Western Lit Novels at First

¶ … Western Lit novels

At first glance, "Ceremony" by Leslie Marmon Silko and "The Long Goodbye" by Raymond Chandler seem to have nothing in common. The former represents the psychological struggle of Native Americans, in their search for identity in the United States, while the latter seems the usual detective story that Marlowe has created. However, there are several underlying motives and structures that do not make an attempt at comparing the two works futile. One would be a comparison between the two main characters, while another may compare the story's plot and the irony techniques that the writers use.

If we look at the two main characters, the journey each of them travels throughout the novel seems revelatory. On one hand, we have Tayo, a half Caucasian and half Native American who has fought for his country in the Second World War and has returned home traumatized, suffering from a "post traumatic stress disorder which has affected him physically as well as emotionally."

Tayo's suffering is physical, but, most of all, emotional and psychological. His distress does not come only from his imprisonment in Japan during the war, but also from his torment related to his place as a half Native American in the American post-war society.

Integration seems, in the beginning, impossible for Tayo. This comes from his double ethnicity which means that he may be rejected by both societies. In many ways, this is something that Leslie Marmon Silko has experienced herself.

In many ways throughout the novel, we see Tayo evolving from his original psychological condition to a level where he is able to make peace with himself and with his own demons. This comes in a close connection with the "American ideal of bravery" as it is pictured in the novel. Indeed, for most of the book, bravery appears as the ability to fight for one's nation and for one's beliefs. Similar to the old Greek and Roman ways, the almighty God of War is dictating and is the single, most impressive symbol of masculinity. This is also the case for the United States in the period described by the author. It is the period where one should not think what the country can do for him, but what he can do for his country.

This American ideal of bravery as portrayed in parts of the book comes in opposition with the things that war actually represents. Maimed people, rapes, violence and a useless and endless slaughter throughout the duration of any war - these are the things that come along with the so-called masculinity. It is enough to become a near beast, someone for whom killing as many enemies as possible is being mighty and respected.

For Tayo, the war turns internal, as a fight with one's demons and one's hallucinations. We all have moments when we turn inside to see that we are still human and, at times, we are afraid of what we see there. It takes a lot of courage to be able to look inside yourself and face your inner self like Tayo does. This is "a gradual process," an evolutionary act of transformation that cannot be achieved by oneself, but with the help of a guiding spirit. In this novel, it takes the form of Old Betonie, seen as the healer.

Betonie is the teacher of revelations, the one who leads Tayo along his journey, with keen and thoughtful advice. At a point in the book, he says, for example: "Take it easy, don't try to see everything all at once."

This statement, for once, reveals the initiating journey, the path that Tayo is traveling throughout the novel. He needs to find himself inside in order to be able to integrate in the society he may belong to. Throughout the novel, we cannot help seeing him, at times, as being parachuted in a world he cannot understand, a world that operates according to a mechanism that he is not familiar with. The key to understanding that mechanism may come from understanding one's inner mechanisms first.

Philip Marlowe in "The Last Goodbye" by Raymond Chandler is not necessarily the same deep character we have previously analyzed. A private detective, with an edgy sense of humor, he appears the normal tough guy we see in modern movies, solving crimes and dating beautiful women. We are not looking for any profound inner self that Marlowe may have.

The conflict does manifest itself and, as we shall see, there is a close similitude with some of the way Tayo lives his demons. Marlowe's demons are, in my opinion, first of all, external demons, demons that occur in the world and under the variables that Marlowe also needs to work by. If we may assume that Tayo, on one hand, cannot understand the rules by which the world he lives in operates by and we may quote this as part of his conflict, Marlowe, on the other hand, understands the variable and the rule. He simply does not always agree with them!

This is obviously because the rules that operate here are just as absurd as the rules operating in Silko's novel. There, we had war at the symbol of utmost masculinity. In Chandler's novel, we have crime and the manifestations of crime as forms of masculinity. Chandler describes an era when gangsters and robbers are seen as the perfect glamorous and masculine characters. Bravery seems to be associated with the 'easy living'. Making a smart money, in any possible way, is better than working for your earnings. In short, Marlowe evolves in a world where the basic values are overturned.

Similar to Tayo, Marlowe has reflections. His reflections, however, are bound to the external environment and are, at times, challenged in his inner self. Something is wrong there, this is for sure, Marlowe seems to tell us. How can we explain some of the evolutions and values from out there?

In my opinion, Marlowe seems to have already worked out the evolutionary step Tayo finds himself on. Of course, this is because this step doesn't exist: Marlowe's conscience is intrinsically related and connected to the outside world. If Tayo needs to first discover himself in order to be able to discover the world, Marlowe has no time for such inner projections or, at most, they are reflecting the external conditions in which he finds himself challenged.

As such, in my opinion, Marlowe is on a higher level of the evolutionary journey, having already skipped some steps on the way. He does not need, psychologically, to achieve the level of becoming and self-discovery that Tayo is experiencing in Silko's novel.

This is not necessarily because he is weak or because he lacks courage. I tend to see this as a different way to use one's courage and, additionally, Marlowe needs to focus his actions on challenges that come from the external environment, at times deadly and dangerous such challenges. If Tayo manifests his courage in the fight with his inner demons, Marlowe manifests his in the fight with crime and criminals.

In many ways, we may see that the challenges that each character faces are similar. In one case, they are interior demons, in another, external challenges, often perceived as demons of a decaying society. In many ways, the two main characters seem to refuse a similar thing: the idiotic reflection of masculinity and masculine manifestations in violence, in crime, in war.

On the other hand, the actions each takes in this case are quite different. Marlowe fights the external demons. Indeed, the private detective solves two murders, finds the criminals, etc. He has no time for inner struggles and prefers the straightforward solution of challenging the evil where it exists. This is a reactive situation. Marlowe is the action person, the one ready to turn to action in order to solve the global disorder.