The war is over but the terror is still alive for this young Native American who has just returned home after a tour of duty during WWII. He is torn between what the
white man's war has taught him and the
beliefs of his people. The
internal struggle weaved through out this wonderfuly written story is one of desperation and of courage. Does he live as the white man has taught him, or does he turn to the beliefs of his forefathers as a last desperate hope to bring him back from the brink of madness. He enlists the help of an elder of the tribe, a holy man, in order to let go of the demons within and enable him to once again feel connected to the land he once hunted upon with his brother and his uncle, and to open himself up to the voices of his ancestors and the spirits around him. it is a journey of rediscovery, of self awareness and of an understanding that what
makes you different is also what makes you
able to understand and survive when everything around you is in chaos. This young man witness's the
madness that has creeped into the other's,like him, who fought the white man's war only to return to the reservation
unable to hear the spirits, unable to think of anything but the war and all the white women they were able to get while they were in the military.These are veterans who now find solace only in cheap beer, loose women and stories, stories of all their triumphs during the war. One even carries with him teeth from a man he shot during the war. often taking them out and playing with them when he is drunk. The story takes you from the past to the present but, entertwined within are the voices, the beliefs and the legends that make Ceremony wonderfully written and beautifully powerful.
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