The Construction of Self in Ceremony -Leslie Marmon Silko
Twentieth-century American fiction firmly locates narrative in the individual consciousness. Yet it also presents an image of the self struggling for autonomy and meaning against the bonds of history or the emptiness of the present.
Examine the construction of the self in the work of one of the authors on the syllabus.
What do we have to understand by self-knowledge? What do we have to know about the self? The answer to the question “who am I?” implies some precise opinions. I am Mr. A, Mr. B. A person defined by its culture, I am a body; I am my social role and my character. For others, the question “who am I?” means more: I am a person with its moral qualities, a soul, a spirit, I am a man, and I am a composition. Or even better, I am myself, I am my past. Each of these definitions corresponds to a form of self-knowledge. Having a mix of Laguna Pueblo, Mexican, and White ancestry, the Native American writer Leslie Marmon Silko leans her work on identity, tradition and history. In her books, Silko deals with many issues related to American Indians. Besides, her half-breed character in Ceremony, can be perceived as a projection of her own person. Indeed, Alan R. Velie said in Four American Literary Masters that Silko revealed that living in Laguna Pueblo society as a mixed blood from a prominent family caused her a lot of pain. It meant being different from, and not fully accepted by either the full blooded Native Americans or White people. In such situation, identity references are sufficiently confused and disordered. The story of Tayo is a story of refiguring identity. This deconstruction of his social status as an outsider, a role he has internalized on from his early childhood, involves an intense and painful confrontation with both his Pueblo and White legacies. These conflicting fragments of identity are united within himself. What about self-knowledge? Does Tayo possess a feeling of belonging?
It leads to analyse how identity is initially
Examine the construction of the self in the work of one of the authors on the syllabus.
What do we have to understand by self-knowledge? What do we have to know about the self? The answer to the question “who am I?” implies some precise opinions. I am Mr. A, Mr. B. A person defined by its culture, I am a body; I am my social role and my character. For others, the question “who am I?” means more: I am a person with its moral qualities, a soul, a spirit, I am a man, and I am a composition. Or even better, I am myself, I am my past. Each of these definitions corresponds to a form of self-knowledge. Having a mix of Laguna Pueblo, Mexican, and White ancestry, the Native American writer Leslie Marmon Silko leans her work on identity, tradition and history. In her books, Silko deals with many issues related to American Indians. Besides, her half-breed character in Ceremony, can be perceived as a projection of her own person. Indeed, Alan R. Velie said in Four American Literary Masters that Silko revealed that living in Laguna Pueblo society as a mixed blood from a prominent family caused her a lot of pain. It meant being different from, and not fully accepted by either the full blooded Native Americans or White people. In such situation, identity references are sufficiently confused and disordered. The story of Tayo is a story of refiguring identity. This deconstruction of his social status as an outsider, a role he has internalized on from his early childhood, involves an intense and painful confrontation with both his Pueblo and White legacies. These conflicting fragments of identity are united within himself. What about self-knowledge? Does Tayo possess a feeling of belonging?
It leads to analyse how identity is initially