Ceremony and Assimilation
According to the Webster's Dictionary the definition for assimilation is, "The process whereby a minority group gradually adopts the customs and attitudes of the prevailing culture" (13). In the novel Ceremony, Leslie Marmon Silko provides a reflective examination regarding the effects of assimilation on Native Americans with the primary focus on her tribe, the Laguna Pueblo. Silko demonstrates through the accounts of two characters - Tayo, a White/Hispanic and half Native American man, and Rocky, a full blood Laguna Pueblo Indian, who is also Tayo's cousin - how assimilation into the dominant white culture can cause not only physical death, but emotional and spiritual death as well. In addition, Silko's examination of assimilation illustrates how a connection with ones heritage can ultimately be life-giving.At the beginning of the tale, Silko weaves a poignant account of Tayo and Rocky, through the recollections of Tayo, the protagonist in the story. As Tayo remembers the past, he recalls when his mother, Laura, leaves him with her older sister known by Tayo as Auntie, who is also Rocky's mother. It is at this point that four-year-old Tayo is made aware that he is an outcast in the tribe by Auntie. She does this due to hi
Still, this is a difficult task for Tayo since the white man's medicine does not supply the healing he so desperately needs, and his feelings of being an outsider in the tribe still remains. " (51) By joining the Army, Rocky seeks to prove his allegiance to white America. Ultimately, Rocky and Tayo go away to war because, "Rocky understood what he had to do to win in the white outside world. I don't know anything about ceremonies [. Auntie is vicariously living through Rocky. Tayo does not possess the same notion of patriotism, or the desire to assimilate in the mainstream in the same way that Rocky does. Silko writes:Auntie had always been careful that Rocky didn't call Tayo 'brother,' and when other people mistakenly called them brothers, she was quick to correct the error [. Still, by examining the effects of assimilation, Silko illustrates how a connection with ones heritage can ultimately be life-giving. Due to this recognition, Tayo feels included at last and his joy is heightened at the prospect of seeing the world with his brother. This ceremony does not work, so he enlists the help of a second medicine man named Betonie. Tayo is witness to Rocky's death and when he returns to the United States, it is not as a war hero, but as just another Indian with severe symptoms of Post-traumatic Stress Syndrome. Silko writes:[Auntie] wanted him to be a success. When Tayo arrives at the reservation, he understands that the guilt he feels surrounding his half-breed status - and also regarding the fact that he, not Rocky, is a survivor of the war - requires a cure that hinges on his ability to put aside his mistrust of both the dominant and Indian culture.
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Acceptance Essays
