Ceremony Annotated Bib Draft

David Lyon
Eng 254
Professor Rouzie
April 29, 2009
Ceremony: Annotated Bibliography
We can read this novel through a post-colonial lens, and by doing so we can learn a great deal. I want to focus on the binary relationships and the way Silko blurs the lines but also, how she shows the connectedness between cultures. That we are different, but also connected to each other and to nature. Focus on how the American Indian condition is a unique case in the realm of post-colonial cultures, in that our empire has been built around their homeland, it is not geographically on the periphery, as with European colonies, eg. Africa, India, the Caribbean etc. Discuss how this is problematic and how Silko deals with these issues in the novel. And how Silko’s writing might differ from other post-colonial writers. Does the AI’s proximity to the metropole help or hurt the possibility of healing and cohabitation? Tayo as a character at a crossroads, living on the border of several identities, how does he begin his prescencing? Tayo’s mixed ethnicity itself is an example of how binaries can be complicated and how they do not accurately describe the world. Ultimately, I would like to focus on how Silko uses Tayo’s story to offer a message of healing and self-discovery.

McLaughlin, Becky, and Bob Coleman. Everyday Theory: A Contemporary Reader. 1st ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2005. Print. Homi Bhabha. Border Lives: The Art of the Present.
This essay describes binary relationships in a general sense. It gives many examples of post-colonial binary relationships but does not focus on one in particular. He describes the way that binary thinking has been used as a powerful tool to colonize the hearts and minds of “native” cultures. Through the article it becomes clear that Bhabha is seeking to break down these binary relationships. He also discusses several related topics such as, the beyond, the exotic, and the periphery. Each of these has, both in the past and present, been used as a tool to exclude native culture and establish European hegemony. Throughout this essay Bhabha also discusses the issue of identity. Specifically the identity of the subaltern. He concludes his essay with a section titled “Looking for the Join,” in this section he asserts his belief that art and fiction can serve to bring together seemingly separate cultures of this “unhomely” world, and promote unity.

McLaughlin, Becky, and Bob Coleman. Everyday Theory: A Contemporary Reader. 1st ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2005. Print. Frantz Fanon. On National Culture.
This essay deals specifically with the methods of colonialism, the colonizing of the mind. Specifically, the way that the colonizer seeks to not only destroy the culture of the colonized, but to convince the colonized that their culture never was relevant. One way this is achieved, argues Fanon, is to convince the colonized that their culture was barbaric before the European culture saved them through colonization. He also documents three phases of the native writer: in the first phase the native writer assimilates the oppressor’s culture and writes as a loyal subject. In the second phase the native writer disassociates with the oppressor and realizes that their own culture is legitimate. However during this phase the native writer still does not feel a part of their native culture, they still feel disconnected. In the third phase the native writer tires merely of learning about the past of his people and becomes a revolutionary, and sets out to inspire his fellow natives to reject the culture of the oppressor and embrace their own heritage.

Evasdaughter, Elizabeth N.. "Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony: Healing Ethnic Hatred by Mixed-Breed Laughter." MELUS 15(1988): 83-95. Print.
This article argues that Ceremony was written as a way to use humor to mock the way that we experience race. Evasdaughter asserts that Silko’s intention was to illustrate how we are similar, not how we are different. She spends a great deal of time in this article discussing how Silko challenges our western thought processes. She discusses how, as white readers, we may have a difficulty finding the humor in this novel. She also claims that as white readers we may have a difficult time accepting the way Ceremony challenges traditional ideas.

Swan, Edith. "Healing Via the Sunwise Cycle in Silko's "Ceremony"." American Indian Quarterly 12(1988): 313-328. Print.
This article focuses on the journey of Tayo through the “Sunwise” cycle.