In regards to PTS, alcohol is used to escape and suppress pain and suffering. Silko explains it by saying "Liquor was medicine for the anger that made them hurt, for the pain of the loss, medicine for tight bellies and choked up throats" (Silko 37). After the was, many of the soldiers including Tayo turned to alcohol to escape. Tayo finds the power of alcohol when he stabs Emo in the stomach because of the anger that he was holding. Tayo explains it as the alcohol "swelled through his blood and made all the muscles loose and warm, but it was also loosening something deeper inside which clenched the anger and held it in place" (Silko 57). Not only is alcohol be used as an escape but it can also bring up things deep inside a person. That is the thing about alcohol, it is unpredictable.
Native Americans have this unfortunate stereotype of being alcoholics.Growing up Tayo had multiple instances where he was exposed to alcoholism. It started with his mother, then a man he saw at the river as a child and then his friends from the war. Silko throughout the book tries to recognize the power of alcohol while not painting everyone in the Laguna Pueblo tribe as a drunk. While reading the book Silko is slowly breaking down that stereotype.
No comments:
Post a Comment