The theme of culture in the story Ceremony
The setting of the story, Ceremony by Selko, is based in the southwestern part of America. The region is a region of racial diversity and the presence of the different cultures that arise from the diversity of the people in the area. In the book, Ceremony, the author explores the diversity of the Mexican, Japanese, Laguna, Native American, and other cultures of the people living in the area. In the books, the author argues differently on these cultures and uses different characters to indicate how different cultures show their diversity.
As depicted by the author, the white culture is a modern culture that shows the diversity and embraces the idea of modernization o the current time. Being the dominant culture, other Native American communities living in the region have their own beliefs that focus on preserving and protecting the native cultural practices in the area. According to the novel, the white man’s culture is a greedy culture that is more interested in the creation of wealth. The wealth dominated by the white man breeds arrogance and a lack of respect among the natives’ culture. According to the story’s plot, the white culture, which expresses the idea of modernity, is a destructive culture that creates a separation of the local cultural values from its people and breeds destruction. White people, who are the people of the modern world, have no respect for others and the world itself, which has led them to create dangerous artifacts of their culture that are destructive to the environment. The author cites atomic bombs, which means the destruction of both the human race and the natural setting of the earth. “He lay there and hated them. Not for what they wanted to do with him, but for what they did to the earth with their machines, and to the animals with their packs of dogs and their guns” (Silko). The local communities are preservative because they do not want to change their values like the white man. The white culture is deemed to be destructive to society, whether socially, environmentally, or physically. Tayo and other characters have been to war in the Philippines. The locals believe that whites have changed people like Tayo. However, this sounds true because the soldiers of different tribes and people of color fought side by side in the army and have learned to live with each other.
The Native American communities believe in the need to create a protective environment of their communities’ cultural practices. According to the story, native communities restrict using native and traditional practices such as medication to prevent them from associating with the whites. Natives who are sick cannot even accept to be treated by the white man because they believe their culture is destructive. According to the story, “You know what people will say if we ask for a medicine man to help him. Someone will say it’s not right. They’ll say, ‘Don’t do it. He’s not full blood anyway”(Silko). The author uses this to explain how rigid the native communities are towards change. They are not willing to let their sick people get modernized medication because the white culture owns it, and according to them, the white man’s culture is destructive. They even blame the people who have accepted the whites’ practices to have caused the curse on the people. They blame them for Tayo’s illness and the drought. “They are fools. They blame us, the ones who look different. That way, they don’t have to think about what has happened inside themselves” (Selko).
The author narrates the story of the children going to get modern education in the white man’s schools. Most parents are not willing to allow their children to get an education. The teachers in school teach new findings that are based on research.”Their evil is mighty but it can’t stand up to our stories. So they try to destroy the stories let the stories be confused or forgotten. They would like that they would be happy because we would be defenseless then” (Selko). But the problem arises when the research provides views about the beliefs of the locals. Research disapproves of the local sayings and beliefs which the local leaders do not like. They believe that white teachers are changing their children by teaching them against their cultural practices.
The people of the Laguna tribe are strictly farmers who rely on the traditional method of arable farming, depending on the rains. But there is a drought. The cultural depictions of the people of these communities depict that they have offended the ancestors who have, in turn, denied them rainwater. The people in the villages believe that the droughts are a punishment from their ancestors after failing to perform normal rituals in the community. The curse is believed to go away if the community members perform a certain ritual to appease the Gods.
Works cited
Silko, Leslie Marmon. ‘Ceremony.’ New York: Penguin, 1977