Analysis Of Leslie Marmon Silko

Leslie Marmon Silko, a Laguna Pueblo writer, uses Storyteller as a way to express and bridge the gap between oral tradition and writing. Utilizing memories and narratives, she recalls traditional Laguna stories that emphasize the unique way Native Americans have experienced the world, while connecting the past and present. Through these stories, we see the Native American struggle to maintain identity and independence as white culture infiltrates society and attempts to destroy tribal identity. It becomes clear that the Laguna people reject the danger of uniformity and thus use stories to maintain legacy, seek out identity, and as a powerful weapon against assimilation and colonialism. Silko uses literature to express numerous Native American

This narrative poem explains the origin of white people’s destruction. One witch claims that this is the most extreme evil the earth will ever experience. The evil Silko describes indicates the detrimental role white people played in shaping Pueblo society and ultimately the world. She highlights the western idea that because we view the individual as coming first, we believe nature is fundamentally separate from us, thus granting us complete dominion over the earth. As one witch, who is genderless (an evil within itself), tells the story of nuclear energy and a crumbling earth, the others implore the witch to take it back. Unfortunately, “ the witch shook his head… It’s already coming. It can’t be called back.” (Silko 138). This story explains how the Laguna people thought of World War II as a western conflict, brought on themselves because of white people’s exploitation of nature. Silko suggests that there is possibility for a silver lining through storytelling: “Their evil is mighty, but it can’t stand up to our stories. So they try to destroy the stories, let the stories be confused or forgotten,” (Silko 2). These words emphasize the idea that without such stories, Native people cannot survive. Because stories can tell history, retelling them can help prevent similar disasters from ever occurring. Again, the western attitude towards life and lands disposability starkly opposes Indigenous peoples deep respect and appreciation for their land. This poem is shocking and extreme in its language, but it correctly interprets the struggle and plight Native Americans have been forced to