The Issue of Political Violence in ‘beloved’ by Toni Morrison

All throughout our lives, especially today in modern culture we rely ourselves on our identity, because it makes us who we are and will either consciously or subconsciously make decisions for us; who we hang out with, what we eat, what books we read, what activities we partake in, and so on and so forth. It sounds weird at first, but if you think about it the concept makes sense. Ceremony is no exception to this idea. In the novel Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko, we follow the story of a young man named Tayo is a veteran of war. The readers get to follow, and experience how identities truly affect the characters in the novel including Tayo, his mom, his aunt, and many others. Tayo being completely and utterly traumatized after war feels understandably lost when he comes home. He’s mentally unstable and his auntie who is caretaker isn’t much of a help either. With all that plus the constant flashbacks that we get to view, we can really see the toll that it all takes on identity. The societal expectations set in stone, shape the identities of characters, and the continuing actions they make based on their identity.

Tayo the protagonist of the story is one of the more complex characters when examine his identity because of his genealogical background. Tayo’s Mom is Laguna Pueblo and his Dad is white. He is “a disgrace” to both cultures. The whites don’t want anything to do with him and neither do the Native Americans including his Auntie. However during the war that all changed. “The first day in Oakland he and Rocky walked down the street together and a big Chrysler stopped in the street and an old white woman rolled down the window and said, “God bless you, God bless you,” but it was the uniform, not them, she blessed.” As shown Tayo's encounters with white individuals change drastically when he begins to serve in the military. However because of his upbringing he is not fooled. While his friends feel like they are a part of something now Tayo knows the reality. “The war was over, the uniform was gone. All of a sudden that man at the store waits on you last, makes you wait until all the white people bought what they wanted. And the white lady at the bus depot, she’s real careful now not to touch your hand when she counts our your change. You watch it slide across the counter at you, and you know. Goddamn it!” When the war was finished and Tayo removed his uniform, he felt lost once more. Now the man at the store "waits on him last". All the white individuals must get all that they require before the man helps him. Yet, if he had his uniform on he may have been waited on when it was his actual turn, or perhaps first. Be that as it may, without a uniform, he is dealt with like peons. When he was battling for America, he was dealt with well. When his service was finished, that went away. The whites utilized him for what they needed, just giving him regard for his readiness to diet for the American cause. It is expected by society that a white man is favored before a native American. Since Tayo doesn’t really fit into the white or native American category his identity is distorted, contributing to his mental health struggle and actions that play out throughout the novel.

There is character we technically never meet in the book, but is probably the most affected by identity than any other character. That would no one other than Tayo’s mother, Laura, who is only seen in flashbacks. She brings shame to her community by feeling ashamed for the ways whites depict native Americans. She is ashamed of her race and is ashamed of her culture so she tried to act white by drinking and sleeping with white men. That’s how Tayo came to be which brought great disgrace to her. We something similar to this happen later in the book with a character named Helen Jean. “She reached into her purse for the little pink compact and looked in the mirror. Her hair was cut short and was tightly curled. It needed to be washed, but at least it wasn't long or straight.” Not only did both of the characters change how they acted to fit in with white society they also changed their appearance. Traditionally native American girls keep their hair long and straight. Cutting their hair short exemplifies them cutting ties with their culture. “It might have been possible if the girl had not been ashamed of herself. Shamed by what they taught her in school about the deplorable ways of Indian people...these people urged her to break away from her home. She was excited to see that despite the fact she was an Indian, the white men smiled and waved at her from their cars as she walked from the bus stop in Albuquerque back to the Indian school. She smiled and waved; she looked at her own reflection in windows of houses she passed; her dress, her lipstick, her hair--it was all done perfectly, the way the home-ec teacher taught them, exactly like white girls.” Another influencer in her identity as shown were her teachers, who encouraged her to act more white. Laura “was excited to see” that privileged men were paying attention to her. Of course she wouldn’t want to give that up, there for resulting in her trying to become a different identity only to be shamed in both worlds, not being able to fit in with the white societal expectation and now being disgraced by the society she cut out of he life.

Tayo’s Aunt is the one whos raises Tayo after Laura undoubtedly proves that she is not fit to take care of him. Since Tayo is constant reminder of Laura's mistakes, Auntie plays a role in identity by making sure that her status and reputation is clean. She wants Tayo to know that he is shameful. “She was careful that Rocky did not share these things with Tayo, that they kept a distance between themselves and him. But she would neither let Tayo go outside nor play in another room alone. She wanted him close enough to feel excluded, to be aware of the distance between them.” Auntie is particularly worried about her own reputation and what others think of her, to such an extent that she ignores what’s good for her community. Amusingly, however Auntie disdains Laura for "weakening" the family through her actions, when it’s really Auntie who’s destroying family relationships by ignoring both Laura and later Tayo in order for her to make sure her reputation isn’t stained with any mistakes. According to Auntie, her identity is what others define for her, so she has to make sure she is perfect for everyone by her societies’ expectations.

Identity takes a toll on all the characters in the novel at some points these were just some that really stood out. It is a constant struggle for these characters in this book to live up to what society expects them to be. The actions that they take to get to where they want to be often come with a price. But in the end most of these complex and diverse characters, never truly get to society's expectations due to the common theme of culture, racism, and privileged influence.