Ryder Blog 1 and 2

So this will be my first and second blog, I wasnt really sure we had two blogs to do but whatever. I'll do both right NOW!

I kind of like the book, it shows how war can effect people in a effective way by showing someone after the war, and also showing how they reflect on the events of the war. It moves around a lot which could be confusing, but I think Silko does a good job of transitioning.

"It was him, Tayo who had died, but somehow there had been a mistake with the corpses, and somehow his was still unburied." Pg. 28

This Passage shows how the war had taken all of Tayo's energy and desire for life. He compares his emotional death to Rocky's physical death, and shows that the situation Tayo is in may be worse than Rocky dying.

"He laughed, and Tayo smiled because Harley didn't use to like beer at all, and maybe this was something different about him now, after the war." Pg 20

This quote shows how Harley one of Tayo's friends that participated in the war with him, had turned to achohol to forget about his experience with the war. They later state that another friend Emo had developed a violent nature. These are all examples of the ways war has changed people.

"These good times were courtesy of the U.S. Government and the Second World War. Cash from disability checks earned with shrapnel in the neck at Wake Island or shell shock on Iwo Jima; rwards for surviving the Bataan Death March." Pg 40

This passage shows his cynicism towards the nature of the U.S. Government and how they are praised as war heroes, and he feels he is the opposite.

I like the book because it mixes the traumatic events of the war with the traditional lifestyle and stories of the Native American people. It also values the importance of stories and how they can shape a culture and be applied to life as lessons.