full title Ceremony
author Leslie Marmon Silko
type of work Novel, but incorporates poetry
genre Native American story; postmodern
language English (with inclusion of Laguna Pueblo words)
time and place written Mid-1970s,
New Mexico.
date of first publication 1977
publisher Penguin
narrator Third person narrator limited to Tayo's perspective,
in addition to third person limited and omniscient and first person
narrators in the poems
climax The night at the abandoned mine.
protagonist Tayo
antagonist whites; and Emo
setting (time) The main present of the text is set just after World
War II, but the text ranges in time from a mythical past through
the 1920s and World
War II up until that present.
setting (place) The majority of the novel is set on and around the
Laguna Reservation, in the Southwest of the United States, although portions
are also set in a mythical land, and in the Philippines.
point of view Primarily third person limited
falling action World War II
tense Past
foreshadowing As time in the novel runs in a circular fashion, all
events are at once foreshadowed and remembered.
tone Somber but hopeful
themes Storytelling; contact between Native American and
white cultures; tradition; water and drought
motifs Non-linear narrative structure; combination of poetry
and prose
symbols The Gallup Ceremonial
