Ceremony and A New Reflection on Racial Tension as a Current Event
Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko has given me a new perspective on racial tensions/issues in the United States. Although the book is mainly focused on Native Americans, the broad idea of racial issues can be applied to the current events happening to people of all races. I especially gained a more thoughtful view of the recent events in Charlottesville, North Carolina. Ceremony has given me a deeper understanding of racial tension and has helped me to open my eyes to the racism minorities experience on a constant basis.
The broad historical context of Charlottesville and white supremacy goes back quite a ways. White supremacy has ideological foundations that go back to 17th-century …show more content…
It has given me a glimpse of what being a racial minority can be like through the character of Tayo. It gave me an idea of how hard it is to constantly be reminded that you aren’t white. Charlottesville was yet another reminder of how far we have yet to come with equality and openness. I did not think in this way prior to reading Ceremony. I didn’t think about the way that minorities would feel after this event or what it might be like to be a black person that saw the event. Ceremony also helped to remind me of how much white people have taken away from others; especially Native Americans. We took their land, gave them illnesses, and shoved them onto reservations like they were dogs. I haven’t really thought this deeply about how whites have treated other people, and it has also helped to remind me that not everyone is bad. Even though people do horrible things, that doesn’t mean they are horrible people. When Betonie said “You don’t write off all the white people, just like you don’t trust all the Indians” (Silko, 118), it reminded me of the fact that after all of the horrible things we have done to others, it doesn’t automatically make us evil in the eyes of the people we have hurt. We can still better ourselves and attempt to heal some of the damage that was done. Ceremony has helped me to evaluate the effect of our actions on others on a deeper and different level than I usually
Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko has given me a new perspective on racial tensions/issues in the United States. Although the book is mainly focused on Native Americans, the broad idea of racial issues can be applied to the current events happening to people of all races. I especially gained a more thoughtful view of the recent events in Charlottesville, North Carolina. Ceremony has given me a deeper understanding of racial tension and has helped me to open my eyes to the racism minorities experience on a constant basis.
The broad historical context of Charlottesville and white supremacy goes back quite a ways. White supremacy has ideological foundations that go back to 17th-century …show more content…
It has given me a glimpse of what being a racial minority can be like through the character of Tayo. It gave me an idea of how hard it is to constantly be reminded that you aren’t white. Charlottesville was yet another reminder of how far we have yet to come with equality and openness. I did not think in this way prior to reading Ceremony. I didn’t think about the way that minorities would feel after this event or what it might be like to be a black person that saw the event. Ceremony also helped to remind me of how much white people have taken away from others; especially Native Americans. We took their land, gave them illnesses, and shoved them onto reservations like they were dogs. I haven’t really thought this deeply about how whites have treated other people, and it has also helped to remind me that not everyone is bad. Even though people do horrible things, that doesn’t mean they are horrible people. When Betonie said “You don’t write off all the white people, just like you don’t trust all the Indians” (Silko, 118), it reminded me of the fact that after all of the horrible things we have done to others, it doesn’t automatically make us evil in the eyes of the people we have hurt. We can still better ourselves and attempt to heal some of the damage that was done. Ceremony has helped me to evaluate the effect of our actions on others on a deeper and different level than I usually