Previous
Josiah
Tayo’s aunt, and Rocky’s mother. Thelma is a Christian Laguna woman, who stubbornly resents Tayo for his mixed blood and the gossip he invites about their family. Despite her bitterness towards these “sins,” Auntie also takes care of Tayo out of a sense of duty to the traditional values of the tribe. Even so, her insistence on the importance of Native American “purity” is portrayed in the novel as contributing needlessly to a loveless family life for Tayo, and her strict Christianity is depicted as actually alienating her from the Pueblo community and as motivating her to act cruelly toward Tayo and Little Sister as opposed to trying to bring them back into balance with the tribe. Auntie’s strictness, her stinginess with love, her way of thinking like an individual as opposed to seeking a balance with a tribe, are all portrayed in the novel as being both destructive and influenced by white culture.
Auntie (Thelma) Quotes in Ceremony
The Ceremony quotes below are all either spoken by Auntie (Thelma) or refer to Auntie (Thelma). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Section 2
Quotes
“You know what people will say if we ask for a medicine man to help him. Someone will say it's not right. They'll say, 'Don't do it. He's not full blood anyway."'
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Section 3
Quotes
She was careful that Rocky did not share these things with Tayo, that they kept a distance between themselves and him. But she would nor let Tayo go outside or play in another room alone. She wanted him close enough to feel excluded, to be aware of the distance between them.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Christianity separated the people from themselves; it tried to crush the single clan name, encouraging each person to stand alone, because Jesus Christ would save only the individual soul; Jesus Christ was not like the Mother who loved and cared for them as her children, as her family.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Ceremony LitChart as a printable PDF.
Auntie (Thelma) Quotes in Ceremony
The Ceremony quotes below are all either spoken by Auntie (Thelma) or refer to Auntie (Thelma). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Section 2
Quotes
“You know what people will say if we ask for a medicine man to help him. Someone will say it's not right. They'll say, 'Don't do it. He's not full blood anyway."'
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Section 3
Quotes
She was careful that Rocky did not share these things with Tayo, that they kept a distance between themselves and him. But she would nor let Tayo go outside or play in another room alone. She wanted him close enough to feel excluded, to be aware of the distance between them.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Christianity separated the people from themselves; it tried to crush the single clan name, encouraging each person to stand alone, because Jesus Christ would save only the individual soul; Jesus Christ was not like the Mother who loved and cared for them as her children, as her family.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
