After his return from World War II, Tayo retires into “white smoke” where “visions and memories of the past did not penetrate . . . where there was no pain” (15). This white smoke simile indicates Tayo’s attempt to retreat completely into the white society, leaving his Native American roots. Tayo notes that “he’d almost been convinced he was brittle red clay, slipping away with the wind, a little more each day” (27). Silko contrasts the two realities, presenting their different traditions, values and beliefs. The white people “see no life/ When they look/ they see only objects./ The world is a dead thing for them” (135). While the Indians are characterized as “people who belong to the mountain” (128). There are many differences between the two worlds, for instance the relationships to the land and to animals, the problem of the loss and the understanding the importance of
After his return from World War II, Tayo retires into “white smoke” where “visions and memories of the past did not penetrate . . . where there was no pain” (15). This white smoke simile indicates Tayo’s attempt to retreat completely into the white society, leaving his Native American roots. Tayo notes that “he’d almost been convinced he was brittle red clay, slipping away with the wind, a little more each day” (27). Silko contrasts the two realities, presenting their different traditions, values and beliefs. The white people “see no life/ When they look/ they see only objects./ The world is a dead thing for them” (135). While the Indians are characterized as “people who belong to the mountain” (128). There are many differences between the two worlds, for instance the relationships to the land and to animals, the problem of the loss and the understanding the importance of