Leslie Marmon Silko’s novel Ceremony focuses on a Native American boy, Tayo, who is returning home after fighting in World War II. It is clear that he is mentally ill from his past experiences and he must find a way to regain his normal life. While his friends find consolation in alcohol, Tayo journeys through the lives of his people and his own past, which eventually brings him back to normality. Throughout the novel, Silko introduces a few different themes, including the clash of the cultures and storytelling. She continuously mentions the differences between the white people and the Native American culture; at the same time, Silko tries to prove that the Native Americans are superior to the white race. She could also try to make her point more clear through the idea of storytelling, which is only done by the Native Americans in the novel.
Throughout the novel, Silko comments on the fact that the white race is inherently evil through certain characters as well as the general actions of the white people. Although she tries to prove a legitimate point, or even fight for her own race and rights, her arguments are not strong. In other words, she tries to fight racism with racism, which defeats the entire purpose of the argument. Her argument is enforced by the introduction, and isolation, or biracial characters, such as Tayo. These are the characters that are discriminated against the most because they are mixed with white, or evil. In other words, they are a disgrace to their own community because of their parents’ faults, and they are not accepted elsewhere because of their skin tone.
At one point in the novel, one of the stories says that the Native American people created the white people, but it is never clear why they decided to create white people in the first place. In the end, the Native Americans created racism because only the white people, according to the story, were separated from the other cultures. In addition, Silko over generalizes when she speaks about the evil qualities of the white race; in other words, she applies the evil qualities that a handful of white people possess to the entire population. This concept could also be applied to the biracial characters as well; these characters are accused of the same qualities and actions as the white people simply because they have white in them. This does not necessarily mean that they possess those same qualities. Over-generalizing is a flaw in itself; therefore, the white race is not the only race that is flawed.
Silko also tries to prove the idea that the white race is evil through the references to story-telling. According to the novel, the Native Americans’ use of story-telling is an extremely old tradition that has not been forgotten. At one point in the novel, Silko mentions the various races that roamed the earth before the creation of the white race; the list included almost every culture and skin color. Subtly, Silko tries to hint that the white race is not superior because of their lack of creative ability or lack of tradition. Through this use of story-telling, combined with witchery, the Native Americans created the white race, which then backfired. Since the white race eventually overtook the other, more traditional, races, this implies that the white race is, in fact, superior because they had the organization, control and motivation to take control. This implies that the other races lack those same qualities and, therefore, these races are not as powerful; if they were superior, they would have been able to control and contain the race that they created. However, Silko’s reference to story-telling is a reference to tradition and, at the same time, another attack at the white race. This argument is one of the only effective arguments because it is true; whites are more individualistic and willing to sacrifice tradition for personal gain. Meanwhile, other cultures, such as the Native Americans, never lose track of their roots.
Overall, Silko’s method to try to undermine the white race was not effective; instead, it was hypocritical which undermines her own credibility. Fighting racism with more racism defeats the entire purpose of the argument. At the same time, Silko’s arguments against the white race imply hindrances within her own race. However, Silko’s argument against the tradition, or lack thereof, of the white race is effective because it remains true as well as constant throughout time. Basically, Ceremony provides some positive and negative qualities about different races, but the arguments are not as effective, especially for a reader who is white.
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