Christine

I found Christine to be very immature. I understood where she was coming from by hearing her life story, but I couldn't help but look down on her. I myself have experienced something similar to her sudden and severe religious disillusionment, but didn't go off the deep end because of it. Her need to be with several men in order to validate herself was pretty sad, and her manipulation of Lee into joining the army so she wouldn't lose others' respect and could meet his fellow enlistees was despicable. I know she was young and didn't fully understand the repercussions of war or her actions, but I still can't condone it. On the other hand, I have to wonder if she might have been bipolar. Promiscuity and overdoing alcohol are both symptoms, and her willingness to take any dare and confrontational personality could have been mania-related.

Christine's relationship with Elgin was sweet at first, but I feel that a main reason it went wrong was because of her pride and unwillingness to communicate. Of course, Elgin's cheating is squarely on him, but I have to wonder if things could have gone better for them. She definitely should not have dumped Rayona on Aunt Ida, because they were the only family each other had and Elgin had overlooked Rayona enough to last a lifetime.

Of course, now I'm a hard-ass criticizing all of Christine's decisions, the way Aunt Ida does with her soap operas, wanting her to know all the things she can't see and yelling at her although she's a fictional character...

Rayona

First off, I LOVE the language the writer uses. Rayona's breath "melting" the air was a unique way to describe something fairly mundane, the description of snow as glittering sandpaper was spot-on and extremely visual, and the comparison between Dayton's rug and a forest pool really captured my imagination. The writing is so fresh and vivid, it pulls you right in.

I also found the different perspectives highly effective. By giving us multiple sides of the story it becomes richer and more complex. I was surprised at Rayona's perceptiveness at her mother's behavior and the interactions between her parents in the hospital room. I was also taken aback at what happened between Rayona and Father Tom. I wasn't sure how to interpret the scene at first, because the writing was slightly disjointed and Rayona uses the phrase "in my dream" when she speaks of kissing him. I was wondering if something along these lines would transpire when Father Tom remarked that she was turning into an "attractive" young woman and asked her about having sex dreams, but I figured that Rayona was wily enough to avoid such an encounter. Especially since she gave no indication of finding him attractive or particularly enjoying his company.

I also keep forgetting that Rayona is half Native American, as the book so often talks about her being half black and having kinky hair. My favorite aspect of Rayona's story was her time at Bearpaw Lake. I enjoyed her interactions with Dave, the only nice guy at the place, and the functional family she found in Evelyn and Sky. Her admiration of the girl in the white bikini was also poignant, as I can recall instances in my own life where I have harbored an odd fascination of girls more attractive or popular than myself. For a fifteen year old though, she sure knows how to handle herself, especially with Foxy and his girlfriend.

Geronimoooo

What captivated my imagination about this reading was the older Native Americans' ideas on the "Geronimo Conspiracy." Although I don't know anything about the conditions under which Geronimo surrendered, it is entirely plausible, in my opinion, that something like this could have happened. The ethnic differences in persepctive were fascinating- that white men could not tell one rock or tree from another and were frightened by it. Based on that quality, and the way they regarded the Indians as nonhuman, they easily could have mistaken Geronimo's identity. The option to eliminate Geronimo as a cause of public unease would have been too good to pass up when touched to the dry tinder of military pressure, competition, and fear. Moreover, Silko gave us the "white" version of the incident in Sterling's "True Crime" magazine as a contrast the perspectives of the Indians.

Additionally, although I have always thought that is was wrong and cruel for the whites to have done all they did to Native Americans, I have never felt the injustice as acutely as I am during this reading. The amount of pain it caused the preliminary victims was substantial, but the perpetuated frustrations and confusions in identity of the younger generations may actually be worse. The older Native Americans had their memories to retreat to, but future generations (especially individuals who don't live on the Rez) will have only an elusive promised land sabotaged in their ancestors' time as they wander through a desert of cultural disparities.

Lecha's Life History

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