Christopher Booker is a scholar who wrote that every story falls into one of seven basic plot structures: Overcoming the Monster, Rags to Riches, the Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy, and Rebirth. Shmoop explores which of these structures fits this story like Cinderella’s slipper.
Plot Type : The Quest
Plenty of critics have pointed out that Ceremony seems to follow the structure of a quest story. In fact, a few have described Tayo's journey as a "grail quest," referring to the legendary tales of the knights of King Arthur's Court and their search for the Holy Grail.
But others have objected to this comparison. After all, the Holy Grail is a Christian, European myth, and Silko's Ceremony is based on the mythology of an entirely different culture.
So yeah, Tayo is a man on a mission. And his journey does bear certain similarities to quest stories from ancient Greece and Europe. But there are plenty of ways in which his story, rooted in Laguna Pueblo tradition, doesn't quite match up with a Eurocentric plot structure like Booker's "Quest."
What do you think? Does this novel make the case that the Seven Basic Plots are universal? Or is Tayo's quest too different to fit the mold? Does Tayo's story demand an entirely different kind of plot structure?
The Call
Tayo begins a ceremony to heal the world.
In this stage, Tayo's journey is pretty similar to that of the traditional hero. Tayo suffers from a sickness that is both individual and collective: the doctors diagnose him with "battle fatigue" after returning from WWII, but he is also reacting to the social ills he sees around him: the huge disparity between the wealth of white Americans and the poverty of Native Americans breeds racism, resentment, and feelings of worthlessness among the Native American communities.
Tayo's quest for healing becomes a cosmic journey on which the fate of the entire world depends. He begins a ceremony with a medicine man named Betonie, who gives him mystical advice and warns him that the witchery will try to keep him from completing his goal.
The Journey
Tayo searches for the spotted cattle and gets in touch with nature.
Tayo sets off to find the markers that Betonie mentioned (especially the spotted cattle), but he doesn't really have any "travel buddies" like most heroes of the classic European quest story do. He does encounter plenty of life-threatening ordeals (like the time he's chased down by a couple of cowboys) and temptations (like the constant invitations to drink with his buddies Harley and Leroy), and makes his share of thrilling escapes. As in the traditional quest story, he enjoys periods of rest where he gets help from a beautiful young woman.
While Booker's hero may make a journey through the underworld to receive help from spirits of the dead, Tayo has a different kind of mystical experience. His spiritual helpers come from nature; they're often associated with animals, like the she-elk or the mountain lion. Honoring nature and the earth is what connects Tayo to the stories of the past.
Arrival and Frustration
Summer lovin'.
Tayo enjoys a blissful summer with Ts'eh, the woman he loves, but the ceremony still isn't complete. While he would like to stay with Ts'eh, he has to survive a few more ordeals in order to put an end to the witchcraft that's making him and the world sick.
The Final Ordeals
Tayo's long night.
A traditional hero generally has to pass through three final ordeals in order to complete his quest. Tayo's final challenges aren't so clearly enumerated; he just has to survive one final night without getting caught by Emo or the authorities who want to take him back to the mental hospital. Things get really bad when Tayo ends up watching Emo torture Harley. His final temptation is to kill Emo in retaliation, but if he does, he'll be in the witchery's power.
The Life-Renewing Goal
Tayo doesn't kill Emo. He is free from the witchery.
Whew! Tayo doesn't give in to temptation, and he lets Emo go. The witchery has no choice but to turn on itself, which means Emo and his buddies all come to very bad ends. Tayo is welcomed back into the community, where he tells his story. Everybody celebrates the fact that he has seen "A'moo'ooh," the she-elk, whom we associate with his girlfriend Ts'eh. Life is renewed—time to party!