How we cite our quotes: (Poem.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Rocky made him look at the corpse and said, "Tayo, this is a Jap! This is a Jap uniform!" And then he rolled the body over with his boot and said, "Look Tayo, look at the face," and that was when Tayo started screaming because it wasn't a Jap, it was Josiah, eyes shrinking back into the skull and all their shining black light glazed over by death. (IV.3)
Is it possible that Tayo went crazy during the war? When we first hear about his visions in the jungle, we think he must have. But what about after the war?
Quote #2
They called it battle fatigue, and they said hallucinations were common with malarial fever. (IV.4)
The white doctors have a scientific-sounding explanation for Tayo's condition—he has "battle fatigue" and malaria. Well, that explains everything, right? But Silko won't accept this explanation of what's going on inside Tayo's head.
Quote #3
Years and months had become weak, and people could push against them and wander back and forth in time. Maybe it had always been this way and he was only seeing it for the first time. (V.33)
This is how Tayo describes his mental confusion, as the feeling that he has lost all track of time. Does that make him crazy, or is he finally seeing things the way they really are?