Othering In Ceremony, By Leslie Marmon Silko

Othering is present in many books, although they are hidden away from plain sight, only being mentioned in a subtle way. In the case of “Ceremony”, written by Leslie Marmon Silko, othering is seen through the way certain peoples are isolated or rejected from society, especially in certain periods of time. It is also seen through the short stories Tayo tells, recalling events when Native Americans faced discrimination against their oppressors, the whites. In the case of “Go Tell it on the Mountain”, written by James Baldwin, the two “definite” races present in the book (whites and blacks) are constantly pushing each other away, discriminating each other on multiple occasions, such as when Roy comes home with a cut from a fight. John sees this
Regarding characterization, John Grimes of “Go Tell it on the Mountain” sees a character change at least once throughout the book, and Tayo of “Ceremony” goes through a lot of character changes within each “section” of the book, both of which change in accordance to what happens in the book. Regarding symbolism, some recurring symbols from “Go Tell it on the Mountain” and those from “Ceremony” include also have something to do with the theme of othering present in both books. And as with structure within the books themselves, “Go Tell it on the Mountain” contains various sections, told from the point of view of multiple characters, and “Ceremony” is told in one huge “chapter”, and as a result of that, different people see the story split into different
The way that the book “Go tell it on the Mountain” is structured is so that multiple characters can share their points of view on how they live their daily lives in this time era. The book itself is split into five distinct sections, each looking at the points of view of John, his parents and his aunt. As it is seen in the interactions between the blacks and whites of the story, John’s family, especially his parents, don’t really like white folks that much, and elaborating on each of their opinions by giving them each a section of the book only makes the theme of othering even more clear. _____, “____” (Baldwin __). The method Baldwin used to let other characters share their opinions and how they see the world is a great way to emphasize on how John’s family sees their alienation as a family, and as individuals as well. The way that “Ceremony” is written, however, is a bit more difficult to understand, since it isn’t exactly split into definitive chapters or sections. Silko’s story, unlike Baldwin’s, majorly revolves around one main character, Tayo, and usually follows the story from his point of view. This singular perspective of storytelling could also be taken as a form of othering, simply because it follows Tayo, and therefore has to follow his opinions