The Passing
The following essay, “All It Takes Is One Good Ceremony,” is an example of a sound discussion that focuses on one luminous detail – the color blue.
All It Takes Is One Good Ceremony Leslie Marmon Silko’s novel, Ceremony, is filled with numerous networks of images. The most notable images are bathed in the color blue and are found in the natural and unnatural worlds, as well as the spiritual and physical worlds. The color blue abounds in the story of Tayo’s journey. Tayo has just come back from a Japanese Prisoner of War camp and the novel Ceremony gives us glimpses into Tayo’s quest to be healed. There is an emotional and spiritual crisis going on within Tayo, which is evident in his physical condition; however, Tayo’s quest is not only a result of something physical. Spiritually, Tayo appears to have been chosen by the elders of the Laguna tribe to eradicate the resulting shame of what the white man has done to the Indian: “But now the feelings were twisted, tangled roots, and all the names for the source of this growth were buried under English words, out of reach. And there would be no peace and the people would have no rest until the entanglement had been unwound to the source” (Ceremony 69). The healing process is directed by a ceremony and the color blue is instrumental to this ceremony. Every time the color blue is seen in the novel it is part of the evolving ceremony and is most often used to protect Tayo on his journey. Throughout Ceremony, Tayo reflects upon the color of the sky. The brilliance, or lack thereof, of the blueness of the sky is significant to Tayo’s journey: “The sky was hazy blue and it looked far away and uncertain” (19). In this initial reference, the haziness of the blue sky is symbolic of the haziness of Tayo’s mental condition. Unbeknownst to Tayo, the ceremony is just about to begin. Interestingly, woven throughout the novel, another story is taking place in the form of a poem. The poem
All It Takes Is One Good Ceremony Leslie Marmon Silko’s novel, Ceremony, is filled with numerous networks of images. The most notable images are bathed in the color blue and are found in the natural and unnatural worlds, as well as the spiritual and physical worlds. The color blue abounds in the story of Tayo’s journey. Tayo has just come back from a Japanese Prisoner of War camp and the novel Ceremony gives us glimpses into Tayo’s quest to be healed. There is an emotional and spiritual crisis going on within Tayo, which is evident in his physical condition; however, Tayo’s quest is not only a result of something physical. Spiritually, Tayo appears to have been chosen by the elders of the Laguna tribe to eradicate the resulting shame of what the white man has done to the Indian: “But now the feelings were twisted, tangled roots, and all the names for the source of this growth were buried under English words, out of reach. And there would be no peace and the people would have no rest until the entanglement had been unwound to the source” (Ceremony 69). The healing process is directed by a ceremony and the color blue is instrumental to this ceremony. Every time the color blue is seen in the novel it is part of the evolving ceremony and is most often used to protect Tayo on his journey. Throughout Ceremony, Tayo reflects upon the color of the sky. The brilliance, or lack thereof, of the blueness of the sky is significant to Tayo’s journey: “The sky was hazy blue and it looked far away and uncertain” (19). In this initial reference, the haziness of the blue sky is symbolic of the haziness of Tayo’s mental condition. Unbeknownst to Tayo, the ceremony is just about to begin. Interestingly, woven throughout the novel, another story is taking place in the form of a poem. The poem