Describe the most memorable part of “Landscape, History and the Pueblo Imagination.” How does the part of the essay that you chose contribute to a larger ecological message?
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The most memorable part of “Landscape, History and the Pueblo Imagination” is when Leslie Marmon Silko writes how humans cannot survive without the aid of the earth. Silko first broaches the idea in her retelling the Emergence story, she says, “The human beings could not have emerged without the aid of antelope and badger. The human beings depended upon the aid and charity of the animals. Only through interdependence could the human beings survive.” She repeats this assertion at the end of the essay. She concludes her thoughts with “So little lies between you and the sky. So little lies between you and the earth. One look and you know that simply to survive is a great triumph, that every possible resource is needed, every possible ally-even the most humble insect or reptile. You realize you will be speaking with all of them if you intend to last out the year. Thus it is that the Hopi elders are grateful to the landscape for aiding them in their quest as spiritual people.” Silko’s explanation of how human beings’ survival depends on the living beings that surround them reinforces the ecological ideas of the relationship between humans and their settings.
The Carrier bag story was fresh in my mind (From working on the paper) when I read this story. So the part that stuck on me was when Leslie Marmon Silko began to describe the kinds of stories they would tell. It may start off with a deer hunt (a central conflict, with a hero) but they’re not trying to tell a hero story. They’re using storytelling to connect to each other, with all the bits and pieces “potatoes and odds and ends” that Le Guin refers to as a “bag.” These stories require nature; in every story the animals and landscape are essential. Whether it is an elk spirit or a badger helping the people “emerge,” the people are not greater than or in mastery of nature but a part of it.
To me, the most memorable part of “Landscape, History and the Pueblo Imagination” was the Pueblo’s migration story. Silko describes their journey into the “Fifth World” through a tiny hole that had to be expanded with the assistance of an antelope and a badger before the humans could climb through it. Silko writes “The human beings could not have existed without the aid of the antelope and badger. The human beings depended upon the aid and charity of the animals.” This taught the Pueblo people that they needed to join together with the plants and animals of their terrain to survive and emerge as a culture. Also, the idea that humans, plants and animals all emerged at the same time and place brought an awareness and respect to the natural world because everything is considered to be from the same source.
The most memorable part of “Landscape, History and the Pueblo Imagination” was the story itself and the personal connection it had to the writer. When Silko writes “The spirits remain close by. They do not leave us”, it help me understand a few things. Relating to what we have learned through the whole course, everything goes back into the earth and nature. The larger ecological message that is told that nothing is every truly gone and is always stay with the universe, whether it’s a spirit or item. Also, it shows us that whatever action that you commit, you will always have a consequence and and it will come back to you, basically karma. Your future is always detected by the actions you commit in the present day.
NANCY
The most memorable part of “Landscape, History and the Pueblo Imagination” is when Leslie Marmon Silko mentioned how even after death, we don’t cease to exist. Silko talks about how after death, we first become dust but we end up joining “the Mother” while continuing to emerge with life itself. Silko then starts to repeatedly say the word “spirit” as she explains how many things such as rocks, plants, and animals have spirits. All this talk contributes to a larger ecological message because of how “Mother” is used to symbolize the earth since the earth is known to be the Mother Creator of all things in the world. When Silko speaks on joining the “Mother”, she means the merging with the green life out of the depth of the earth. Her constant talk of spirits could allude to the belief of reincarnation which ties into the idea of not ceasing to exist even after death. The joining of the “Mother” and the mentioning of spirits connects to ecology of how everything goes back into the earth hence reincarnation and life being formed from dust.
One of the most memorable parts of “Landscape, History, and the Pueblo Imagination” was the Pueblo”s use of “communal storytelling” to maintain and carry on the knowledge and beliefs of their people. Silko writes, “The ancient Pueblo vision of the world was inclusive. The impulse was to leave nothing out. Pueblo oral tradition necessarily embraced all levels of human experience. Otherwise, the collective knowledge and beliefs comprising ancient Pueblo culture would have been incomplete.” Much like Le Guin’s “Carrier Bag” theory, the whole story is of importance. Further, their seeking of a “communal truth” represents the Pueblo people’s respect for their history and environment. They recognize their individuality in telling stories, and come together to find truth rather than an absolute. They respect all elements of nature purely as they are. This can be used as a guide for humanity to honor and respect the ecosystem as something bigger than the individual.
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