On Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko (Summer Reading Essay -- Prompt 3)

3. Analyze Silko’s use of characterization, and explain what it is about her portrayal of Tayo that makes him such a hauntingly memorable character.


Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony, tells the story of Tayo, a half blood Laguna Indian who is trying to have peace of mind after serving time in World War II. The intensity of Tayo’s emotions and Silko’s use of time shifting, together, create a hauntingly memorable character. Before the war, Tayo had a very difficult family life. His mother slept with many white men which caused Tayo to get “used to her leaving the bar with men” (101). Tayo’s father is white, causing Tayo to be a half-blood, not fully Indian or white; he left his mother and Tayo at a young age. Eventually his mother left him, causing him to stay with his Auntie and the rest of the family – Rocky, Robert, and Josiah. Auntie did not likehim and Tayo “had known Auntie’s shame for what his mother had done, and Auntie’s shame for him too.” (53). Silko tells Tayo’s childhood in flashbacks, as it pertains to something in is present life. It created a seemingly perfect blend by inserting Tayo’s past into his current struggles. The difficult childhood of Tayo creates him to be very memorable, unforgettable because of his struggles.
The amount of regret Tayo carries for not bringing Rocky home safely is another factor towards Tayo’s struggles. The memory of Rocky’s death haunts him for a long time. In the Philippines, Tayo “felt Rocky’s foot brush past his own leg” during the rainstorm as Rocky was formerly being carried on the blanket; Tayo “started repeating ‘Goddamn’ ” from the pain of losing Rocky. (11) By putting this scene into the novel as a flashback, it creates Tayo’s atmosphere of pain that is always attached to him. This emotion is so intense due to his brotherly bond with Rocky, that it causes him to be hospitalized. This encounter is so emotional that it makes Tayo a memorable character.
Josiah, Tayo’s fatherly figure, played a hallucinatory role in Tayo’s military experience that scarred him deeply. During the war, Tayo was ordered to kill all the Japanese soldiers” (7) but he did not see Japanese soldiers, “he saw Josiah standing there” (7). At the time, and even for years after the war, “Rocky had reasoned it out with him; it was impossible for the dead man to be Josiah” (7) This memory haunts Tayo and still made him sick even after the war. This part of his past adds to him being a memorable character. The use of a flashback for this scene, shows how mentally troubled Tayo is during his present life. This memory is such an intense memory for Tayo that it characterized him as a memorable character. The childhood experiences Tayo endured, the regret he faces and the loss of his dear cousin Rocky, along with the hallucinations and loss of Josiah cerate Tayo to be a hauntingly memorable character though the works of Leslie Marmon Silko’s composition Ceremony.

This was probably one of the worst essays I've ever written, difficult novel to understand.