Ceremony by Silko

A rite of passage is defined as a ceremony marking a significant transition or an important event or achievement, both regarded as having great meaning in lives of individuals. In Sharon Olds' moving poem "Rite of Passage", these definitions are illustrated in the lives of a mother and her seven-year-old son. The seriousness and significance of these events are represented in the author's tone, which undergoes many of its own changes as the poem progresses.

A literal interpretation of the grandmother portrays an elderly southern woman attempting to maintain the proper and genteel values of the South. The grandmother places great importance on her appearance and the opinions of others. This importance is revealed at the beginning of their journey when the story compares the grandmother, a reflection of the past, to the daughter-in-law, a reflection of the present:

She was never exposed to a trauma or suffering before; hence her ignorance to what might potentially hurt her. However, this scene provided Taylor with an eye opening experience for her, as she becomes more appreciative for her blessings, which can be confirmed on the scene following it, where she sees the world in a new light. Throughout her entire life, she has been trying to resist pregnancy and involvement with men, and now she counts them as her blessings, hence her companionship with Estevan and Turtle/April. This verifies that she is preparing herself for parenthood. In many ways, this scene gives a pinnacle point in both these characters, establishing trust and reliance with them as they both share something new about them, signaling a positive shift in their friendship. Listening to the horrors of Estevan’s past generates a calamity for Taylor. She begins to grasp the capability for malice in the world. Estevan mentioned the idea that Taylor has preferred not to realize the horrors in other nations. There have been preceding chapters that Taylor will discount what it might pain her to realize. However, this scene creates awareness for her to count her blessings and prepare herself for the long journey of raising Turtle. Conversely, when Taylor found herself cuddling with Estevan, not only did she establish respect for him after this scene, but also with

With a weary grunt, Booker shifted the bag of groceries in his arms and kicked his apartment door closed with his foot. He had planned to be home early so he take Tom out to dinner as a birthday surprise, but as usual, work had ruined his plans. When he had rung Tom and explained that he would be home late, he had expected him to react moodily, but instead, he had received a sympathetic response. It was a sign that their relationship was now on stable footing. Tom was more open about his feelings, and they argued less about the trivialities of everyday life; they were moving forward.

“I think it’s great that these farm-labor kids get to spend a day away from the fields,” (Bloor, 204) he said. Tino lashed back, “I see you on the TV, and I laugh all the time.” (Bloor, 205) Suddenly, Erik lashed out and smacked the back of his hand across Tino’s face. Because of Erik’s actions, Tino, Theresa, and Henry didn’t want to be friends with Paul anymore, and he lost three of his closest friends because of

From this, hardships become prevalent, and when overcome, positive growth can occur. Additionally, transitions may lead to significant personal reward and change for an individual due to circumstantial acceptance. The Story of Tom Brennan displays these concepts explicitly, as Tom constantly has his value of relationships negatively hindered. However, once he overcomes his challenges brought forth by Daniels drink-driving incident, he is able to gain a ‘new start’ regarding relationships, as he is able to gain acceptance. Furthermore, Toms statement of “The Davin was my obstacle”, utilises the metaphorical obstacle of ‘Davin’, who becomes a hardship for Tom to overcome in order to ‘win’ Chrissy, and thus overcome his loneliness and reforms his values of relationships and love. Once Tom overcomes this obstacle, as evident it the truncated sentence of “Today became the day I kissed Chrissy Tulake”, positive growth occurs, as he becomes releases that he has purpose in life and that his negative past isn’t omnipresent in is everyday life. It is due to this positive transition, that Tom’s values of Relationships and love become reformed, as he becomes enlightened towards the positive effects of love, therefore leading to the paramount personal reward of gaining a relationship with Chrissy, alongside finally accepting his circumstances. Ultimately, it is

Auntie raised Tayo and was the mother figure he lacked. She willingly accepted to take him, but only to "conceal the shame of her younger sister (29)". Auntie was always hesitant toward Tayo as he was not her real son and was also a half-breed. For Tayo, this only added to his feeling of

In the beginning stages of his life Tayo lives with his mother who spends her time getting drunk and sleeping with various men. His mom did not care for his physical or mental health and eventually sends Tayo to live with his “Auntie.” Although Auntie takes care of Tayo physically she does not make an effort to provide a nurturing environment for him emotionally. Auntie fed Tayo and gave him a place to sleep, however, she also made it clear to him that he was excluded from the family, always keeping him close enough to watch but not including him. Silko proved Tayo’s alienation in this depiction of Auntie and Tayo’s relationship, “She wanted him close enough to feel excluded, to be aware of the distance between them.” Auntie was not true to herself or her roots. She was constantly torn between maintaining a pure image and staying true to her Indian roots. She was a devout Christian and looked down on Tayo for not being full Native American. Auntie and Tayo’s mom themselves were not stable and therefore they were unable to provide stability for Tayo. His mom left the reservation but instead of making a life for herself she ended up spending all her money on alcohol and sleeping with lots of men. Tayo did not know his dad but his dad was a white man, because of this Auntie looked down on

As the story progresses, it is Sunday morning and her family is getting ready to attend a family bar-b-queue. However, Connie insists on not attending and is left alone at home. As she is washing her hair, she hears an unfamiliar car driving up to her house and her heart begins to pound for she does not want the visitor to see her undone. When Arnold Friend, a man she has seen at the restaurant before, but has never spoken to, shows up on her doorstep, she is someone curious as to why he is visiting her. Throughout the scene, he is attempting to persuade Connie into taking a ride with him and his friend Ellie. The more he speaks to her, he reveals to her that he knows many things about her such as her friends, her name, and family and where they are currently at. As the scene develops, Connie no longer has interest in Arnold for she now is scared and is fearful of what his intentions are.

Thomas introduced himself by saying, “I’m half magician on my mother’s side and half clown on my father’s” (Alexie, “This Is What” 286). Many people laughed at that joke and Cathy thought it was funny also, so they continue to have a conversation. Even though Victor is embarrassed at Thomas’s attempts to continue to talk with her, they realize that Cathy is friendly and they all enjoy talking to each other. Another example is Thomas says “Sounds like you all got a lot in common with Indians” (Alexie, “This Is what 286”). This joke made the situation awkward because nobody thought was funny. That shows that not everything is a joke and could get the people around him offended or mad. When the plane lands, Victor felt the need to say sorry and get the feeling out of his chest so he apologizes for beating up Thomas. Soon later they arrive at Victor’s father’s trailer. Victor’s father’s body was not found for a week, so the trailer smelled really bad and it is really hard for Thomas and Victor to go in to sort through the man's things. While they are looking and going through the trailer they both are telling stories about how they helped one another and how they will have each other’s

Throughout the novel, Ceremony, has made an imprint that there is a significance in ceremonies when it comes to the Native Americans and how it ties in with their culture. There is a decrease in seeing that there is a significance in Ceremonies and that is what Leslie Silko does throughout the novel. Noticing that any type of ceremony should not be negative only because Ceremonies is what keeps the natives going in their culture and what they believe in. One of the themes that I have seen through the novel is the use of ceremonies and how they weigh heavily in the novel and on the main character. Within the novel, Tayo, the main character goes through difficulty as he is sent off to

Victor has to go to Phoenix to get Arnolds ashes. Thomas offers money to help him get there, but there is one catch, Thomas has to go with him. Victor automatically says no, but after a little while he accepts the offer, having a little change of heart. From here on, Victor's personality changes slowly but surely. As they are on their way to get his father’s ashes, two 'cowboys' sit in their seats, but they won’t let them have their seats back, because the boys are Native Americans. This only makes Victor mad, and Thomas confused. When they get to Phoenix, they meet Suzy Song, who is the woman who lived next to Arnold. She tells Victor about how much Arnold talked about him, and how much he wished he could see him. She also told him about how the fire on July 4th was accidently caused by Arnold, because he was drinking. All these years Victor thought his father didn’t want him anymore, but he just didn't want to hurt his son anymore.

His lack of social skills becomes much more apparent once he leaves the house for the first time. He has no intended destination, and wanders the streets. Once he is hurt by the limousine, he is given an injection to ease his pain. As the doctor fills the needle, he wants to show fear, not because he has had this experience before, but because "he visualized all the TV incidents in which he had seen injections being given" (Kosinski 33). Just like the prisoners in the cave, he was trying to understand a reality based on pictures in order to react to the world around him. One thing that he has never experienced is any type of a sex life. He found himself in a room with EE, where she made a sexual advance towards him. He thought back to a situation on TV where he could imitate an actor in a similar scene. He remembers a close embrace and kissing, but unfortunately

Thomas is a nerd in his reservation, wearing oversize glasses and telling everyone stories do not wants to hear. Thomas bring a very interesting flavor to the story. He tells many stories to the people, but most people ignore him, because most of his stories are made up. He sees Victor as a brother. Each time something happen between Thomas and Victor like a fight or an argument, Thomas would go back to him and talk to

But where the story began to take a turn was when Marla, the woman that he met in the support groups, called and stated she was in the process of committing suicide. He pretty much blew her off when Tyler took the initiative to go to her apartment where he becomes her coping mechanism by using sex. But while the narrator (Edward) thinks that he is having some sort of nightmare not understanding it is actual reality. Then noticing the tension between the two the narrator states that they Marla and Tyler remind him of his parent because he never sees them in the same place at once. The only time that they spent in the same room was during sexual intercourse. He narrator was jealous because of the way he felt for Marla, but just too afraid to express it because she was already sleeping with Tyler. This is why the tension was so high.