Essay about Leslie Marmon Silko, “Lullaby” - 621 Words

American Mosaic, July 2011 FOCUS: Leslie Marmon Silko, â€Å"Lullaby† â€Å"Lullaby† is a short story that first appeared in a book entitled Storyteller in 1981. This was a book written by Leslie M. Silko that uses short stories, memories, poetry, family pictures, and songs to present her message. The book is concerned, in general, with the tradition of story-telling as it pertains to the Native American culture. Lullaby seems to be a story of tradition, change, death, loss and the tensions fostered as a result of them between the old couple in the story and the Anglo-American authorities of the time. Throughout the story there are quite a few conflicts. Some are internal between Ayah and herself and others are external ones through†¦show more content†¦She took offense at the exploitation Chato endured at the hands of the rancher that employed him, and let him go without hesitation when Chato gets too old to work. As a result they lost their home when the rancher told Chato he [and â€Å"his old woman†] had to be out of the shack [they lived in] by the next afternoon. Despite Ayah’s immense sense of devotion to Chato it seems apparent that she sees him as a weak husband and resents him deeply for it. Though much of the story is of Ayah’s reminiscences, its present tense has Ayah searching for Chato. She finds him walking along the road late on a very cold night [seemingly] in a daze brought on by illness [and wine]. While resting together beside the road she wraps Chato in the army blanket Jimmie sent her thereby eliciting comfort from a symbol of one of her greatest losses. The lullaby she sings to him at the end of the story, as they lie together in the snow, is one that her grand-mother and mother sang to her as a child and seems to provide a sense of closure for her as she sings it. It is one of the last pieces of tradition she can cling to from her own culture as she waits for death to take her and her husband from under the cold, clear winterShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Lullaby By Leslie Marmon Silko831 Words   |  4 PagesThroughout the world, there are many cultures who have their different beliefs. In the short story â€Å"Lullaby† by Leslie Marmon Sil ko, Ayah and her family are a part of the Navajo culture. As Ayah had struggled to keep her culture and family together, she let her husband, Chato, and herself die to finally bring peace. The white men in the society were a threat to her family, causing hatred between her and Chato. Being a Navajo also showed her to have respect and believe in spirituality, such as theRead More Leslie Marmon Silkos Lullaby, Storyteller, and Yellow Woman856 Words   |  4 PagesLeslie Marmon Silkos Lullaby, Storyteller, and Yellow Woman Leslie Marmon Silko?s work is set apart due to her Native American Heritage. She writes through ?Indian eyes? which makes her stories very different from others. Silko is a Pueblo Indian and was educated in one of the governments? BIA schools. She knows the culture of the white man, which is not uncommon for modern American Indians. Her work is powerful and educating at the same time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In this paper, I will discuss threeRead MoreSherman Alexie And Marmon Silko Essay1978 Words   |  8 Pagespervasive. This is exactly why Native American authors such as Sherman Alexie and Leslie Marmon Silko feel the need to address this issue within their own works. While Alexie and Silko approach it in different ways, both make use of the â€Å"drunken Indian† trope to showcase the depth of the characters apart from the harmful stereotype. Where Sherman Alexie employs a lighthearted approach to the stereotype, Leslie Silko decides to take a more serious route. However, despite their different approach bothRead MoreLeslie Marmon Silko871 Words   |  4 PagesLeslie Marmon Silko#8217;s work is set apart due to her Native American Heritage. She writes through #8216;Indian eyes#8217; which makes her stories very different from others. Silko is a Pueblo Indian and was educated in one of the governments#8217; BIA schools. She knows the culture of the white man, which is not uncommon for modern American Indians. Her work is powerful and educating at the same time. In this paper, I will discuss three different works by Silko (Lullaby, Storyteller