Post #8

Leonard Peltier’s Prison Writings has hit me head-on and opened my eyes in a lot of ways. This post will in no way deal with whether or not he’s guilty-- as he says in his book, that particular subject has been dissected far too many times-- but rather the honesty and clarity of his writing. This book offers such a candid look at his emotions and feelings that I could even sense what mood he was in when writing a particular chapter or section. Sometimes within paragraphs I would start to notice a change in the mood, and then he would catch himself and apologize. The very insanity that he described as affecting his fellow prisoners would ebb its way into his own writing from time to time, almost as though he couldn’t control it. He is a prisoner inside and out, and it’s obvious in his writing. It was like literally reading someone’s thoughts.

Still, for being in jail as long as he has, he seems remarkably sound. His writing is focused and clear, with only a few tangents for which he always apologizes. It’s like he can see what is happening to him but just can’t help it. The part at the beginning where he lists the things that he misses (“I miss gardening. I miss children’s laughter. I miss dogs barking. I miss the feel of rain on my face. I miss babies. I miss the sound of birds singing and of women laughing.” Etc. pg 29) really stuck with me. Those are things that most of us take for granted everyday. I can honestly say that if I were in jail for two decades without being exposed to those things, I would probably lose my mind. His power to invoke the Sun Dance has served him well, and has apparently given him enough strength to stay centered in reality, even while being so far removed from it.

Post #7

As dense as Almanac is, there are some concrete details that I'm starting to hold on to. Mostly, there is the strong symbolism surrounding snakes and snake skins. It seems to be a prevalent theme throughout the book, and it all started with Sterling and the giant stone snake. Going along with the mystical nature of this novel, I began to view the snake as a bad omen, seeing as it caused a large amount of misfortune for Sterling. My ideas were bolstered when we read that Lecha can communicate with snakes, and that it doesn't always lead to good things. Still, I didn't feel completely sure of myself until we read about Mernardo. The connection between Alegria's snake skin shoes and purse and Mernardo's frequent dreams about snake skins gave me the feeling that something bad was about to happen. Sure enough, when they went dancing that one fateful night, it was the snake skin figures in his vest that lead to his ultimate demise.

Now, it could be argued that snakes are a form of power in this novel, because of their apparent control over the fate of the characters, but I still disagree. I have to go back to my intuition on this one; as soon as we read about the stone snake (near the beginning of the book), I was convinced that snakes were symbols of bad things to come. It's like getting that gut feeling that you can't explain, but that you trust anyway. Maybe it was supposed to be obvious that snakes were bad omens, or maybe they aren't supposed to be at all. Or maybe this book is just getting to me and I have no idea what I'm talking about. Still, I feel that this is one of the few things that I've been able to understand in Almanac, so I'm sticking to my theories.

Post #6

Almanac continues to amaze me. I’ve stuck up for this book from the beginning, but now I’m starting to lose faith. Not that Silko is a bad author, she’s an amazing story-teller, it’s just becoming harder and harder to keep up with what she’s doing in this novel. At the beginning, the story was primarily about Seese and Sterling, and occasionally the twins. I was just getting into the whole clairvoyance/mystery aspect of the book when it suddenly switched. Now, the book focuses primarily on Max and Leah and their awkward relationship. What about Seese and Sterling? I wasn’t done hearing about them yet! Are we ever going to tie up the loose ends here?

Leah and Max are a whole different story altogether. Are they in love, or not? Despite Max’s unorthodox profession (ie. killing people!!!), I can’t figure out why they don’t love each other. And if they aren’t in love, then why are they still together? I don’t understand their relationship at all. More frustrating is the fact that I don’t understand how it is relevant to the main storyline, which I thought revolved around Sterling. I know that they all must somehow be connected in the end, but I wish that the story would stop jumping around so much. We’re given just enough time to become invested in the characters, and then they disappear from the plotline completely! Who knows? Maybe Silko will bring it all around, but in the meantime I remain completely perplexed. I want to have faith in this story, but the more I read the more it loses me.
Come on Silko, make me a believer.

Post #5

As a creative writing major I have found that I have a huge interest in fables and legends, and I think that is why I loved Two Old Women so much. There were so many morals to this story that I don’t even know where to begin. First of all, I think that one of the most prevalent themes revolved around respecting your elders. The tribe leaves the two old women behind because they are constantly complaining, even though they know that they probably won’t survive on their own. However, the two old women prove them wrong when they overcome the harsh winter, using nothing but their intellect, patience, and willpower to get them through it. To me, this sends two different messages. 1.) Don’t leave your elders behind; respect them for their wisdom and don’t underestimate them. 2.) It is an elderly person’s prerogative to complain, so let them.

Another theme that was common throughout the story is the obvious one of perseverance through tough times. It would have been easy for Sa’ and Ch’idzigyaak to give up, given their age and relative long life, but they continued on anyway. I don’t believe that they did it to prove a point; rather, it was simply in their nature to not give up easily. This sends a strong message to the tribe when they find the old women thriving the following year, especially since the younger people are starving. Tales like these remind of ones that were read to me when I was a child, and it just goes to show that people all over the world are connected by oral tradition.

Post #4

Though we’ve finished reading it, I have yet to give my two cents on A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, so this is as good a time as any I figure. Overall, the story was one of my favorites that we’ve read so far. It was much less tangled than Almanac and a little more complicated than Smoke Dancing. It’s no surprise to me that this book was a national bestseller; it was a quick and enjoyable read. That being said, there were some key themes that jumped out at me from the very beginning, and we touched on them only briefly in class. The largest of these, in my opinion, is identity.

I have really enjoyed all that we have learned this year in regards to identity, and what it really means to be Native American. I couldn’t help but look at these characters in that context. Of all of them, I believe that Ida had the most sense of self. She definitely had her faults (plenty of them at times), but when it came down to it she still had the ability to fall back into being the traditional storyteller that she was. I feel that the others were far too distracted to have a sound understanding of their culture and how to relate to it completely. Some might argue that Christine came close to finding herself, but I really don’t think she ever got there. Just because her search for an identity was the most obvious, doesn’t mean that she was the most successful in finding it. Rayona would also prove a good candidate, simply because she was viewed as being something different. However, I think that she embraced her separation from the other characters and ran with it, rather than really trying to discover who she was. Ida may not have been my favorite character, but I think that she was most successful and knowing who she really was.

Post #3

While there were many interesting plot-points worth discussing in this week's reading of "Almanac," I think that Silko's sheer bravery in writing this piece has become extremely evident and is worth mentioning. Many students (myself included) had trouble getting started with this story because it's rather long and confusing, or at least it seemed that way at first. In order to make myself stay focused and appreciative of the book, I started looking more at the writing than at the plot, and I realized just how rare an author like Silko is. She is afraid of nothing. In the first few readings alone she discussed, drugs, murder, child molestation, illegal surgical videos, clairvoyance, and now the incident with Ferro. In any other book, a situation involving a boy who masturbates at the thought of Jesus on the cross would be slightly shocking, but coming from Silko I felt as though I should have expected it.

That isn't to say that I am against her harsh realities, in fact it's quite the opposite. As we've discussed already in class, Silko has seen what happens at the bottom of the societal ladder, and from the bottom you have a pretty clear view of the top. Unfortunately, the top can't see the bottom quite as well, which is why a lot of people are offended by this book. But those people should take note that Silko is hardly stretching the truth to shock her readers. She's telling the truths of a society that she knows all too well, even though it seems foreign to most people. Personally, I find it refreshing.

Post #2

Whoa - I could see that Mason Rollins' character was becoming more aggressive, but forcing himself on Fiction? We haven't seen the last of this folks. I always considered them friends at the very least, with nothing more than a playful (albeit annoying) flirtatious influence thanks to Mason. This adds quite the drama to the story, seeing as Big Red is Mason's "right hand man" at the moment. I expect that Big Red is going to have to choose where his loyalties lie in regards to Fiction or Mason, and something tells me he's going to choose Fiction. I also foresee Two Step having a larger role in the pages to come. He always seems to pop up at the right time (as when Mason was a little too friendly with Fiction) and to me this seems like more than coincidence.

As for Bud, I think we are starting to see his confidence really falter for the first time. Mason's financial influence has given him a power that I don't think Bud ever saw coming. That being said, I'm wondering whose side I should be on. Throughout the whole book I have hated Bud, but now I hate Mason, too! His money is going to his head, and his plans for the community are becoming a little too lofty. Are his motives still as good-natured as they used to be? Or have they turned into something more sinister, just like he has? We will just have to wait and see...