Leslie Marmon Silko Ceremony Analysis

In Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko, transformation is portrayed as a way to heal Tayo’s inner demons. Within the novel, Tayo faces the horrific symptoms of PTSD, while trying to simultaneously assimilate to both Native American and white culture and therefore accept his true self. Similarly, throughout his journey and transformation Tayo learns that individuals and society as a whole must adapt and include different life perspectives in order to thrive together. In Ceremony, Tayo begins the novel as a confused young man suffering from PTSD, unable to reconcile his white upbringings and with his traditional Native culture, however with

Ceremony displays how Tayo’s emotional development brings him closer to his native culture through traditional

In the text it states, “He cried the relief he felt at finally seeing the pattern, the way all the stories fit together-the old stories , the war stories, their stories-to become the story that was still being told. He was not crazy; he had never been crazy. He had only seen and heard the world as it would as it always was: no boundaries, only transitions through all distances and time” (Silko, 229). This elucidates how everything is fitting together confirming that Tayo was never really crazy or wrong but saw the spiritual world for how it really was. This helped Tayo because know he was close to totally finding out about himself. This proves Tayo is transforming because he has begun to finally accept himself for who is and should be. In Kurt Caswell in “The totem Meal in Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony” it states, “ Tayo’s completion of the healing ceremony is not a final victory. He brings the good news to the elders in the Kiva that his generation is preparing to take their place, and that he Tayo, will help lead them” (Caswell, 306). This shows that Tayo will now assist his generation transform for the better now that he has finished his transformation. Tayo must