One of the themes in Ceremony by Leslie Silko is the destructive patterns that occur between people from different cultures. Tayo himself is an example of those destructive patterns. Being a “half-breed,” Tayo’s place is not quite secure. Since he is half Indian, he is not really accepted by the white culture, but because he is also half white, he is not completely accepted into his reservation. Another example of destructive patterns is the war itself. Tayo and his friends all came back from the “white man’s” war battling something.
When Ku’oosh first comes to talk to Tayo, he says that the old cures don’t work like they did before the white men came, which shows another example of destruction because of clashing between different cultures. A destruction of the old traditions is seen when Rocky is excelling in school and is told not to allow his home
…show more content…
Tayo’s family were outcasts because he was half-white. His mother was shunned because she had a child with a white man and she embraced some of white culture even though she was ashamed of it. Grandma didn’t approve of Josiah’s relationship because he was with a Mexican woman. Emo made fun of Tayo, saying he was a Japanese lover. Tayo’s mind was messed up after coming back from the “white man’s war.” This book was an example of destruction in many different areas of life whenever other cultures gets involved with one another.
I believe that the most important thing that got destroyed for Tayo was his connection with the traditions of his people. The book as a whole was really his journey to reconnect with the traditions of his people after coming back from the war because he felt that after all he went through during the war made him not worthy of the traditions anymore. The medicine man helped him reconnect with thee traditions as well as make some new ones that were the right fit for