73 pages 2 hours read

Leslie Marmon Silko

Ceremony

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1977

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Answer Key

Pages 1-67

Reading Check

1. Tayo, Harley, Leroy, Emo (18)

2.  Alcohol (21-22, 36-37, 49)

3. The jungle (or rain, humidity, wetness, etc.) (10-13)

4. Teeth from Japanese soldiers (56)

Short Answer

1. Emo hates Tayo because Tayo is part white, and many other Laguna Pueblo view Tayo with suspicion for the same reason. However, where others feel Tayo is not truly Laguna Pueblo, Emo is jealous of Tayo’s connection to white America, for which he seeks acceptance from himself. (50-53)

2. Ku’oosh cannot help Tayo because Ku’oosh doesn’t understand modern warfare. Ku’oosh cannot address the root of Tayo’s trauma with his ceremonies as a result. (31-35)

3. Warriors who do not partake in the Scalp Society and a Scalp Ceremony are haunted by K’oo’ko. Everything around them is endangered as well: Hunting game might disappear, and droughts may occur. This suggests that the Laguna Pueblo view individual trauma as inseparable from its societal and environmental context, and the effects go in both directions. (34)

Pages 68-128

Reading Check

1. Night Swan (78)

2. Greenbottle Fly (76)

3.