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Essay / h successive generations to maintain and transmit an entire culture, a vision of the world equipped with proven survival strategies” (“Landscape, History and Pueblo Imagination”, 1007). For this reason, it is imperative to have multiple points of view throughout the story to reflect how the Laguna Pueblo tribe tells the story. Such a narrative shift can be seen when Tayo is in the bar and Emo picks up the story and begins to explain: "White women never looked at me until I wore this uniform..." (Ceremony 40 ). Suddenly, at that moment, Tayo's experience of war is added by Emo. Immediately following Emo's story, Tayo's account brings yet another perspective on the same situation: "The first day in Oakland, he and Rocky were walking down the street...and an old white woman rolled down the window and said, “God bless you, God bless you.” to God,' but it was the uniform, not them, she blessed” (Ceremony 41). The combination of these scenes illustrates the tradition of collective memory. Additionally, Silko weaves Emo's story into Tayo's in order to show, once again, how the Western world has the potential to poison the Native American experience. Emo being a prime example of this tainted identity. Tayo is also tainted by the Western world, but in a different way than Emo. While Emo glorifies his wartime experiences in his recounting of stories of sexual experiences with white women (Ceremony 57-59), Tayo is forced to reconnect with painful memories of random combat. While the others "repeated stories of good times in Oakland and San Diego" in the bar, Tayo could not stop crying at the memory of Rocky's death (Ceremony 43-44). These moments also give a unique voice to the experience of a Laguna Pueblo American Indian, since many fought in World War II and subsequently suffered debilitating psychological trauma. Even seemingly innocent moments in his daily life, like hearing Harley eating grape seeds, have the potential to trigger Tayo because "the sound of the crushing made him sick... He didn't want to hear Harley crushing the seeds" (Ceremony 45). The way Tayo experiences many moments of his life in rapid flashes is analogous to the way PTSD victims are often pushed back to the moments that caused their trauma. However, Silko clarifies that Tayo's trauma is not permanent through another convention of Laguna Pueblo storytelling: the inclusion of traditional poems that detail timeless experiences. These poems are used to provide explanations for modern events, such as war or drought that occur throughout history. Silko aligns the characters in Tayo's story with the characters in the poems in a way that emphasizes the Laguna Pueblo tribe's idea that time is circular and stories repetitive. For example, the drought that Tayo believes he creates by "praying against the rain" (Ceremony 12) during the war is juxtaposed with a poem that describes a fight between Iktoa'ak'o'ya Reed Woman and her sister. , Corn Woman. The poem explains: "Reed Woman / was always taking a bath... Corn Woman had had enough of that... she scolded / her sister / for bathing all day." / Iktoa'ak'o'ya Reed Woman / then went away…And there was no more rain then” (Ceremony 13). By aligning modern drought with this poem, it is clear that what Tayo is experiencing is not unprecedented and that the drought is not his fault. Additionally, American Indians' internalized shame for their roots is aligned with the ancient Laguna Pueblos who "were/so busy/playing with this/Ck'o'yo magic/ »..
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