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Teaching Ceremony

A genius novel from a MacArthur Genius.

  • Activities: 13
  • Quiz Questions: 276

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From poetry and magical realism to folklore, there's a lot going on in the space of Ceremony's some two hundred and sixty pages. Leslie Marmon Silko's pretty much the most hipster author this side of the Mississippi. (She even didn't give her book chapters, because she didn't want it to conform to the standard format of the novel.) So it makes sense that Silko would try to avoid other Anglocentric conventions, like that of "genre," in the telling of this Laguna story. It all gets a little out there.

If that’s not enough, Silko's protagonist, Tayo, knows what it's like to live in a world of discord. The racial divisions in his society are extremely serious, and Silko doesn't let white people off the hook for the ways they have historically mistreated Native Americans. But this novel is about healing, and learning to forgive past wrongs in order to move forward. Never fear; we’re here to help your high school students make sense of the many styles and layers in this unforgettable 1970s novel.

In this guide, you'll find

  • an activity based around getting Tayo’s family prepared for his return from war.
  • an exploration of the rapidly-changing world in the novel and how it affects Ku'oosh and Tayo.
  • an analysis of Tayo's emotional situation, and how he can get rid of his more undesirable (yeesh) traits.

Like the novel, Shmoop’s guide imparts important lessons about history and tolerance, if we do say so ourselves. With any luck, your students will understand the bigger themes of forgiveness and moving on from trauma. Who can’t get behind that?

What's Inside Shmoop's Literature Teaching Guides

Shmoop is a labor of love from folks who love to teach. Our teaching guides will help you supplement in-classroom learning with fun, engaging, and relatable learning materials that bring literature to life.

Inside each guide you'll find quizzes, activity ideas, discussion questions, and more—all written by experts and designed to save you time. Here are the deets on what you get with your teaching guide:

  • 13 – 18 Common Core-aligned activities to complete in class with your students, including detailed instructions for you and your students
  • Discussion and essay questions for all levels of students
  • Reading quizzes for every chapter, act, or part of the text
  • Resources to help make the book feel more relevant to your 21st-century students
  • A note from Shmoop's teachers to you, telling you what to expect from teaching the text and how you can overcome the hurdles

Want more help teaching Teaching Ceremony?

Check out all the different parts of our corresponding learning guide.



Instructions for You

Objective: One of the big issues in Ceremony is the need to deal with the unsavory sides of people's personalities. A lot of the characters, even our very own Tayo, have problematic parts of their character they need to release if they want some form of resolution.

In this sixty-minute activity, we'll explore Tayo's situation, and how he can get rid of his…more undesirable traits. He needs to do so to move on from his current predicament. We'll also see how Betonie helps him, and what Tayo's evolution ends up looking like.

Materials Needed: A copy of the text and/or our summary page

Step 1: Get the students to split into groups of three or four, where they'll imagine they're Tayo, who has just returned from the war. He's about to attend therapy in an attempt to get to grips with all the turmoil in his head.

Tayo has to give the therapist the lowdown on the issues he wants help with. Get the students to imagine that they're Tayo at the therapist's office—what might he tell his shrink is troubling him? They'll write either a paragraph or a list of troubles (we're thinking his alcoholism, melancholic state, and violent tendencies). These should be in the first person and make reference to incidents in the text.

Step 2: Forget therapists; let's look at someone in Ceremony who's really judging Tayo—hard. We're going to consider Tayo through the eyes of the character who evaluates him. The groups will assume Betonie's point of view, who thinks about how Tayo's various vices may be linked to what's happening in the world, rather than just being character flaws.

Get each group to compose a plan of action from Betonie's perspective, showing Tayo what he should do to escape his troubled mind-set. They should focus on what's needed, why this should be undertaken, and the intended results. This can be in list form; we want at least five solid suggestions.

The groups can reveal their findings in the aftermath, and a class discussion can follow in which the students discuss the effectiveness of the plans mentioned by others, as well as the related pros and cons.

Step 3: Back to Tayo, who's cheered up a bit; Betonie's plan worked. Get the students to individually write out a short 250-word first-person piece in which Tayo contrasts his current mind-set with his previous troubled one, detailing the changes that have occurred and how these came about. They should refer to specific incidents in the text. When they're done, they can celebrate showing Tayo the light.

Instructions for Your Students

One of the big issues in Ceremony is the need to cleanse yourself of vice and sin. A lot of the characters, even our very own Tayo, have problematic parts of their character they need to release if they want some form of resolution.

Today you'll explore Tayo's situation, and how he can get rid of his more undesirable traits. He needs to do so to move on from his current predicament. You'll also look at how Betonie helps him, and what Tayo's evolution ends up looking like.

Step 1: Return to your groups and imagine you are Tayo, just back from the war and not at all in a good place. Tayo's going to attend therapy in an attempt to get to grips with all the turmoil in his head.

Tayo has to give the therapist the lowdown on the issues he wants help with. In your group, imagine that you're Tayo at the therapist's office—what might he tell his shrink is troubling him? This can be either a paragraph or a list of troubles (we're thinking his alcoholism, melancholic state, and violent tendencies). No matter what, it should be in the first person and make reference to specific incidents in the text.

Step 2: Forget therapists; let's look at someone in Ceremony who's really judging Tayo—hard. You'll assume Betonie's point of view, who thinks about how Tayo's various vices may be linked to what's happening in the world, rather than just being character flaws.

In your group, you'll compose a plan of action from Betonie's perspective, showing Tayo what he should do to escape his troubled mind-set. You should focus on what's needed, why this should be undertaken, and the intended results. This can be in list form; we want at least five solid suggestions.

You can share your ideas when you're finished. Teach might have a class discussion about the effectiveness of everyone's plans, as well as the related pros and cons.

Step 3: Back to Tayo, who's cheered up a bit; Betonie's plan worked. You're going to break out on your own and individually write out a short 250-word first-person piece in which Tayo contrasts his current mind-set with his previous troubled one, detailing the changes that have occurred and how these came about. You should refer to specific incidents in the text, and then celebrate for showing Tayo the light.