Storytelling By Silko Essays - Laguna Pueblo, Leslie Marmon Silko

Storytelling By Silko Leslie Marmon Silko is a Laguna Pueblo Indian who has written many novels and poems in her lifetime. One of these poems, "Storytelling," is very interesting to me. This poem excites me because it tells of the impact that storytelling has on people in Laguna culture. I will analyze and explore many parts of this poem. One of these subjects is theme. The theme of "Storytelling" is actually the art of storytelling. Another aspect of the poem I will look at is tension. There is a specific tension between the husband and the wife in this poem. Next, I will explore how imagery helped Silko strengthen her writing. Then, I will look at how the form of "Storytelling" is different from that of other poems. Finally, I will compare "Storytelling" to another poem, written by Luci Tapahonso entitled, "Blue Horses Rush In." All these aspects put together will enable me to do a complete textual analysis of "Storytelling." Larson 2 To start, I will begin with the theme of "Storytelling." The theme of the poem is the art of storytelling, hence the name. At the end of the poem the author says, "My husband left after he heard the story and moved back in with his mother. It was my fault and I don't blame him either"(Silko 424). As the reader, you think that the woman is feeling bad about lying to her husband and she doesn't blame him for leaving her because she has sinned. Then the next line reads, "I could have told the story better than I did"(Silko 424). This surprises the reader because the ending's not expected. This shows that the woman isn't really feeling bad about what she did, or what happened; she only wishes that she could have told a better story so her husband would stay with her. These quotes prove the theme of the poem; that storytelling is very important in the Laguna culture. It is what the people pride themselves on and the woman in the poem could have done a better job. Earlier on in the poem the husband says, "You better have a damn good story"(Silko 423). It is almost as if the husband is expecting a better story than what he receives, so not satisfied with the lines his wife feeds him, he leaves. From these lines it is obvious that the stories told, and how the people tell them is the theme of the poem "Storytelling". This is not only a theme in the poem, but I Larson 3 believe that it also represents a very prominent theme in the Laguna culture. Other themes in the poem are adultery and lying, but these also portray the main tensions in the poem in addition to themes. The tension is between the husband and the wife. A mysterious being shows up and kidnaps the wife. When she returns she tries to tell her husband what happened in terms that he would understand. The husband, now very upset, believes that his wife committed adultery. The tension starts when the husband says, "You better have a damn good story about where you have been for the past ten months and how you explain these twin baby boys"(Silko 423). You can tell from this quote that the husband is not happy and wants an explanation; and it better be a good one. The wife retaliates by saying, "No! That gossip isn't true"(Silko 423). The wife feels that she needs to defend herself against the false accusations that her husband made. The rest of the poem the wife tells her story in order to try to persuade her husband of the truth. She wants to resolve the tension. Her attempts to persuade her husband are unsuccessful. So the tension is never really resolved because the husband leaves. Therefore, there is probably still tension surrounding the subject. Larson 4 There are many images in "Storytelling" that help set the scene and develop a mood. A couple images that help to set the scene are, "...the sun came over the long red mesa"(Silko 422) and, "She looked into the shallow clear water"(Silko 423). This gives an image of how mystical and magical the scene was when the "Buffalo Man" came to get the woman in the story. This image gives the reader the impression that this is a mysterious event. The images are also calm and soothing which relay those feelings over to the reader. This way the reader can understand what the woman in the poem is feeling at