In Ceremony, Tayo has come back from the war a very different person. He has seen so many things that would devastate a human being simply because of its shock value. Tayo witnessed the brutal death of his cousin from about two feet away, and even before that he had begun to imagine things, for instance, one of the Japanese soldiers actually being his dead Uncle Josiah. "Battle fatigue" was the description of Tayo's post-war illness. I think that it was something much more than that. Many might call him insane because of his extreme behaviors towards even his family. Tayo's reaction to the letter that the Army doctor read to him was one of disagreement, he said that it was something beyond that. I think Tayo was talking about the fact that while he, as well as other Indians, were in the Army, fighting for their country, were treated like they belonged and they got some respect. However, now that the war was over, it was back to normal for them. They had to go back to !
             their old lives on the reservation. They went back to being looked down upon. The drinking and violence came as a result of this dejection after being accepted for some amount of time. They had everything that the white men had and now it was gone. I think that there are other causes of Tayo's illness, namely, the fact that he is a half-breed and that his mother and he are both looked at as a disgrace in their family. Auntie doesn't even try to make him feel like he is one of them, she lets him know that his mother was a disgrace, therefore he is also. I imagine that a lifetime of knowing that you're not accepted is not very good for your mental well being.
             Many of the characters in the novel see Tayo's illness as being another reason to write him off as a reject. No one seems to care that he is very sick and needs help. His family wants nobody to know about his condition because he and the family will become...