Leslie Marmon Silkhos Ceremony and Ernest Hemingways In Our Time give us two male characters struggling to socially reintegrate after a comparable traumatic events. Each of these characters had a hand in a World War and is now rediscovering the rules and constraints governing mainstream society. These veterans have seen particularly disturbing scenes and are now coming back to a world that they no longer understand. In understanding the differences in the methods that these two use to reintegrate, one must ask themselves what a person like Krebs or Tayo must do to move on. Through this analysis, patterns emerge supporting the claim that the white and the Indian are not so different after all.
Initially, we find Tayo and Krebs having issues with certain themes in mainstream society. However this disorientation had not existed prior to the war. Krebs did not always view his local community as, a complicated world of already defined alliances and shifting feuds that Krebs did not feel the energy or courage to break into... (Hemingway 71). Before the war he was a college student on the path to become an educated member of his complex society. Up until now he had been living up to every expectation that this mainstream society had required. Prior to the war, Tayo similarly lived in a world where one benefited from conforming to a mainstream lifestyle. His cousin Rocky did just that and was continuously praised for his athletic and charming personality. They all mourned Rocky that way, by slipping, lapsing into the plans he had for college and for his football career (Silkho 28). This ambition and ability to conform explained why Rocky was considered a prized American Indian. His existence challenged the racial boundaries established in history, presenting hopeful prospects for his family. Although Tayo retains his faith in the mystical and cultural practices of his Laguna ancestry, one can infer that the praised example Rocky inadvertently embodied resulted in an internalized desire to become a respected adult in both the Indian American community and in the eyes of mainstream culture.
WWI and WWII had profound effects on each of these characters interpretations regarding mainstream culture. Tayos Laguna culture expresses ambivalence towards Krebss white culture. A Laguna Indians perspective on history accounts for something stolen from them. The land that they once respected was now a whitewashed supremacy. Interestingly enough, Tayos community might classify a character like Krebs as an individual inside the realm of this supremacy, yet we find Krebs also having difficulties reintegrating. His disorientation does not emerge due to the fact that he is a minority, but because he is a white individual no longer living up to the expectations of his white society. But the world they were in was not the world he was in (Hemmingway 72). This excerpt, discussing the way he now sees American girls, shows that he was not completely far gone. He is still enticed by the fruits that this world has to offer but he no longer indentifies with the civilians around him. Krebs used to grasp the undertones that dictated human interaction but now he is out of touch with them. This contrast between racial backgrounds amplifies the differences in the guilt complexes that develop following the war.
Tayo survived a horrifying event while his coveted cousin Rocky was a casualty. In returning home he is left to face his adopted caretaker while she copes with the loss of her biological son. Although he is fortunate to have survived, this gift comes with a survivors guilt. With the loss of Rocky he challenges himself with the responsibility to live up to something comparable to what Rocky might have become. He refuses to let himself slip away into that bitter drunken behavior that he so boldly resents in Emo. Tayo does not agree with Emo when Emo proclaims, us Indians deserve something better than this goddamn dried-up country around here (Silkho 55). Tayo believes in the potential of the land and does not allow himself to see through the bleak lens that Emo does. He sees his expectation to become a leader of sorts, while setting an example. He needs to prove to himself and then to others that the American Indian can strive for goals beyond wages and bars. But Tayos goal-oriented outlook is not shared by Krebs.
Krebs guilt complex starts to display itself through his interactions with family members. One morning as Krebs tries to put down breakfast, his mother bombards him with questions. Have you decided what you are going to do yet, Harold (Hemmingway 74)? This loaded question exposes his mothers disappointment. She so badly wants to see her son continue on in his social development. He knows his mother, as do the rest of his family, wants to see him smoothly reintegrate and accept responsibilities of a mainstream life. He is simply not ready. He is not capable of the stealthy human activity involved in courting females. The idea of going to his sisters indoor softball game appears to be a big request for this recently reclusive individual. One might argue that Krebss dissatisfaction is a byproduct of his comparison with mainstream expectations and his perception that he is below them.
Both of these men need to find a way to overcome their complications with mainstream society, if only to further attain peace of mind. Krebs needs to let go of the awful sights that plague his memory in order to associate with those around him. His withdrawn approach to coping seems to be a temporary fix to an indefinite problem. His white, privileged idea of running away from it all when everything seems out of control is what distinguishes him from Tayo. Tayos Laguna Indian roots tell him that the group supersedes the importance of the individual so he aspires to become a leader. He knows Rocky would have amounted to something if he survived. Through Tayos guilt he allows himself to set his self-expectations higher than before.
The mainstream culture that each struggle to reintegrate back into indeed classifies each differently based on racial stereotypes. To an American Indian it might seem easier for a white to get back into the swing of things after a traumatic event. However, Krebss white background does not prove to make the reintegration any easier. Letting go of the distinguishing white prefix that Tayos culture vigorously uses is necessary just like the extinction of all racial slurs. Removing these attitudes has the ability to lift the racial boundaries that the past now require Tayo to overcome. If each man can move on by letting go of his past traumas they will both contribute to improving their own lives.
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