Japanese American citizens had been forced into internment camps during World War II, ostensibly to limit the threat of Japanese-American spies on American soil while the United States fought Japan. The country as a whole was also laboring to heal from wartime policies. In a world that had now seen the destruction that an atomic bomb could cause, hope for peace could appear futile. Though after the war the United States was now cemented as a world superpower, the methods used to win the war wreaked havoc on many veterans’ psyches. Some turned to alcohol as a comfort as Harley does, while others committed suicide, unable to cope with the changed worldview. Like Tayo, many struggled to go back to their previous daily lives. In the aftermath of World War II, many veterans returned with no resources to address the mental health issues caused by the intense situations and trauma they faced in the war.
Silko has since won numerous awards for her novels, short stories, and poetry, and is considered one of the most important living Native American writers. Silko was awarded the MacArthur Grant in 1981 as well as the Native Writers’ Circle of Americas Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994. She burst onto the writing scene with her first, widely acclaimed short story, “The Man to Send Rain Clouds,” and followed by publishing more stories, and poems as well as her Ceremony in 1977.
She considered becoming a lawyer and briefly attended law school, but soon dropped out to pursue a literary career. Silko grew up on the Laguna Pueblo Reservation in New Mexico, then attended the University of New Mexico. She is of Laguna, Mexican, and Anglo-American heritage, and in her work often explores multicultural themes exploring the intersection and tensions inherent in her background. Leslie Marmon Silko is often known as the first Native American woman author published in the United States.
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