before. Sawn finally discusses the connection to the land which vital to the Laguna. During the war, Tayo has said a prayer to stop the rain. This request causes a drought back home. This drought is manifested in Tayo with a swollen and dry tongue, which cannot talk; therefore, he cannot create a reality for himself. In essence, he has no reality.