A narrative of loss, struggle, and redemption in the wake of World War II, Ceremony (1977) ranks among the defining works of Native-American poet and novelist Leslie Marmon Silko. Although Ceremony is normally classified as a novel, the text is in fact a combination of styles and genres that defies easy categorization. The work's main narrative follows the life of Tayo—a young half-American Indian, half-Mexican war veteran—as he reflects on the horrors of war and searches for solace. Tayo's story is delivered in meticulously detailed naturalistic prose. This story is complemented by the symbolic and allegorical poetry that appears throughout Ceremony, and that draws on the storytelling traditions of the Laguna Pueblo community where Ceremony is set—and where Silko, for her part, grew up.
Leslie Marmon Silko is the author of numerous novels, poems, and short stories about love and nature. “Ceremony,” published in 1977, is her most well-known novel. Her other publications include Laguna Women: Poems (1974), Storyteller (1981), etc. The free online Leslie Marmon Silko list of works can be found here.
Ceremony and its harrowing narrative of Tayo's breakdown and recuperation emerged somewhat indirectly. Silko conceived and wrote the story not while residing in her native New Mexico, but while accompanying her husband John Silko to Ketchikan, Alaska. In terms of topic and character, Ceremony did not even begin with Tayo; rather, the book has its genesis in a story about a Native American veteran named Harley, whose pursuit of alcohol was meant to lead to wild and humorous misadventures. (Harley appears as a relatively minor character in the final version of Ceremony.) The shift towards a more serious approach to Native American veterans was the product of Silko's reflection on the actual veterans from her own community, their experiences, and their ongoing struggles. As she explains in the introduction to the Penguin Deluxe Edition of Ceremony, 'Even as a child I knew they were not bad people, yet something had happened to them. What was it?'
Ceremony Leslie Marmon Silko Themes
- Author Leslie Marmon Silko Submitted by: Jane Kivik Free download or read online Ceremony pdf (ePUB) book. The first edition of the novel was published in 1977, and was written by Leslie Marmon Silko. The book was published in multiple languages including English, consists of 262 pages and is available in Paperback format.
- The title of Ceremony refers to the ceremonies and rituals that, according to the novel, all humans must perform in order to keep themselves and the world happy and healthy. These ceremonies can be formal or informal, but all, the novel asserts, are intensely important for both the well-being of individual people and the larger world that they live in. Ceremonies are performed through.
Ceremony Leslie Marmon Silko Ebook
Already potent and meaningful as Silko's attempt to sketch out 'what had happened' to the men of an older generation, Ceremony was also central to Silko's success and visibility as an author. In 1981, at the age of 33, she was awarded the prestigious MacArthur 'Genius Grant' on the basis of her writing and filmmaking. Ceremony and the volume that immediately followed it, Storyteller (1979), were no doubt instrumental in winning Silko this high literary honor.