Ceremony Analysis

Ceremony
Author: Leslie Silko is a writer of Native American descent.

Characters
 Tayo - He is the protagonist of the work, a Laguna pueblo who has returned from the Vietnam War. He lived in the shadow of his brother Rocky, the model of Native American assimilation into white culture, until he died in the war. He believes that he has cursed his land with drought when he prayed for an end to rain in Vietnam. He embarks on a journey to complete a ceremony to bring balance to his land.
Auntie - She is Tayo's aunt, who took Tayo in. She favors Rocky and is cold to Tayo. She is Christian and opposes many traditional beliefs.
Rocky - He is the model of Native American assimilation into the contemporary white culture, playign football and earning a scholarship to a college.
Ts'eh - She symbolizes a mountain, more generally the land of Tayo's culture. In human form, she sleeps with Tayo and she
Ku'oosh - He is a traditional medicine man who can't help Tayo because his old ceremonies are ineffective for current problems.
Betonie - He is a medicine man who adapts to change and creates new ceremonies. He helps Tayo with his journey.
Emo - He is also a Vietnam war veteran, and he symbolizes the witches.
Imagery: The prose has a poem-like quality to it. The use of vivid descriptive words and smooth flow create pictures of landscapes and settings in the reader's head.
Narrative: The structure is nonlinear, and switches to different narrators. This emphasizes the concept of time as a web, in which all stories are connected.
Allusions: Silko alludes to Laguan cultural texts, with shaped poems that allude to the content.
Symbolism: The nausea Tayo feels is his loss of identity in between his traditional culture and the white culture. The alcohol symbolizes the clashing of the white culture with the traditional culture. The geographical features  and creatures of the land symbolize the spirits of the culture.
Theme: Only through the unification of all conflicting themes can result in peace.

The plot of the book emphasizes unity in all aspects of Tayo's life. There is a motif of all things being one. For instance, the multiple linear storylines are presented as one weblike story. Tayo, with his mixed heritage