We'd like to tell you that drinking is a harmless pastime in Ceremony—that these young veterans are just having a few beers together and enjoying each other's company. That's what several of Tayo's friends think they're doing, but these good times have a dark side. The extreme measures to which Harley will go for a cold beer let us know that he has an addiction. Tayo understands that the real reason he and the other veterans drink is to numb the pain of what they've experienced in the war. The men don't just have a few beers, they "go up the line," drinking at every bar along a seven-mile stretch of road. This binge drinking leads to bar fights, prison sentences, and dangerous drunk driving, and Tayo knows that sooner or later someone is going to die because of it. On a larger scale, poverty and alcoholism go hand in hand in the town of Gallup.
Questions About Drugs and Alcohol (but mostly just alcohol)
- How do Tayo and his friends feel about alcohol when they're kids? When does their attitude towards drinking change?
- What signs do we have that the drinking that goes on in this novel isn't just harmless fun?
- According to Tayo, why do he and his friends drink? What purpose does drinking serve?
- A lot of the humor in this novel revolves around drinking and alcohol. Can you think of some examples of jokes or humor in the novel? Are the jokes really funny, or do they make you uncomfortable in some way?
- How is the landscape of Gallup shaped by alcohol? Who are the drunks in Gallup, and where do they live?
Chew on This
The humor of drinking has a dark side in Ceremony. Just like the act of drinking itself, the jokes the men tell while at the bar seem harmless and funny on the surface, but they have a creepy dark side.
Beer is just like the medicine Tayo receives while he's in the hospital. Both serve to dull emotions and pain that the war veterans feel, but neither actually heals the young men's emotional wounds.