QUESTION
Write a thematic analysis of one of your assigned texts with help from secondary source research. In short, you will provide an independent, interpretive close reading of a text and smoothly integrate some of the thoughts of other credible, peer-reviewed, scholarly, professional literary analysts into your work to help make your case. You may use these integrated quotes or paraphrases to help support or illustrate your claims, or in some cases you may disagree with and argue against them, but the combination of 1) your own analytical and interpretive ideas, 2) quotes from and specific references to the text you’re analyzing, and 3) the perspectives from your secondary sources will work to develop and ultimately prove your thesis.The essay will be centered on your own interpretive/analytic/
ANSWER
Thematic Analysis of Silko′s ″The Yellow Woman″
Leslie Marmon Silko's short tale "Yellow Woman" was initially published in the 1974
anthology. Silko's narrative delves into the relationship between modern Native American living
and the legendary mythology that continues to permeate the cultural legacy of North America's
First World nations. The reader is invited to investigate the nature of our views of life and the
fuzzy borders between reality and myth in this poetry. Yellow Woman's tale is infused with
Navajo and Pueblo history and spiritual beliefs. Throughout the narrator's account, both the
protagonist and the reader experience the power of old stories. "Yellow Woman," like many
contemporary Native American tales, focuses on liminality, or the situation of existing between
two worlds. This paper will overview the thematic and structural discussion of how Silko
expressed her ‘yellow woman’ work.
The theme of Identity and Ambiguity
The title of Leslie Marmon Silko's narrative is "Yellow Woman," which alludes to both
the narrator and the mythical Yellow Woman, who finds her situation to be disturbingly similar
to the Yellow Woman of conventional legends. The tale is driven by the issue of the narrator's
identity, namely whether or not she is a Yellow Woman. "I have my name and come from the
pueblo," the narrator informs Silva, even though she never discloses her identity to Silva or the
reader (Beidler 67). However, the longer the narrator stays away from her home and family, the
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more she seems to lose her hold on her previous identity and to get absorbed in the narrative and
fate of the Yellow Woman, which is a recurring theme throughout the novel.
As a counter-argument, consumed with trying to figure out who Silva is, she inquires as
to whether he "always employ the same techniques. The narrative of being a ka'tsina from the
mountains," hinting that he had previously shared this information with her. Silva is a big man
who lives alone on a mountain, steals livestock, and lives alone on a mountain. These
circumstances lead the narrator to assume that he is a member of the Navajo tribe. As she
considers the possibility that Silva is, in fact, the katsina, she becomes more concerned (Barnett
356). The thought of Silva being a human is unsettling to her, and she hopes they will come
across another individual who can confirm that Silva is human.
The narrator also seems to believe that if she can prove Silva's identity, she will be sure
of her own identity regarding him. Because she seems to be concerned that if Silva is not human,
she may very well be Yellow Woman, she appears to be scared that Silva is not human (Silko
78). On the other hand, her identity stays a mystery until the very conclusion of the novel. The
narrator also doubts whether Yellow Woman was conscious that she was a fictional character in
a novel until the end of the book.
Much of the story's issue of identity arises from the problem of who the narrator and
Silva are about one other. However, their identity as Native Americans is also suddenly revealed
when they face the white man who accused Silva of smuggling livestock. This allegation and
their interaction extend the scope and concept of identity, particularly who can determine who
someone else is (Silko 244). When the cattle farmer calls Silva "Indian," he rejects Silva's
distinct identity. This conversation also puts the narrator more in question about verifying Silva's
identity. She feels she sees something "old and evil" in him, which further reinforces her
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suspicion of his being not quite genuine (Silko360). Silko's narrative implies that maybe identity
and time are more fluid than individuals would like to think. Perhaps the narrator might be both a
contemporary lady from the pueblo and the old mythical character of the Yellow Woman.
Theme of Outsiders
Yellow Woman appears in Native American mythology as an outsider who abandons her
tribe and family to join the ka'tsina, or mountain spirit, who has taken up residence in the
mountains. When she returns home, she may experience isolation from her family and friends.
Other times, she is lauded and praised (Silko 344). She is often used as an archetype for the
independent woman willing to go against the grain regardless of the repercussions.
Like the mythical Yellow Woman, the narrator abandons her family to pursue Silva, her true
love and passion. Even though she finds this guy unpleasant and want to flee, she seems to be
pulled to Silva's outsider activities, even though she finds him frightening.
Silva is a Native American guy who lives alone outside of the pueblo, high in the
mountains, outside of the town of Santa Fe. And he takes livestock from ranchers who don't
believe him to be a Navajo. While he and the narrator are standing on the crest of a mountain
near his house, he points out the many boundaries on the country below them, including the
frontiers of Texas, Mexico, and tribal territory, which are all visible (Barnett 30). On the other
hand, he is not interested in living inside these boundaries, and his instruction to the narrator
emphasizes the arbitrary nature of these boundaries. Consequently, most of the borders have
been established by white settlers as illustrated by Silva not being satisfied with his position as
an outsider (Silko 233). He has no interest in residing on either the pueblo or on property under
whites' control. Moreover, the narrator seems to ease with their "in-between" position as an
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outsider after the tale. She recognizes that her life has been transformed and that she is now a
part of the mythology of the Yellow Woman.
Theme of Transcending Boundaries
Indications from Barnett’s work ‘Yellow Woman and Leslie Marmon Silko's Feminism’
shows that the narrative is firmly rooted in reality. The narrator has a name she would not reveal,
she lives on the pueblo, she has a husband and a kid, and the story takes place in the current day
(Beidler 80). The narrative becomes increasingly mystical and mythical during her interactions
with Silva by the river and in the mountains when she meets him first (Silko 300). Silko flows
back and forth between the two and, in the process, surpasses the confines of both worlds. This is
shown by the narrator's constant efforts to establish her bearings and sense of reality, which
indicates that the more individuals grope for limits, the less accurate the world seems to become.
On the other hand, Silva seems to be considerably more at ease in this transitional state of
affairs. He has a unique perspective point since he lives outside of society's bounds and at the top
of a mountain, from where he can see the narrator all of the fictitious boundaries of the pueblos
and ranches below. He feels at ease in the ambiguous place and in the ambiguous connection he
has with the narrator, she refuses to provide her name, and he continues to refer to her as Yellow
Woman, and he is content with this (Silko 98). This is how he instructs her to relinquish control
over her sense of self and her perception of reality.
In summary, a contextual and historical examination of the Yellow Woman narrative fills
in the literature's setting. The work shows other interested individuals' social and cultural way of
life. On the other hand, the historical view is well suited to the nineteenth century and its events.
As a result, literature is essential for learning about life in the context of time. Much information
about society may be gleaned through contextual examination of literary works.