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Morgan Lepley Dr. Sara Melton English 253, Section 006 28 April 2011 Inspirations of Leslie Marmon Silko Leslie Marmon Silko often thought about what it means to be a half-breed or of mixed blood (Thompson 22). Silko, being born of White, Mexican, and Laguna Pueblo blood, she has always felt like an outsider. Longing to reconnect with her past, she enjoyed listening to the old Laguna Pueblo stories of her grandfather and uncle (Arnold 4). Through these stories she tried to find her identity. Ever since she was young, she has been drawn to the old Indian tradition of storytelling. Silko grew up in Albuquerque; NM raised neither of white nor Indian culture (Thompson 22). However, she saw strong Indian culture through her grandparents, especially her grandfather. Silko would look at pictures of the landscapes and community of the Laguna Pueblo Indians (Thompson 22). These pictures gave Silko an eye into the old traditions and culture of her people. Inspiration came to Silko from these photographs. As she explored these stories and photographs, she found ways in which she could relate to them. When she wrote her own stories, she used parallels in her own life (Thompson 22-25). Along with the inspiration from old oral traditions and human identity, Silko found passion in ideas of feminism (Barnett 18-31). The environment in which she grew up, women did things for themselves and were independent of men. This lifestyle stuck with her. Through old oral traditions, life experiences, and feminism, Silko found her main inspirations in which she wrote her stories.

2 Lepley The old tradition of storytelling has been most important to Silko. She explains that the unique nature of oral storytelling is the variance and flow (Thompson 22). Oral storytelling is not restricted, and is constantly changing with the cultural differences of the storyteller. Silko wanted to capture this in her writing. However, with written stories there is no room for variance. Silko tried writing from memory and imagination to bring her stories closer to the art of oral traditions (Thompson 23). Out of the stories of the Pueblo Indians, it was the stories of the Yellow Woman that intrigued her the most (Thompson 23). The nature of the Yellow Woman stories were such that a woman away from the center of village would engage in and behave in ways out of the norm. In some cases, the disappearance of the woman could be explained by her attraction to the outside world. Silko relates to this in two ways. First, she feels as though she is a part of the outside world because of her mixed heritage (Thompson 2225). Secondly, she feels she can relate to the Yellow Woman because by going off the Yellow Woman makes herself an outsider, which is a familiar feeling to Silko (Thompson 22-25). Due to Silkos strong connection to Yellow Woman stories, she writes about them throughout her works. In her book of short stories, Storyteller, she talks of a Yellow Woman being taken by Whirlwind Man, which is comparable to Yellow Woman where the woman is seduced by Silva and goes away with him (Thompson 23). In Yellow Woman, the narrator is wondering down by the river when she meets Silva. Growing up, the Marmons (Leslie Silkos family) had always lived on the river (Arnold 12). In an interview Silko states, I used to wander around down there (by the river) and try to imagine walking around the bend and just happening to stumble upon some beautiful man (Arnold 12). Silko wove

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these elements of her life into the short story. In Yellow Woman, Silva approaches the narrator and calls her Yellow Woman. The narrator then questions what is real and meaningful when she says, I will see someone, and then I will be certain that he is only man some man from near by and I will be sure that I am not Yellow Woman (Silko 763). The narrator goes with Silva partly cause she feels like shes being knidnapped by Kastina, a Native American mythical spirit, and partly out of sexual longing. The actions of the narrator fall perfectly into the stereotype of Yellow Woman stories. The narrator has a strange sense about Silva, which is strengthen when says, someday they will talk about us, and they will say, Those two lived long ago when things happened like that(Silko 764). By Silva saying this he ties her experience as Yellow Woman to the sense that the old stories are still continuing today instead of being just a thing of the past. The authors of Silkos Originality in Yellow Woman assert that Silko brings in a hint of the modern world in her version of Yellow Woman, bringing the old oral traditions of storytelling into the present. The narrator then thinks of her grandfather and how she wished she could tell him her experience of as Yellow Woman, which, again, brings in the elements of oral storytelling to the present. Due to the prevalence of the stories told by her ancestors, Silko gets a sense of belonging. Thats how you know, thats how you know you belong, if the stories incorporate you into them. There have to be stories. Its the stories that make this a community. People tell those stories about you and your family or about others and they begin to create your identity. In a sense, you are told who you are, or you know who you are by the stories that are told about you. I see now that the idea and dreams and fears and wonderful and terrible things that I expect might happen

4 Lepley around the river were just part of an identity that the stories had made for it. By going to the river, I was stepping into that identity. And I think it happens for other individuals, families, and clans. Thats why stories are told by clans (Arnold 12). Silko makes this prevalent in her stories because she feels as though culture and heritage are important for determining who you are as a person (Arnold 12). The stories start to shape ones identity and make one feel as part of a community. This theme is recurrent throughout all her works. Another theme that is underlying in most of Silkos Yellow Woman stories is feminism (Barnett 18-31). Silko grew up around strong, independent woman figures. In Barnetts article, she explains a time where women were free to do what they want. They were not tied down by a husband but rather had sexual freedom. The women had children, and then the children were redistributed throughout the community. The women in old tales of the Pueblo Indians were heroic and sexual (Barnett 19). Silko writes about fearless and triumphant women who are sexually uninhibited (Barnett 20). In many of the Yellow Woman stories women display success through sexuality and courageous endeavors. As an adolescent, Silko identified with Yellow Woman because of the nature of their adolescent longings (Thompson 24). In traditional stories, the males role is to be strong, courageous, and sexy. In the stories of the Pueblo Indians the women took on this role (Barnett 20). They show courage in roles that are traditionally reserved for men. These women are an ideal mixture of masculine and feminine qualities. Silko admits that in times of discouragement, it is the stories of Yellow Woman that she

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depends on most (Arnold 12). Through her passion of feminism, Silko touches closer to the old traditional way of storytelling by incorporating parts of the Laguna culture. Silkos main tool in writing is her connection to storytelling. Since her family is of mixed breed, she felt storytelling is an important part of culture that brings unity within a community. She hoped not only to contribute to sense of unity in the Laguna community, but also to the understanding of the world as a community (Thompson 25). Since this tradition has become such a big part of her identity, Silko includes components of her life into her works. Likewise, since feminism is a large part of Laguna Pueblo culture, Silko weaves in strong, triumphant, and sexually free women into her works. Silko roots her identity within the components of storytelling and feminism. These strong elements allow Silko to bring the old oral traditions into the present.

6 Lepley Works Cited Arnold, Ellen L., ed. Conversations with Leslie Marmon Silko. Jackson. University Press of Mississippi. 2000. Print. Barnett, Louise. Yellow Women and Leslie Marmon Silkos Feminism. Studies in American Indian Literatures 2.17.2 (2005): 18-31. JSTOR. Web. 24 April 2011. Beldler, Peter, et al. Silkos Originality in Yellow Woman. Studies in American Indian Literatures 2.8.2 (1996): 61-84. JSTOR. Web. 24 April 2011. Silko, Leslie Marmon. Yellow Woman. The Story and Its Writer. Ed. Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin, 2011. 762- 768. Print. Thompson, Joan. Yellow Woman, Old and New: Oral Tradition and Leslie Marmon Silkos Storyteller. Wicazco Sa Review 5.2 (1989): 22-25. JSTOR. Web. 24 April 2011.