The Man To Send Rain Clouds

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“The Man to Send Rain Clouds” is a short story written by Leslie Marmon Silko in 1967 that was originally published in the New Mexico Quarterly. The concept for the story is based on an incident Silko had heard that occurred in her hometown about a traditional Indian burial, and the Catholic priest’s resentment at not having been called to officiate the service. In Silko’s retelling of this story she shows how two faiths can be brought together through the use of a western object, holy water. Silko accomplishes this feat by depicting a dichotomy between the spiritual rituals of the Native American people and Christianity. Ultimately, this dichotomy is lessened when holy water is integrated into the burial ritual of Teofilo. It is important that holy water is used to illuminate the theme of faith and tradition in “The Man to Send Rain Clouds” because holy water is used as a blessing.
Native faith is first shown …show more content…
Holy water is a Western custom being introduced into a Native burial ritual, so that means that a new step has been added to the tradition of Native burials. It is necessary for Father Paul to be the person to sprinkle holy water because the Natives in the story are “borrowing” from a faith they do not practice. Father Paul would then legitimatize the possibility of Teofilo sending down rain clouds through the authority he has a member of the Christian church.
In “The Man to Send Rain Clouds”, Silko used holy water to integrate two different faiths. By depicting the dichotomy in the faiths, readers were able to visualize how holy water could be used to unite the faiths. Holy water then illuminates the theme of faith and tradition because as an object that blesses everything, holy water on Teofilo’s grave could bring

The Man To Send Rain Clouds Analysis

then realizing that it is your grandfather. This happened to Ken and Leon, two Laguna men. In the story “The Man to Send Rain Clouds,” by Leslie Marmon Silko, Ken and Leon find their grandfather, Teofilo, dead of natural causes. The men work with other Laguna members to prepare the body for burial, despite the conflict between their tribe and those from the local church. “The Man to Send Rainclouds,” by Leslie Marmon Silko shows the readers a unique look at rituals, conflicts, and values. The Laguna…

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The Man To Send Rain Clouds Summary

In the short story The Man to Send Rain Clouds, Leslie Marmon Silko reveals her message of the importance of persevering cultural traditions while still accepting modern ideas and beliefs by developing a contrast of colors as a symbol to represent the traditions and beliefs of Native Americans and incorporating the use of holy water to highlight the Christian values. Silko reveals the traditional Native American colors through Telifio’s death, expressing the importance of the Native American values…

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Comparing Silko's The Man To Send Rain Clouds

In Silko’s, “The Man to Send Rain Clouds,” conflict arises between Leon, a local Native American, and Father Paul, a Catholic priest, in ways to properly send Teofilo, Leon’s grandfather, to the afterlife. Selfishness is often the cause for people with different religious practices to have conflict against one another, since they believe their own culture is the most important. When Leon reveals to Father Paul that Teofilo has passed, Father Paul troublingly responds, ‘“Why didn't you tell me…

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Essay on Critical Analysis 1

Critical Analysis of The Man to Send Rain Clouds When first reading the short story The Man to Send Rain Clouds by Leslie Silko, one’s first impression would be that the story is about a man, who belongs to an Indian tribe, passing away and then having a burial ceremony in his honor. In reality, the story has so much more meaning to it. When looking closer, the story is about a battle between man and society, but more specifically a man versus the preconceptions of religion. The man is Leon and the religions…

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Burial Rituals of Native American Culture Essay

consider ritualistic traditions that differ from their own to be somewhat strange and often perceive them as unnatural. A prime example would be the burial rituals of the Native American people. Leslie Marmon Silko’s story entitled The Man to Send Rain Clouds describes a funeral service carried out by a Native American Pueblo family. Though many perceive the funeral…

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Tears of an Angel My bones where stiff that’s if I had any bones that weren’t broken from the fall. After a pep talk I got up slowly like an old man. When I finally was sitting up on the cold rock hard surface I realized that I was missing something. I looked around slowly as my neck screamed with upmost protest. Then I found what I was missing, it wasn’t a thing. Where was my Seeker Captain? I struggled forward ignoring the pain in my ankles it was pure determination to find my fallen captain…

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