Evaluation

Evaluation

The book __Ceremony__ is definitely a unique book. It broke the mould of traditional American novels by using Native American culture. Native American's culture mainly consists of storytelling, which is displayed in this book. Throughout the book Silko gives Native American poems to tell the story. This follows the Native American culture of oral storytelling.

Another theme of this book is racism. There is a constant struggle between Native Americans and whites in this book. The Native Americans are always fighting to keep their tradition in the new white land. The conflicting races can even be found in Tayo himself, being half white, half Native American. Throughout the book, Tayo tries to find a happy medium between white and Native American culture. One example of this is found in the mixed schools where white teachers tell their Native American students that their stories and beliefs are wrong.

The importance of tradition is another theme found in __Ceremony__. The book's main plot is to cure Tayo's depression through a traditional ceremony. They need to preserve Native American tradition, yet need to change it with time to fit Tayo's needs. This displays how one should not blindly follow a tradition if it is not right. Traditions need to progress.