In Ceremony, colors and flashbacks seem to take a great importance, at least as far as I read. Time seems to be non linear, in that Silko goes back and forth between past and present, colors or lack thereof complement this sense of plunging back in to the past or suddenly being brought back into the present, different time, different place.
For instance, on page 13, we read about the current state of Tayo, where he lives, dry and desolate. Silko mentions white hairs growing out of the mule's lips.
She then brings the reader back to Tayo in the hospital. He describes himself as white smoke. He talks about being invisible, while Silko still brings colors and a misty quality to her description of white smoke, invisibility and even to the brightness of the location.
She uses flashbacks to the jungle and describes poignantly how Tayo feels sick ongoingly.
She brings us back to the present with Harley and the vibrant colors of the SouthWest. She brings us back to the way Tayo and Harley "deal" with their PSTD, attempting to go to bars and drink.
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You thought the colors of the Southwest were vibrant? Maybe I'm missing something here. I thought the colors that were mentioned when he was at war were much more vibrant - reds and greens... signs of growth - I thought that maybe Silko was hinting at irony... with all the green growth in a place of death. And all the grays and yellows of the present... maybe the war sucked all the life out of him.
ReplyDeleteI like your thought. It makes me want to go back and look at the chapters - to see if I missed something here.
I might have to express myself better: yes there are a lot of grays and yellows in the present, but for some reasons, I find that the way Silko describes the colors she describes vibrantly or maybe so visually that I can see them, even if the colors are gray or white. Maybe vibrant is not the right word.
ReplyDeleteYet, in the midst of the pain, suffering, death, what stays with me are colors.
It makes me want to visit the area where Tayo is in the story.