Storytelling
The importance of storytelling within Native American culture is a central theme in Silko's work. "Lullaby" is included in the collection Storyteller, which aims to capture the essence of oral storytelling traditions in written English. Although Ayah, the elderly main character, does not verbally share her story with others, the narrative unfolds through her memories, acting as a type of internal storytelling. This written narrative reflects the style of oral storytelling by weaving together past memories and current events through associative links, rather than adhering to a strict chronological order.
Tradition and Change
Silko's writing frequently delves into how Native American traditions can be adapted to align with modern Native American life. Her characters often experience a conflict between traditional and contemporary ways of living. In "Lullaby," Ayah recalls traditions like her mother weaving blankets on an outdoor loom and her grandmother spinning wool into yarn. This recollection is sparked by Ayah using an old army blanket her son Jimmie sent home from the war. As she notices her worn shoes in the snow, she reflects on the warm buckskin moccasins that Native Americans once wore. When her husband is on his deathbed, Ayah turns to singing a traditional lullaby taught by her grandmother. The story suggests that during pivotal life moments, such as the passing of a loved one, these traditions carry significant weight, even in today's world.
Matrilinear Relationships
Silko's stories often highlight the relationship between granddaughters and grandmothers, illustrating the link between modern and traditional Native American culture. Silko herself learned extensively about her tribal customs from her grandmother and other elder female family members. In this narrative, Ayah, now an older woman, reminisces about traditional blanket-weaving methods taught by her mother and grandmother. She also recalls her mother helping her during the birth of her first child. As her husband approaches the end of his life, Ayah uses a traditional lullaby, once sung by her grandmother, to soothe him in his final moments.
Death and Loss
Ayah's memories are largely centered around the significant losses she has faced. The story evokes a strong sense of nostalgia, expressing deep sorrow over the decline of traditional culture and lifestyle, as well as the profound pain and resentment from losing all three of her children. Ayah had previously lost two babies to natural causes and found comfort in burying them near her home. However, the loss of her other children to white authorities was far more devastating. Her oldest child, Jimmie, died in a helicopter crash during the war. Ayah discovered that his body might have been burned, denying her the opportunity to mourn him in a traditional way. Later, Ayah loses her two youngest children, Danny and Ella, when white doctors trick her into signing a document allowing them to take the children to a sanitarium. The story ends with Ayah's final loss when her husband, Chato, lies down in the snow, and she realizes he is dying. Through this narrative, Silko examines how storytelling can be a tool for healing and transforming the experience of both personal and cultural loss.
Racial and Cultural Oppression
The significant tragedies in Ayah's life are instigated by the intrusion of white authorities into her household. Her personal losses due to white culture mirror the broader oppression faced by Native Americans. The news of Ayah and Chato's loss is delivered by a white man, symbolizing the overarching racial issue of Native Americans dying in service to a nation that has historically oppressed them. Ayah's forced agreement to relinquish her children has profound implications in the context of Native American history. It echoes the 19th-century U.S. government's near-genocide of Native Americans, partly executed through deceitful...
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"treaties" that disadvantaged them.
Furthermore, the rancher who employs Chato embodies another form of oppressive white authority. When Chato injures his leg on the job, the rancher refuses to pay him until he can return to work. Eventually, viewing Chato as too old to work, the rancher dismisses him and evicts the elderly couple to make room for new workers. These actions add a layer of class oppression to the racial oppression already faced by Ayah and her family.
Language Barriers
Ayah's inability to understand either English or Spanish plays a crucial role in her exploitation by white individuals. When a white man arrives to convey the news of her son Jimmie's death in the war, Ayah cannot understand him, so her husband Chato must translate. White doctors take advantage of Ayah's lack of English skills by pressuring her to sign a document that allows them to take her children away. Although her children are occasionally brought back for visits, they eventually forget their native language and can only speak English. This loss of their native tongue symbolizes their complete detachment from their traditional Native American culture and their family.
Loss of Heritage and Culture
The narrative of Ayah and Chato symbolizes the profound loss of heritage and culture, deeply woven into the tapestry of human existence. This erosion is not just a disappearance of traditions, but also the vanishing of a lineage of wisdom and care passed down through generations. Ayah, once nurtured by her mother and grandmother, finds herself unable to continue this legacy with no children or grandchildren to mentor. The cultural transmission, which historically encompassed art and religion, language and natural history, is gradually fading into oblivion.
This cultural disintegration is paralleled by the environmental degradation seen in the unyielding drought that grips the land. The sacred bond with the earth, once a source of sustenance and creativity, seems irreparably fractured. Ayah and Chato's lives starkly contrast with the past abundance provided by the land, which once teemed with resources. The vibrant wool and bright dyes used for crafting sturdy, waterproof blankets, the leather fashioned into protective leggings and shoes, and the meat preserved and hung to dry are now replaced by a bleak reality.
Today, Ayah and Chato's world is reduced to utilitarian army blankets, boots with holes, and the dependency on a scant welfare check that affords only insubstantial staples like dead flour and canned peaches. This poignant shift underscores the broader theme of cultural erosion, highlighting the poignant vulnerability and resilience of those left to navigate a world where the connections to their roots are steadily being severed.
Harshness of Present Life
In contemporary life, stark realities reveal themselves through an environment often devoid of solace or community. This is poignantly illustrated in the world surrounding the Navajo people, where isolation is starkly contrasted by the presence of unfamiliar faces. Following the death of Jimmy, the only consolation offered by the authorities is limited to the return of his body, underscoring a landscape dominated by cold efficiency rather than compassion or cultural tradition.
Within this setting, individuals like Danny and Ella vanish into a realm governed by clinical detachment, void of the warmth and familiarity their heritage once provided. This atmosphere of fear and hostility extends to everyday interactions, as seen in the indifferent behavior of a bartender and his customers. They accept Chato only to the extent that he mirrors their ways, speaking their language. His value is recognized purely in terms of his utility.
The harshness is further emphasized by Chato’s treatment by his former employer, who regards him merely as a tool to be used and disposed of. Once Chato loses his ability to work, he is cast aside like an obsolete piece of machinery. This narrative captures the broader experience of exploitation and alienation pervasive in a world where human connections and empathy are often sacrificed for convenience and self-interest.
Reconciliation and Peace
Ayah seeks solace in her losses by retreating from a world populated by unfamiliar faces, choosing instead to reconnect with the life of her ancestors. Settling in the home of her mother and grandmother alongside her husband, she embraces the matrilineal traditions that have defined her lineage, though she recognizes that she will be the last to uphold them. This return transcends the physical; it is a profound spiritual journey as she revisits her past traumas during a solitary walk in the snow.
Her journey mirrors the well-known stages of grief. Initially, she finds herself in denial about her son Jimmie's fate, clinging to the belief that "It wasn’t like Jimmie died. He just never came back." Anger soon follows, directed both at herself and at her husband, Chato, for being unwittingly complicit in the loss of their children. Despair sets in over the years, manifesting in a prolonged period of depression and alienation from both Chato and the children now absent from her life. Ultimately, Ayah reaches a stage of reconciliation and peace, where acceptance allows her to move forward.
This reconciliation is deeply intertwined with her recollections of the past, which serve as a bridge to the natural world. The falling snow stirs memories of watching weaving and dyeing as a child, which in turn evoke the profound experience of childbirth. As her memories coalesce, they nurture a deep, abiding love for her children, encapsulated in the words of a lullaby. This lullaby reminds her that the universe itself is her family, and she is eternally connected as both child and sister to the natural world around her.
