Lack Of Guidance In Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony

In Ceremony  Tayo observes what media has done with colonialism and how it has affected the way he views himself and whites. He was out trying to retrieve his uncle 's cattle from Floyd Lee 's position. Additionly, when trying to retrieve them he contemplates how they got there in the first place. Furthermore, he is struggling internally to figure out why a white man would want to steal the cows.  “Why did he hesitate to accuse a white man of stealing but not a Mexican or Indian?” (Silko, 177) To elaborate, the answer to his internalized struggle is how colonialism has in bred whites as the saviors to the savage Indians. Moreover, it has brought him to believe the lie that whites are there to save him and can not do any harm. Also, how he

Ceremony displays how Tayo’s emotional development brings him closer to his native culture through traditional

When analyzing the book Waterlily, by Ella Cara Deloria, it is important to recognize the vital relationship she illustrates between the Dakota Sioux tribe and their values of kinship. The book both incorporates the complex nature of kinship, but also constructs a comprehensive timeline of the traditional lives of the Dakota Sioux and how the interact within their society. Deloria strives at epitomizing how important kinship is in everyday life for the Dakota Sioux; and how it keeps them organized into one exhaustive, organized society, thus allowing them to stand together in solidarity.

His own journey ended this speculation that he, in fact, is a true Native American more than emo and his friends, more than anyone who calls themselves pure. This discovery might have happened over a long period of time with small individual connections to animals and people that might have seemed insignificant. But each of these animals; the fly, the cattle and the mountain lion, all exposed Tayo to see his own struggles that he is having. And in order for one in any situation face their problems head on, one must know them first, one must know what directly causes them to happen. This is exactly what does on his journey of self-opening, even though it is not planned he was able to see these struggles in each and every animal and living being. This allows for Tayo, in the end, to be completely self-aware of everything that revolves the

In Terrance Hayes’s poem “Mr. T-,” the speaker presents the actor Laurence Tureaud, also known as Mr. T, as a sellout and an unfavorable role model for the African American youth for constantly playing negative, stereotypical roles for a black man in order to achieve success in Hollywood.  The speaker also characterizes Mr. T as enormous and simple-minded with a demeanor similar to an animal’s to further his mockery of Mr. T’s career.

In the poem Heritage by Linda Hogan, Hogan uses the tone of the speaker to demonstrate the shame and hatred she has toward her family, but also her desire to learn about her family’s original heritage. The speaker describes each family member and how they represent their heritage. When describing each member, the speaker’s tone changes based on how she feels about them. The reader can identify the tone by Hogan’s word choices and the positive and negative outlooks on each member of the family.

Drew Hayden Taylor writes, in his 1991 essay, about his life being a First Nations man but looking “Pretty like a white boy.” He writes about how he witnessed and heard so much racism towards First Nations people because people thought he was Caucasian.

The poem “Testing New Waters” relates to Jackie Robinson’s experiences during his life. The poem portrays what it is like for a person to embrace taking risks. Through Jackie Robinson’s professional and successful career he emulates Holbrook’s message. As does the founding of the Negro League. The journey which they embarked upon towards equality changed baseball for everyone forever. They show that skin color isn’t what is important and that they should be recognized for what they do instead of how they look. This road to their achievement might not have been smooth, but all that matters is that they succeeded in the end.

Marcus Garvey said, “People without the knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots.” For the citizens of Otter Lake, a fictional reserve set in Drew Hayden Taylor’s Novel Motorcycles and Sweetgrass, they are disconnected from their cultural roots. Much of the older generation is suffering psychologically from the effects of residential schools, where their culture was taken from them. The younger generations in return feel no ties to their past as they were raised by people who feelings towards it were conflicted as they spent years being abused and told that their culture was wrong. As an author, one of their main roles is to convey a message. Considering Drew Hayden Taylor is First Nation and of the

Frederick Douglass’ use of vivid imagery, metaphor, parallelism, and irony in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave was even more impressive and effective in his time than now. Graphic visual and sensory imagery grabbed polite society’s attention to demonstrate the violence against slaves. Metaphors countered racial bias by equating violence across races. Irony emphasized the reality of religious, political, and social hypocrisy against black people. Each device is effective independently, but their placement augmented Douglass’ protest of slavery and racism. First, Douglass recounted his childhood using imagery and metaphor to establish an understanding

Kwame Dawes, an author of poems, novels, and anthologies, was born and raised in Jamaica, later moving to the States in pursuit of his current employment at the University of Nebraska. He writes mainly about the themes of ethnicity, influenced by Jamaican culture and the musician Bob Marley. “Tornado Child” contains a storm of concepts. This poem is intriguing because of its ability to draw different ideas of the theme based on the reader’s experiences and influences. What is the intended interpretation, and what could be interpreted?

“We must be united” was the plea from Tecumseh to the Osage tribe. In 1811, Tecumseh, known as the “Greatest Indian”, gave a speech pleading with the Osage tribe that they should unite together to fight against the white man (Tecumseh, 231). He goes on to tell how they had given the white man everything they needed to recover health when they entered their land but in return the white man had become the enemy. The speech to the Osages by Tecumseh illustrates the dangers of the white men to the Indian tribes, and why the tribes should unite together against the white man.

She weaved and overlapped Tayos life with pain. “The word he chose to express “fragile” was filled with the intricacies of a continuing process, and with a strength inherent in spider webs woven across paths through sand bills where early in the morning the sun becomes entangled in each filament of web.” (Pg 35) Silko did not sugar coat the weight of Tayo’s guilt and how nightmare continuously haunted him. She let his disjointed metal state direct the story and the path the reader must take to understand Tayo. Luckily, he is able to complete the Ceremony, the healing process instructed by Old Bentonie. “He had proved something about himself; it wasn’t as strong as it had once been. It was changing, unraveling like the yarn of a dark heavy blanket wrapped around a corpse, the dusty rotted strands of darkness unwinding, giving was to the air; its smothering pressure was lifting form the bones of his skull.” (Pg

In the story “A Worn Path” Phoenix Jackson was an old African American women. She takes a small journey that can be an allegory of someone's whole life. The journey had hard and easy parts, beauty, danger, and confusion. But her quest was to get the medicine for her sick grandson who laid at home waiting for her return. Phoenix was a delusional yet heroic, caring grandmother who would stop at nothing to get what she needed. She is an interesting character because she can have characteristics that are good and bad. The two characteristics that are related to her the most was she can be delusional but yet a heroic person.

A father plays a crucial role in the life of his children. One modern adage expresses a touching thought about fathers, stating, “Dad, a son’s first hero and a daughter’s first love.” This quote embraces the relationship of Atticus Finch and his children, Jem and Scout, in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Jeremy, the older of the Finch kids, holds his father in extremely high regard and depends on his guidance in life while his younger sister, Jean Louise, trusts Atticus whole-heartedly and adores him despite her occasional indifference toward him. During the three years in which To Kill a Mockingbird takes place, the author grants a glimpse of Atticus’ method of upbringing. Like so many exceptional fathers, Atticus proves his love,