The Man to Send Rainclouds is a short story written by Leslie Marmon Silko about Native American Leon and his brother-in-law, Ken, and the events that unfold after they find their grandfather, Teofilo, dead, under a cottonwood tree. The story deals with topics concerning religion and faith, specifically the cultural divide between Father Paul (the priest at their local Roman Catholic church),and the Pueblo Native Americans.
This story takes place in New Mexico, near their sheep camp. The text describes,in great detail, the sandy arroyo, cottonwood trees, mountains, and the pueblo road that make up the Indian reservation the main characters live in. It’s unclear when the story is supposed to take place, but based on the technology used and …show more content…
(Page 359; “‘About sprinkling the holy water for Grandpa, so he won’t be thirsty.’” Notice that this isn’t what holy water is traditionally used for in the Catholic faith-- it’s used for blessing people, not for drinking.) The colors they paint on Teofilo’s face have to do with nature, with white representing the clouds, the blue representing the sky, the yellow representing the sun, and the green representing the earth. I think they painted these colors on his face to represent that now that he has passed, he is a part of nature.
The title represents the Pueblo belief that death is connected to rainclouds, in that it is a part of a cycle, similar to precipitation, and that the deceased will “send rainclouds” (Page 358; “‘Send us rainclouds, Grandfather.’ They laid the bundle in the back of the pickup and covered it with a heavy tarp before they started back to the pueblo.”
The theme in this story is the cultural differences between the Pueblo and the Catholics. Despite this, they are united by the fact that they all want to honor Teofilo after his passing. The “big idea” is
This story takes place in New Mexico, near their sheep camp. The text describes,in great detail, the sandy arroyo, cottonwood trees, mountains, and the pueblo road that make up the Indian reservation the main characters live in. It’s unclear when the story is supposed to take place, but based on the technology used and …show more content…
(Page 359; “‘About sprinkling the holy water for Grandpa, so he won’t be thirsty.’” Notice that this isn’t what holy water is traditionally used for in the Catholic faith-- it’s used for blessing people, not for drinking.) The colors they paint on Teofilo’s face have to do with nature, with white representing the clouds, the blue representing the sky, the yellow representing the sun, and the green representing the earth. I think they painted these colors on his face to represent that now that he has passed, he is a part of nature.
The title represents the Pueblo belief that death is connected to rainclouds, in that it is a part of a cycle, similar to precipitation, and that the deceased will “send rainclouds” (Page 358; “‘Send us rainclouds, Grandfather.’ They laid the bundle in the back of the pickup and covered it with a heavy tarp before they started back to the pueblo.”
The theme in this story is the cultural differences between the Pueblo and the Catholics. Despite this, they are united by the fact that they all want to honor Teofilo after his passing. The “big idea” is