Ceremony Theme of Transformation

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes! That's what Ceremony is all about. In this novel, change is associated with life, while stagnation means certain death. The protagonist, Josiah's cattle, and the traditional Native American ceremonies all have to adapt to new circumstances if they're going to survive.

People who resist change because they're afraid of new things are, as the Night Swan puts it, "fools." Such fools express their ignorance in their prejudice against interracial relationships and people of mixed ethnicity. This may be Silko's not-so-subtle way not only of condemning white racism, but also telling the Laguna Pueblos that they have to acknowledge the racial changes affecting their community. Tayo's transformation is ultimately a positive one; he is healed of his sickness by accepting his interracial identity while at the same time becoming more connected to nature, Native American tradition, and the Laguna Pueblo community.

1. How does Tayo change over the course of the novel? Where does his transformation begin and end? Which of Tayo's characteristics stay the same?
2. Does Tayo experience any special moments of major transformation? Where and when do they occur?
3. Other than Tayo, who or what else changes in the novel? Is it a good or bad thing when these things change?
4. Which characters embrace change in the novel? Which characters resist it?

Through the words of the Night Swan and Betonie, Ceremony makes the case that societal change is inevitable, and that those individuals and communities who don't learn to adapt will die.

Tayo's individual transformation from a sick and isolated person to a man connected to Laguna tradition and nature is an allegory for the kind of change that needs to occur within the entire Laguna community, according to Silko.

At the end of the novel, Tayo's initiation into the community of Laguna elders indicates that they have accepted his message of change and growth. Their acceptance of a half-white member into their community is hopeful—it shows that the Laguna community won't be afraid of new things and that they'll be able to adapt and survive.