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4. Decolonizing Imperialism: Captivity Myths and the Postmodern World in Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony
- Texas A&M University Press
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| 73 Decolonizing Imperialism Captivity Myths and the Postmodern World in Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony [C]ultural identities have histories. . . . they undergo constant transformation and . . . far from being etched in the past, cultural identities are constantly being constructed . The frontier myth, as it functions for Anglo America, can be seen as a set of hero tales modeling morally justified acts of violence meant to assert and maintain the dominance of a favored class and race. The works of Cormac McCarthy illustrate how powerfully this myth shapes the beliefs and attitudes of white Americans. In Ceremony, Leslie Marmon Silko utilizes the same mythic narrative to interrogate the ways in which the process of imperialism takes place beyond the level of laws and guns, examining how it is maintained and the impact it has in constructing the identity of Native Americans. She explores methods of cultural and economic conquest and control of native people as well as the devastating consequences of it. This is a vision of the frontier myth seen from the other side of the frontier, so to speak, but a side equally driven and shaped by the compelling narrative this myth presents. While it may seem odd to imagine a Native American writer producing a Western, I argue that is exactly what Silko has done, although in a deliberately subversive manner.No groups,least of all colonized people,are free from the influence of the mythic narratives that direct the formation of identity in the United States. That does not mean, however, they are powerless to challenge these narratives. Simply by writing and publishing, a native writer subverts the intent of the frontier myth to silence and erase the subaltern group.Nonetheless,Silko,like nearly allAmericans,was educated within the 74 | framework of a dominant culture guided by the frontier myth and the Western as its most obvious vehicle. While scores of works have examined Silko as Native American writer, and nearly as many have engaged her as feminist writer, none have really addressed her as Western writer.1 By this, I mean to lookatherworkfromtwodirections—bothastextsproducedfromandabout the geographic space commonly known as the American West and as texts that are heir to the tradition labeled Western literature, that is to say operating within many of the commonly recognized tropes, symbols, and forms associated with that genre. Silko herself acknowledges the literary influence of both native and nonnative authors, especially that of her close friend, Western writer Larry McMurtry.2 Many scholars have traced the evolution of Western literature from Cooper, particularly his Leatherstocking series. But as they have also noted, Cooper grew out of the New England literary tradition that dealt with the frontier primarily through the vehicle of captivity narratives.Richard Slotkin calls the captivity narrative the“archetype of the American experience”(Regeneration Through Violence, ) and notes that from to “captivities were the only narratives about the frontier published in America” (). Annette Kolodny claims the captivity narratives resonated so powerfully with Anglo audiences because they invoked the pathos-laden vision of “Judea capta, Israel suffering in Babylonian captivity”(The Lay of the Land, ) and were therefore sympathetic to an Anglo American public that viewed itself not as aggressors or invaders on the various Western frontiers but as innocent victims of unprovoked attacks endured as they strove to carry out the holy mission of Manifest Destiny placed before them by God. In the nineteenth century, abolitionists, both black and white, were able to turn this emotional response to their advantage by presenting slavery as a kind of African captivity narrative, thus providing an early example of the flexibility of this literary form.Captivity narratives in various guises remained popular throughout the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries, influencing the structure and themes of muchAmerican literature,especially that from and about the West, be it imagined as the wilds of Kentucky, the Great Plains,or the Southwestern deserts.The captivity narrative can be seen as both a precursor to and subgenre of the Western. With the exception of abolitionist texts,however,captivity narratives have nearly always presented innocent whites at the mercy of savage Indians. But while we may normally think of captivity narratives as an exclusively Anglo phenomenon, Slotkin notes that many New England tribes also had traditions , rituals, and narratives revolving around the experiences of captivity. [18.191.234.62] Project MUSE (2024-04-17 03:11 GMT) | 75 Though Silko is,of course,a member of Laguna Pueblo,not an eastern tribe, the elements that gave rise...