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Study Guide for Ceremony: Characters, Threads, and Themes - Prof. Joel A. Dubois, Study notes of World Religions

This study guide provides an overview of the characters, threads of stories, and themes in leslie marmon silko's novel 'ceremony.' a list of major characters from the laguna pueblo and other tribes, as well as key plot points and prayers. It serves as a valuable resource for understanding the complex narrative and interconnected themes in the novel.

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2009/2010

Uploaded on 03/28/2010

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HRS 151
Study Guide for
Ceremony
GENERAL NOTE: the novel is composed not of chapters but of fifty-three long indents at the
beginnings of paragraphs that suggest distinct though unnumbered sections. Interspersed with
these sections at irregular intervals are poem-like stories, marked by lines centered on the page.
Rather than summarizing the plot according to this multitude of sections, this study guide outlines
characters, plot, and the different threads of stories woven throughout the book.
Characters:
Laguna Pueblo Natives
Grandma ==> "Auntie" – Robert ==> Rocky
(the stable part of the family, though Rockie dies during WWII)
==> Laura – [unknown Mexican] ==> Tayo
(the outcaste of the family, regularly away at night sleeping with men)
==> Josiah (dies while Tayo & Rockie are away at war)
(no offspring, though he courts the "Night Swan," a mysterious Mexican)
"Old Ku'oosh:" a traditional Laguna medicine man who sends Tayo to Betonie
Tayo's war buddies: Harley & Leroy (mostly friendly towards Tayo)
Pinkie & Emo (generally hostile toward Tayo)
Natives of Other Tribes
Betonie: the Navajo medicine man who, with his mute assistant Shush, conducts the Ceremony that
is the heart of the novel.
Ts'eh: the mysterious young woman who, along with her brother, a hunter, helps Tayo corral his
uncle's cattle; she appears also later in the novel to help him evade his enemies.
Threads of Stories, Prayers & Plot
Stories & Prayers
(centered on each page)
Prose Sections
(first line indented half way across the page)
Though Woman, the power of stories &
"Sunrise" prayer (p.1-4)
Reed Woman goes "down below" after
Tayo, out on a desert ranch, remembers the death of
his cousin Rocky in the rain-drenched jungles of
Japan during WWII, from which he recently
returned. (p.5-12)
being neglected by Corn Woman (p.13-14)
the Scalp Society (p.37-38)
Tayo cursed the rain in Japan; now there has been a
drought for six years. (p.14)
Harley comes by & they go off to find a bar; Tayo
remembers a mental hospital & meeting Old Ku'oosh
after coming home. (p.14-37)
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HRS 151

Study Guide for Ceremony GENERAL NOTE: the novel is composed not of chapters but of fifty-three long indents at the beginnings of paragraphs that suggest distinct though unnumbered sections. Interspersed with these sections at irregular intervals are poem-like stories, marked by lines centered on the page. Rather than summarizing the plot according to this multitude of sections, this study guide outlines characters, plot, and the different threads of stories woven throughout the book. Characters: Laguna Pueblo Natives Grandma ==> "Auntie" – Robert ==> Rocky (the stable part of the family, though Rockie dies during WWII) ==> Laura – [unknown Mexican] ==> Tayo (the outcaste of the family, regularly away at night sleeping with men) ==> Josiah (dies while Tayo & Rockie are away at war) (no offspring, though he courts the "Night Swan," a mysterious Mexican) "Old Ku'oosh:" a traditional Laguna medicine man who sends Tayo to Betonie Tayo's war buddies: Harley & Leroy (mostly friendly towards Tayo) Pinkie & Emo (generally hostile toward Tayo) Natives of Other Tribes Betonie: the Navajo medicine man who, with his mute assistant Shush, conducts the Ceremony that is the heart of the novel. Ts'eh: the mysterious young woman who, along with her brother, a hunter, helps Tayo corral his uncle's cattle; she appears also later in the novel to help him evade his enemies. Threads of Stories, Prayers & Plot Stories & Prayers (centered on each page) Prose Sections (first line indented half way across the page) Though Woman, the power of stories & "Sunrise" prayer (p.1-4) Reed Woman goes "down below" after Tayo, out on a desert ranch , remembers the death of his cousin Rocky in the rain-drenched jungles of Japan during WWII, from which he recently returned. (p.5-12) being neglected by Corn Woman (p.13-14) the Scalp Society (p.37-38) Tayo cursed the rain in Japan; now there has been a drought for six years. (p.14) Harley comes by & they go off to find a bar ; Tayo remembers a mental hospital & meeting Old Ku'oosh after coming home. (p.14-37)

People learn tricks from Pa'caya'nyi the Ck'o'yo medicine man & neglect their Tayo remembers going drinking with Emo, Harley & other veterans, more about Rocky's death, & Josiah's advice during another drought when Tayo was younger. (p.38-46) corn altars; Nau'ts'ity'i takes away the plants & rainclouds. (p.46-49, 53-54) Tayo & Harley reach the bar ; Tayo remembers the time he almost killed Emo there (p.49-63). WWII "heroes" (p.57-59) He recalls enlisting in the Army with Rocky, & all the differences between them. (p. 64-71, 73) Hummingbird & Fly go "down below" to Before the war , Josiah obtained a sturdy breed of cattle to survive the drought. He often visited his girlfriend, the "Night Swan," who used to live nearby the bar where Tayo drinks. (p.74-93) bring Mother Nau'ts'ity'i back (p. 71-72, 82, 105- 6 --> cont'd on p.113, 151, 180) (^) Still at the bar , Tayo recalls the end of the drought before the war, after he offered prayers at the spring Josiah had told him about, and also his visit to see "Night Swan." He goes to see the deserted room where she once lived & where he met her. (p.93-105)

  • abducted by a bear (Shush's story, p.128-30)
  • the origin of Witchery (p.132-38);
  • the young man captured by Coyote (p.139-41, 153)--> prototype for Tayo's ceremony (resolved only on p.258).
  • script for Tayo's ceremony (p.142-44) Tayo still feels haunted by his memories. Robert takes him to see Betonie , who explains the origin of the "witchery" that plagues Tayo. He performs a ceremony for him. Later, Betonie tells the story of his lineage, & how the ceremonies have to change to stay alive. He explains to Tayo that his ceremony isn't over yet. (p.107-52) the Sun goes to find his children the rainclouds, who have been captured by Kaup'a'ta the Ck'o'yo magician in his house in the Zuni mountains (p.170-76) Tayo meets Harley & Leroy and begins to drink again, but then remembers Betonie's words. (p.153-69) Tayo tracks down and corrals Josiah's lost herd of cattle , with the help of the stars, Ts'eh, snow, a mountain lion, and an unnamed hunter. (p.169-213) traditional prayers: Ka't'sina singing to Sunrise (p.182) hunter's prayer (p.206) Tayo brings the cattle back and goes out to the desert ranch again , where he finds Ts'eh again; she warns him that Emo and the others are after him. (p.214-35) Arrowboy catches sight of a Ck'o'yo witchman changing into a wolf (p.247) Fleeing, Tayo wanders onto the uranium mines at Cebolleta ; hidden, he witnesses Emo & Pinky torturing Harley to death, but resists the impulse to get involved & so completes his ceremony. (p. 235-54) Hummingbird & Fly bring Mother Nau'ts'ity'i back to earth (p. 255-56); song to Amoo'ooh (p.257) Tayo is welcomed back home by Old Ku'oosh. Pinkie dies in a rifle accident; Emo goes of to CA. (p. 256-60) the "Whirling darkness" of witchery dying out & Sunrise prayer (p.260-62)

"The lack of easily identifiable section divisions in the story is a physical, formal (in form) reflection of the themes of interconnection between all things, repetition, and of the unclear lines between dream, myth, memory, and reality. As Silko refuses to conform to the standard presentation of a novel, in chapter form, she refuses to make her story conform exactly to traditional American standards. Similarly, as she seamlessly combines prose and poetry, she ignores standard generic (of genre) divisions. Ceremony is not only a story about Native Americans, it is a Native American story" —Keja Valens, plot summary of the novel for SparkNotes (http://www.sparknotes.com/lit)