Ceremony

Author: Leslie Marmon Silko
Narration: Third person, but focuses on Tayo's thoughts.
Characters:
Tayo: He is the main character. His internal struggle over his mixed heritage and past is the main conflict of the novel. Tayo respects Laguna traditions, but he has been confused by white inventions and is hurt by people who look down on him because of his mother and father's ways. Eventually, he is able to cure himself with a new ceremony that changes to cure new ailments.

Josiah: Tayo's uncle, but he becomes more of a father figure. He is a joking, kind person who treats Tayo nicely. His dream was to breed Mexican cattle with regular heifers in order to make the best kind of cattle for times of drought. Tayo didn't help him with the cattle after he enlisted, and the cattle scattered and Josiah died while Tayo was at war. This fact is one of the things that tortures Tayo.

Rocky: Tayo's cousin, but he grow up with Rocky like a brother would. Rocky doesn't agree with Laguna culture most of the time. He wants to excel in science, sports, and join the army. He wants to assimilate. Tayo has high respect and love for Rocky. Rocky dies during the war because of injuires, causing Tayo to pray for the rain to stop so his wounds can dry out. Tayo feels shame over not bringing Rocky back safe and for causing the drought with his prayer.

Auntie: She is Rocky's mother. Auntie is a Christian who is always concerned over the family reputation. She separates Tayo from Rocky and never cares for him much because of the scandals he caused for their family. She makes sure he has a good home to stay, and helps him when he is sick, but never does she give him any indication she cares for him. Her grudge against Tayo's mom and her self pity over her situation never allows her to love Tayo like she treasures Rocky.

Harley: Tayo's childhood friend and another veteran. Harley turns to reliving days in the war when Indians were treated more like equals with whites as well as alcohol. Harley isn't mean to Tayo, like the other war veterans.

Emo/Pinkie/Leroy: Other veterans who drink. Emo is the leader of these Indians who rejects Laguna traditions because they brought a drought. He says the land has no more value, and the Indians will never get the good things that whites do. He is a witch, and is trying to draw people away from the ceremonies.

Night Swan: A Mexican woman who had an affair with Josiah. She is a dancer who is in touch with traditions. She supports the changing ceremonies.

Betonie: Introduces Tayo to how witchery is being spread by the white people and infecting Indians. He says not many people agree, but the ceremonies need to change in order to deal with the changing times. The oral stories have always been changing across time but it is hard for people to see this. He helps Tayo start his cure. First, he leads Tayo to find the cattle, and this later leads to the rest of his ceremony.

Ts'eh: She is a goddess who leads Tayo on the rest of his ceremony after he returns the cattle home. She has him plant some plants.

Grandma: Can tell when Tayo needs help, intervenes when he needs a medicine man. Old and wise.

Robert: Rocky's dad. Has a deep caring for Tayo unlike his wife. A quiet man.

Summary:
After Tayo returns home from the war, it is clear that he has some trauma. The doctors diagnose him with medications to numb his feelings, but when Tayo is in this state, he isn't really living like people were meant to live. Anyway, he goes home and his thoughts are tangled and aggrivated by the war and the deaths of Rocky and Josiah. He feels partially responsible for both of their deaths, which makes him feel shame for not taking care of them like he should have. His experiences with killing people using modern warfare and his ability to see connections in the world around him also confuse him. Tayo also feels shame because Auntie always reminds him that he is mixed race and that his mother left the reservation to sleep with white men. Tayo drowns his feelings with drink, but eventually is told to seek out a cure from Betonie, a medicine man who uses unconventional methods. Betonie introduces Tayo to the idea that the ceremonies need to change in order to cure new ailments like Tayo's caused by witchery, which is causing the Native Americans to reject the stories and let their culture die. The whites are agents of the witchery, who make Natives feel like a lesser race and destroy all of the things they fear and don't understand about the world. 
Tayo then goes on a journey to cure himself. This journey starts with going out to find the Mexican Cattle Josiah had lost. He told Tayo they were in the north based on the starts, but this seemed strange to Tayo because the cattle had an internal urge to go south towards Mexico. However, a white farmer had brought them up norrth. While Tayo herds them home, he looses sight of them because of some cops. However,  he meets a mountain lion/hunter who helps him find the cattle again. A woman named Ts'eh is his wife, but Tayo later meets her again while he is caring for the cattle. The land is restored again, but tayo must plant a plant that looks like the stars in order to complete his ceremony. Emo tries to make Tayo give into violence and witchery and not complete the ceremony, but Tayo resists.

Imagery: The landscape is described with strong images to emphasize the land's importance with ceremonies, the cycles of the seasons, and colors associated with ceremonies.

Motifs: Colors, witchery, mixed race, self hate, rain/weather
Symbols: cattle, alcohol, trucks, North, South, 
Theme: Traditions will always live on as long as people remember them and look for guidance.
Quotes:

Response to Course Material

So, the AP exam is in a month and I honestly feel kinda scared for this exam. For my other 2 APs I kinda know how I am going to study for them, but for this class I have no idea. However, since we are not annotating fifth business this should help give us more time both in class and outside of school for AP prep. Without help from other people, it is hard for me to grasp all of the hidden meanings in a text, which is what most of the exam is based on. If was able to understand the pieces better and faster, I wouldn't be too worried for the AP. Hopefully, with more practice, I will be ready in time.