Analysis of the sacred world views
Introduction
The Americans for a very long time accorded the Native Americans cold treatment. In fact sometimes, they brutally dealt with them and considered them as soldiers of the country that they were harshly treated in. This brought a serious and long time struggle between the Americans and the Native Americans. The Americans amassed the land that belonged to the Native Americans and made them squatters in their own land. Thus, this from the outlook was a different opinion from the world’s perspective.
In the analyses, there are varied examples which distinctively show the different perceptions of the white Americans especially with the regards to the Native Americans. Thus, these analyses explore culture, lifestyles, workplaces and any other socially place that could bring the Americans and the Native Americans into contact.
Tayo, who is the main character in the Ceremony, has to come to his senses especially in the environment after World War II. He is in agony due to the painful stress disorder affecting him emotionally and physically as a result of his survival as a war prisoner in Japan. Therefore, he has to deal with the horrendous reminiscences when he rejoins the family in New Mexico. Making his problems more complex, he is a half-cast of Native Americans and Caucasian hence he has to deal with biculturalism too. As a result of this, he is divided between the world of the whites and that of Native Americans thus cannot feel at home. However, his family and friends do believe that they understand the type and the cure for his depression and illness. Though this is the case, we realize that it is the ceremonies of the Native Americans that truly assist him. Therefore, he is in need of witnessing the how people come healings ceremonies for him to fathom the recurring nature of the experiences and emotions. Against the paradoxes of current America, Old Betonie advices him and he finally realizes peace in the ceremonies. (Momaday, 36)
In this book, Marmon Silko explores the relationship between the United States of America and the Native Americans. The unwelcoming relationship that existed between the Americans and the natives Americans brought struggles between the two groups. As a result, the American settlers tried their best to clear the people of the Native Americans in order to own the land. They further subdued them and forced them into the Indian reservations “They see no life when they look they see only objects. The world is a dead thing for them" (Silko 135). Their perceptions about land were totally different. This depicts the western philosophy and their beliefs about the Native Americans.
Secondly, the paradoxical belief of the Americans against the American natives could be evidenced in their relationships especially when in crisis. The natives could only become first class citizens when allowed by the Americans. The Americans planned and they were using the Native Americans in fighting against their enemies yet they had stolen the land that belonged to the Native Americans. The Native Americans were also expected to be willing to sacrifice their lives for the country which stole their land. They were expected to be very loyal and very patriotic "They were America the Beautiful too, this was the land of the free just like the teachers said in school. They had the uniform and they didn't look different no more. They got respect" (Silko 42). The Americans expected the Native Americans only when they had conformed to the standards of the Americans and when the national security was at stake and was to be put into shape. This treatment that Americans accorded the Native Americans is a clear indication of the how their perception of the rest of the world. The rightful owners and inhabitants of a nation being treated with such discrimination is very unfortunate. In Silko (page, 41) (to Tayo and Rocky) 'God bless you,” however, she wasn’t blessing the two, but the uniform they were putting on (Momaday, 42).
The different view of the Americans that proved different included their cultural practices. The Native Americans were deprived of commercial values which were prevalently and popularly done. (Silko, page 121). They were in addition used in business for their customs and culture, for instance, Gallup ceremonial which was an event celebrated annually and attracted many tourists was commercialized (Silko, page 116).
In this book, there is so much in the perception of the Americans that they should change automatically. They marginalized the Native Americans. They did not allow the Native Americans to own land in their rightful place. Instead, very small pieces were given to them to let them be commercialized fully this also indicates that even today, the Americans there is a possibility that the Americans just utilize their native’s talents when a difficult situation arises.
All these points display how the Americans view themselves as sacred thus creating a different understanding and judgment over the rest in the world; looking at the rest as if they are second inhabitants of the world based on their races and originality.
House made of dawn
House made of dawn is about the attractiveness of the Native Americans’ customs and their feasibility for the generation to come. These ancient customs are tethered to the tempo of the land. As the novel progresses, Momaday tries to prepare readers to realize the importance of having Francisco to remember when he took Vidal and Abel in order to memorize the mesa as if it was in their own hands. He also repeated the words slowly but carefully of the calendar of the native which were marked on the rock based on the sun’s movement. This signaled when harvest should be done, when the accompanying ceremonies were to be conducted as well as when they should do planting. In the last episode of the novel, we see Abel accessing the mesa in order to aiming at running together with men who are old runners during the eleventh dawn’s celebrations. This is the dawn which saw the death of his grandfather. With the breaking of the sun over the rocks’ surface, the runners start running at ones with Abel following them. He gets tired of them but keeps going thus upholding the affiliation with the customs of the natives. Though these customs could be revised with the coming generations, but transition had to be made.
Abel is representing the men of Native Americans who participated in the World War II for a country which he knew well that had organized for a war and mass tribal killings of his people. As he fought, Abel retains the status of being an outsider. Fellow soldiers referred to him as chief in disrespecting him. He was treated as a stranger and very unreadable in all his actions. From the treatment he got, he should have felt unreasonably by himself during the war as he could not enjoy the friendship. As a result of this extreme isolation, Abel decided to take alcohol. When he returned home, he wasn’t happy as other soldiers as having served the country nicely but he was very drunk and ashamed his grandfather who broke into tears.
Also, there is alienation and of course a different world view when Abel murders an albino. This occurs after the spectacle’s description of Santiago’s feast. Acting as Santiago, the albino kills the fowl and beats Abel with its remains. This could have possibly happened as naturally as a war act but there is no overlooking of the act by his community. Therefore, forcefully the grandfather remains at home the following day instead of taking part in the feast as it had been on the previous years. The killing of the eagle by Abel looks similarly to this act. The killing is apparently not like the usual hunting of catching and killing an eagle. These actions display the distorted thoughts of Abel. Though he is taking part in the culture’s rituals, he warps the rituals to hostility and fatality. However, when we see his last image gives hope whereby he is running together with the old men in celebration of the new dawn this depicts his wish to reintegrate into the new life.
The tragedy in the novel continues to be displayed in Tosamah and Benally. Benally finds adopting new thinking necessary for his survival in the city. However, he retains the cultural values. With Abel, they practice solidarity and helps Abel to adjust. He also participates in the old rituals of the current generation. Tosamah is an impostor who at least does a number of things with true sensations. Momaday uses these two characters to represent the Native American men.
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven is a paranormal literature deals with loss as well as death with gloomy absurdity. This collection greatly relies in the past experiences of the writer, Alexie as she grew up. She had to deal with the dysfunction of being a Native American, alcoholism, broken dreams, loss as well as death. It tells a story of Thomas and victor, both who are Native Americans going to Arizona purposely to take the ashes of Victor’s father.
In the story “A train is an order of occurrence designed to lead to some result,” we find Samuel, a Native American who is old and Thomas’ grandfather living and working in Spokane’s downtown motel as a maid. Early in the morning, during his birthday and when he wrongly treated by his children, he leaves for work only to realize his firing. Though Samuel had never taken even a drop of alcohol in his life; he goes straight to a bar. When the closing time reached for the bar, he was literally pushed out of the bar into the streets. Staggering from one door to the other, he hoped to find his home. He couldn’t imagine that he no longer had a job. He then climbed an embankment, 14-feet above the ground where he sings and trips down onto the tracks. This is the bitter ending of Samuel’s life (Alexie, 56)
The narrator in “The approximate size of my favorite tumor” realizes his cancer and distances himself from the wife by continuously joking about his situation. Due to his nature of making people laugh all the times, he lands in into problem when dragged by a racist who demanded for a bribe. He tells the racists to take all that he wanted for any dollar he had was just a tip of all he possessed. This makes the racist angry and grabs all he had only to find few pennies in his possession. The wife, Norma decides to leave him for he could not avoid the joking of his fatal cancer and travels to the western U.S. where she occasionally sends cards to him. When the wife finally returns, she willingly takes care of the ailing husband. In so doing, Alexei brings hope to this terrifying situation thus excelling in the use of familiarity and humor (Alexie,79)
Conclusion
In the House Made of Dawn, we find that many characters do shy away from which they believe has no viable option of turning it. However, Abel remains steadfast in his fight for integration. We see him struggle for his identity and finally returns to home in the house made of dawn. He gets the right words and clear vision for the whole society.
On its part, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, is a connection of related stories with central characters as Victor Joseph and Thomas Builds and Victor Joseph. It describes the relationships of these two, their histories and desires of their families’ amongst those living in reservation. In this book Alexei makes good use of strange imagery, diary entries, dream sequences, flashbacks as well as poetic passages to restore hope in terrifying situations.
Works cited:
Alexie, S. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. New York: Grove Press: 2005.
Leslie M. S. Ceremony. New York: Viking, 1977
Momaday, N. S. House Made of Dawn. 1968. New York: Harper Perennial, 1999.
