자기중심주의의 극복과 생태적 예지의 진화 ―실코의 「의식」 다시 읽기

Abstract

The restoration of Tayo's aboriginal value has predominantly reasoned critical responses to how Tayo overcomes his egocentrism in Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony. Patricia Clark Smith, Paula Gunn Allen, Karen E. Waldron, Robert M. Nelson and some others identify Tayo's restoration of ground-oriented spirit embedded in his own native culture with a commanding cause that renders Tayo's personality fully grown. To the extent that those critics' diagnosis is true, however, a reversed criticism on the same topic makes enough sense; Tayo finally reaches a psychological stability when he gets over his cultural conflict with the Anglo-American way of thinking and living. Such a criticism well-explains why Tayo's 'battle fatigue' is cured not by a sorely aboriginal medicine man, Ku'oosh, but by another native medicine man Betonie who has enough experience with the white culture. The evolution of Tayo's ecological insight presupposes his overcoming egocentrism, thus, his monolithic cultural sentiment. To put it simply, Silko's view of nature manifested in this novel might be called preservationism only if Tayo just returns to his own native culture whereas it would be conservationism if he totally assimilates himself to the white culture. But silko seems to reject any monocultural direction. Rather, she goes toward a neutral zone between white and aboriginal, thus, resisting one-way categorization into either preservationism or conservationism. In other words, she just provokes ongoing eco-dialogues.