Saturday 10 October 2015

What research can be done on the book Cermony by Leslie Marmon Silko?

Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony is a book which provides a variety of angles by which one could do additional research.  Your question isn’t completely clear, but I will give you a few options in case you decide you would like to write a research paper on the novel.


When I was a college student, I wrote a 15-page paper analyzing the effects of colonialism on the Native American population.  There are many scholarly articles and...

Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony is a book which provides a variety of angles by which one could do additional research.  Your question isn’t completely clear, but I will give you a few options in case you decide you would like to write a research paper on the novel.


When I was a college student, I wrote a 15-page paper analyzing the effects of colonialism on the Native American population.  There are many scholarly articles and papers written about Ceremony which utilize post-colonial criticism.  I concentrated on what were known as “Indian Schools,” where they basically tried to force Native American children to act like white people.  These schools are mentioned in Ceremony because they robbed Native Americans of their entire culture.  This topic can also include racism against the Pueblo people in the form of law enforcement in Ceremony, or you could research the racism throughout the story as a topic in its own right.


Another great research opportunity for Ceremony is to analyze Native American mythology.  The story is full of animal imagery and symbolism.  In particular, research the stories contained within Pueblo mythology, such as the spider woman, and analyze how Silko utilizes it throughout the story.


has some great information in the “Themes” section of the study guide for Ceremony.

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