Summary Of Yellow Woman And A Beauty Of The Spirit By Leslie Silko

In “Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit”, Leslie Silko reminisces about her life as an adolescent and how it was to be part Native American and part white. She describes the tribulations she went through and the isolation she experienced as an outsider. She is compelling in her elaboration of the Laguna Pueblo culture, and in her ability to state detailed comparisons and contrasts, between the Laguna Pueblo culture and the white culture. She depicts the Laguna Pueblo culture in an intricate way, elaborating on the importance of developing a good relationship with all things, whether they are living or not. The author captivates the audience by meticulously comparing and contrasting the two cultures, allowing the reader to truly grasp the

The idea of beauty in the Laguna culture is not something that has to do with physical appearance, but rather the content of a person’s character is something that is valued. Silko compares the modern culture to the Laguna culture, emphasizing how the ideals of beauty truly set them apart. In the modern culture, beauty is something that is achieved physically. If someone is viewed as physically attractive, they are deemed as beautiful. In the old times, beauty is characterized by how individuals behave towards other people, animals, and the earth itself. She states, “A person’s appearance and possessions did not matter nearly as much as a person’s behavior. For them, a person’s value lies in how that person interacts with other people, how that person behaves toward the animals and the earth” (Silko 10). Here, it is evident that regardless of how appealing a person’s exterior may be, it is ultimately in vain if they are not appealing on the inside. The Pueblo people valued character and behavior. By Silko unfolding the true meaning of beauty in her culture, Silko allows the reader to truly grasp the main aspects of it. She outlines her culture as something that is truly remarkable. During a time where society puts a strain on physical appearance, Silko proves that the meaning of beauty is something that has less to do with physical appearance and more to do with

When Silko was a young child, tourists arrived at her school and wanted to take pictures of all of the children. Silko was excluded from this because she was part white. She felt isolated and discriminated against, something that was unfamiliar to her. This was something that she was unaccustomed to because in the Pueblo culture, everyone was accepting of one another. This event enabled her to witness a major difference between the Pueblo culture and the modern culture at such a young age. Pueblo people viewed everyone as equal. Things such as gender roles were unheard of, and nothing was ever considered a “manly” or “womanly” duty. A person that was most capable of performing a task would complete it, regardless of gender. She states, “I never heard anyone talk about “women's work” until after I left Laguna for college” (Silko 12). In this quote, the audience is able to see the impact Pueblo culture has on gender roles. She was sheltered from sexism, something that is prevalent in modern society. In modern society, gender plays a massive role in the tasks people take on, jobs they do, etc. This also displays a major disadvantage in the modern culture. Allowing gender to withhold someone from doing something shows that equality is not as prevalent as it is presumed. The author also describes a young boy near her village that would wear nail polish and woman’s