In Leslie Marmon Silko’s novel Ceremony, the reservation people suffer greatly because of their socioeconomic standing. They are clearly products of the imperialist U.S. government, a “repressive ideology that serve[s] to blind [them] to this fact in order to keep [them] subservient to the ruling power system” (Tyson 57). The culturally conditioned capitalist belief of the “American Dream” obstructs some of the reservation people in Ceremony from realizing that it cannot be achieved because of their socioeconomic status.
Tayo’s Auntie is a perfect example of the oppressive effects of the conditioned “American Dream” system. She rejects the religion of her own people in order to be accepted in American society, therefore hoping to obtain a higher status in life. Auntie rejects the notion to “ask for a medicine man to help [Tayo because] someone will say it’s not right” (Silko 33). She supports the American government’s suggestion, reminding Old Grandma that “the Army doctor said: ‘No Indian medicine’” (Silko 34). Auntie wants everyone to believe that “she was a devote Christian and not an immoral or pagan like the rest of the family” (Silko 77). She even conditions Rocky “to be a success” (Silko 51) by restricting Robert and Josiah from talking to him; she figured that Rocky’s success was her only chance to obtain a higher status. Auntie “value[s] Rocky’s growing understanding of the outside world, of the books, of everything of importance and power” (Silko 76). However, Auntie’s attempts are pointless because her family is still the subject of gossip and her social standing never changes; she actually loses Rocky and Josiah because of their conditioned desires to obtain the American dream.
Rocky is another victim of the impossible American dream. Rocky is an all-American “A-student and all-state in football and track…[who] deliberately avoid[s] the old time ways” (Silko 51). Rocky values “books [that] are written by scientists [because] they know everything there is to know about beef cattle” (Silko 76). A recruiter reassures Rocky that serving in the Army will provide him with a “big change to [show]” how much he loves America (Silko 64). Rocky becomes interested because he wants to become a pilot, a common American aspiration during that time. Unfortunately, the recruiter misleads Rocky when he tells him, “you enlist now and you’ll be eligible for everything—pilot training—everything” (Silko 65). Rocky gullibly believes that he will “go all over the world. See different places and different people… [and have] his own Government car to drive, too” (Silko 72). His belie[f] in the word ‘someday’ the way white people do” (Silko 73), fuels his hope in achieving the unobtainable dream. Sadly, Rocky joins the Army, never becoming a pilot, but he is shipped off to war. He never achieves his dream because he loses his young life at the Bataan Death March, a vicious battle overseas, fighting for a country that has no intention of serving him or ever training him to become a pilot.
Similarly, Josiah is culturally conditioned to believe that he can achieve the impossible American dream; Josiah’s dream can only be met if he can buy the type of cattle that can flourish in drought conditions. Instead of relying on personal knowledge and experience with cattle, he relies on books that teach him about “scientific cattle breeding [that] was very complicated [and]…written by white people who did not think about drought or winter blizzards or dry thistles, which the cattle had to live with” (Silko 75). He ends up purchasing water-hunting Mexican cattle that easily breaks through fences and takes “almost the entire day to round them up because they are so wild” (Silko 80). Josiah never fulfills his American dream through his Mexican cows; he actually dies in process of searching for them during Tayo’s absence.
Consequently, the desire that drives some of the reservation people in Ceremony to obtain the culturally conditioned American dream is the cause of their misfortunes. The dream leads them to have false hopes, to seek impossible things, and to suffer greatly. The truth is that although they have been taught that the American dream can be achieved by anyone, in reality it cannot be achieved by the reservation people, especially since the day they were appointed land that was unsuitable for agriculture by the white imperialistic U.S. government, who then expects them to rely on farming in order to sadly survive.
Works Cited
Silko, Leslie Marmon. Ceremony. New York: Penguin, 1977. Print.
Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.
Tayo’s Auntie is a perfect example of the oppressive effects of the conditioned “American Dream” system. She rejects the religion of her own people in order to be accepted in American society, therefore hoping to obtain a higher status in life. Auntie rejects the notion to “ask for a medicine man to help [Tayo because] someone will say it’s not right” (Silko 33). She supports the American government’s suggestion, reminding Old Grandma that “the Army doctor said: ‘No Indian medicine’” (Silko 34). Auntie wants everyone to believe that “she was a devote Christian and not an immoral or pagan like the rest of the family” (Silko 77). She even conditions Rocky “to be a success” (Silko 51) by restricting Robert and Josiah from talking to him; she figured that Rocky’s success was her only chance to obtain a higher status. Auntie “value[s] Rocky’s growing understanding of the outside world, of the books, of everything of importance and power” (Silko 76). However, Auntie’s attempts are pointless because her family is still the subject of gossip and her social standing never changes; she actually loses Rocky and Josiah because of their conditioned desires to obtain the American dream.
Rocky is another victim of the impossible American dream. Rocky is an all-American “A-student and all-state in football and track…[who] deliberately avoid[s] the old time ways” (Silko 51). Rocky values “books [that] are written by scientists [because] they know everything there is to know about beef cattle” (Silko 76). A recruiter reassures Rocky that serving in the Army will provide him with a “big change to [show]” how much he loves America (Silko 64). Rocky becomes interested because he wants to become a pilot, a common American aspiration during that time. Unfortunately, the recruiter misleads Rocky when he tells him, “you enlist now and you’ll be eligible for everything—pilot training—everything” (Silko 65). Rocky gullibly believes that he will “go all over the world. See different places and different people… [and have] his own Government car to drive, too” (Silko 72). His belie[f] in the word ‘someday’ the way white people do” (Silko 73), fuels his hope in achieving the unobtainable dream. Sadly, Rocky joins the Army, never becoming a pilot, but he is shipped off to war. He never achieves his dream because he loses his young life at the Bataan Death March, a vicious battle overseas, fighting for a country that has no intention of serving him or ever training him to become a pilot.
Similarly, Josiah is culturally conditioned to believe that he can achieve the impossible American dream; Josiah’s dream can only be met if he can buy the type of cattle that can flourish in drought conditions. Instead of relying on personal knowledge and experience with cattle, he relies on books that teach him about “scientific cattle breeding [that] was very complicated [and]…written by white people who did not think about drought or winter blizzards or dry thistles, which the cattle had to live with” (Silko 75). He ends up purchasing water-hunting Mexican cattle that easily breaks through fences and takes “almost the entire day to round them up because they are so wild” (Silko 80). Josiah never fulfills his American dream through his Mexican cows; he actually dies in process of searching for them during Tayo’s absence.
Consequently, the desire that drives some of the reservation people in Ceremony to obtain the culturally conditioned American dream is the cause of their misfortunes. The dream leads them to have false hopes, to seek impossible things, and to suffer greatly. The truth is that although they have been taught that the American dream can be achieved by anyone, in reality it cannot be achieved by the reservation people, especially since the day they were appointed land that was unsuitable for agriculture by the white imperialistic U.S. government, who then expects them to rely on farming in order to sadly survive.
Works Cited
Silko, Leslie Marmon. Ceremony. New York: Penguin, 1977. Print.
Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.