Negotiating Identity between
Conflicting Worlds
Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony depicts its protagonist’s struggle to claim his identity between the seemingly oppositional worlds of his Native American and white heritages. Tayo is caught between these two worlds, unable to completely blend into the Native American culture, yet racially distinct from white society. He signifies the inevitable change that faces the Native American culture by illustrating that identity fractures most when he attempts to extricate himself from either of his identities. Silko constructs a reductive binary between the two worlds which casts them as incompatible to one another, yet Tayo undermines this opposition by defining himself between these worlds. Through Tayo’s construction of his own identity, he recognizes the pervasive influence white society has had on the Native American identity and serves as an example for his community, demonstrating how they can negotiate between their ethnic and national identities to reclaim their Native American heritage within the structure of white society. Tayo’s quest for self discovery becomes the model other Natives must follow to preserve their culture. Silko creates a binary world in which white society is set in opposition to the Native American culture; she then undermines this dichotomous relationship by explicating Tayo’s inability to exist in an either or creation and shows that Native Americans must embrace white society and change in order to succeed as a people in the white hegemonic society.
Silko establishes a seemingly reductive dichotomy between the Native American culture and white society. She sets the two realities in opposition to one another, appearing to have incongruent values, traditions, and beliefs. Tayo states that “He had believed in the [Native American] stories for a long time, until the teachers at Indian school taught him not to believe in that kind of “nonsense.” But they had been wrong” (19). Silko depicts incompatible ideas presented by the Native American culture and white society which force characters to choose between these oppositional worlds, thus it is implicitly suggested that one can not actively participate in both. Silko delineates the distinction between these separate societies, further cultivating their dichotomous relationship. The white people “see no life/ When they look/ they see only objects./ The world is a dead thing for them” (135). This image is contrasted to the Indians, who are described as a “people who belong to the mountain” (128). Silko constructs a binary world in which the Native American culture and white society appear incongruent, making it impossible for the Laguna people to assimilate into the hegemonic society while maintaining elements of their culture.
Silko complicates this simple binary by Tayo’s mixed blood heritage and his struggle to define himself between these seemingly oppositional ethnicities. Tayo attempts to conform to this dichotomous worldview and forget his Native American heritage, yet this only fractures his identity further. After his return from war, Tayo retreats into a dense “white smoke” where “visions and memories of the past did not penetrate . . . where there was no pain” (15). This white smoke represents Tayo’s attempt to withdraw completely into the white hegemonic society, deserting his Native American roots. Yet his attempt to define himself within white society fractures his identity and he becomes “hollow inside” (15). Tayo describes that “he’d almost been convinced he was brittle red clay, slipping away with the wind, a little more each day” (27). The symbolic colors show the fracturing of Tayo’s identity as his Native American roots slip away from his consciousness when his identity is most Americanized. Tayo’s fractured identity implies that Native Americans cannot function within this binary and must define themselves between the two societies rather than identify with only one.
Silko undermines the oppositional relationship between the Native American culture and white society by suggesting that Tayo must embrace both his heritages in order to heal his fractured identity. Tayo acknowledges that “his cure would be found only in something greater and inclusive of everything” (125-126), thus he begins to define himself as a Native American living in the white hegemonic society. By defining himself between these two worlds, Tayo undermines the incongruence established by the binary and proposes an alternate Native American identity that exists within white society. Tayo’s acceptance of his two heritages complicates the binary by rejecting its inherent polarity.
Silko utilizes Tayo’s mixed blood identity to challenge the incongruence inherent to the binary of the two worlds by forcing the Native American community to reevaluate their cultural identity in light of the white hegemonic society. Tayo becomes the objective voice of his community, able to bring together these seemingly incompatible societies. He explains that “I’m half-breed. I’ll be the first to say it. I’ll speak for both sides” (42). It is through Tayo that we see the Native American community struggling to remain untouched by white society. He observes that “Harley didn’t use to like beer at all, and maybe this was something that was different about him now, after the war. He drank a lot of beer now” (20). The presence of alcohol throughout the community signifies the pervading influence of white society within the Native American culture. Tayo provides an image of a changing community unable to resist the influences of the outside world. Other characters attempt to resist the hegemony’s influence, such as Tayo’s uncle who rejects the literature on scientific cattle breeding, yet breeds hybrid cows because he believes they are more likely to survive drought and blizzard conditions. Tayo observes in the Native American community a desire to become part of white society while also rejecting their attachment to this hegemony. In these contradictory sentiments, a tension emerges in the narrative which challenges the stability of the binary and suggests that all Native Americans must begin to accept the existence of white society and its dominating influence on their cultural identity.
Silko proposes that the binary is more complicated than it appears and that Native Americans, like Tayo, must assimilate their culture into white society in order to preserve it. Old Betonie states that “things which don’t shift and grow are dead things… Otherwise we won’t make it. We won’t survive” (126). Through Betonie’s voice, Silko undermines the simplicity of the binary, showing that the Native American existence is not dependent on the preservation of their culture, but on their ability to assimilate into the white hegemonic society. Betonie goes on to say that “after the white people came, elements in this world began to shift; and it became necessary to create new ceremonies” (126). He reveals that the Native American culture can change and assimilate into white society without losing its values, traditions, and beliefs. Tayo articulates that “as long as people believed the lies, they would never be able to see what had been done to them or what they were doing to each other” (191). It is not the increasingly influential white society that threatens the Native American culture, but their resistance to change and the belief that change is not necessary. The implicit solution suggests that Native Americans must accept a world determined by white society in order to succeed, but in this world they can assert their cultural impression upon the majority.
Silko undermines the binary between the Native American culture and white society to illustrate that the two worlds are intertwined and inseparable. Tayo’s biracial ethnicity elucidates the fact that all Native Americans must negotiate between their ethnic and national identities. White society functions as all hegemonies do, determining societal values and beliefs, yet this mass culture is not rigid and can be slightly modified by Native American influences. The voice Tayo claims for himself accepts the structure of white society, but maintains its distinctively Native American heritage. Tayo demonstrates that to preserve the Native American culture and traditions, its community must do so within the confines of the white hegemonic society.
Copyright 2003. Essay used
with author's permission.
This essay may not be reproduced in any form without the express written consent of the author.
This essay may not be reproduced in any form without the express written consent of the author.
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