Date of Award

2017

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in English

Department

English

First Advisor

Sonstegard, Adam

Second Advisor

Lardner, Ted

Subject Headings

Modern Literature, Native Americans

Abstract

Scholars have understood Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony as a journey to restoration for her protagonist Tayo. The scholarly discussion focuses predominately on the female side of Silko’s novel. Yet Silko balances between the male and female side of Laguna Cutlture which has not been acknowledged enough by scholars. Silko uses three male characters, Robert, Ku’oosh, and Betonie to guide Tayo back to Laguna Culture, which is feminine. I intend to show importance of Silko’s male characters. Silko also intended to use her male characters to present a line that ranges from the family (Robert) to the community (Ku’oosh) to the larger world (Betonie) while showing the restoration of Tayo at each point. Without the men there is no return to Laguna Culture for Tayo. All three men act as partners and active participants in Tayo’s restoration process. The end result is that Tayo rejoins Laguna Society and is flexible, while meeting the needs of the people.

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