Silko
SilkoWhite people will be the death of the world. Leslie Marmon
Silko’s short story “Long time ago” explores this belief of the Laguna
Pueblos the will be brought to an end by white people. She also
touches on a more underlying theme which is a commentary on the topic
of people trying to outdo each other and the destruction that can be
caused by such actions. In “Long time ago,” the Indian witches do not
realize until it is too late that they are helping to feed the
creation of the white people. Once they realize that their
competition is going to have ill effects for them, it is too late,
because the creation has already begun.
The story states that there was a time when white people did
not exist and that the world may have stayed that way had it not been
for witches. All the witches decide to get together for a contest to
see who can do the worst dark and evil things. When all but one witch
has done his best, that witch steps up and says that he will tell a
story that will be “set in motion” (135) as he speaks. After he tells
his story, the rest of the witches tell him that he has won and asks
him to recall the story and take back what he had said, but he says
that it is too late to call it back. The story that he told was of
the creation of the white people, and it is irreversible.
Leslie Marmon Silko tries to convey the belief of the Laguna
Indians that the white man is going to destroy the world. This is
evident in the belief that the “world was already complete even
without white people” (133) They feel that the world would have been
fine without white people. The only evil in the world would have been
the Indian witches. After the white people were created, there was no
stopping the inevitable, because the end of the world was “already
coming” (138).
According to “Long time ago,” the white people “grow away from
the earth, … the sun, … [and] the plants and animals,” and “they
see no life” (135). The white people do not respect the earth and its
creatures. The white people use that which the earth has to offer but
do not try to put anything back. “They will kill … all the
animals,” “poison the water” and “bring terrible diseases” which will
cause “entire...
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