Almanac of the Dead: Analysis of Major Characters
"Almanac of the Dead: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the complexities and evolution of its key figures, set against a backdrop of cultural conflict and personal struggle. Lecha, a psychic and keeper of sacred Lakota texts, undergoes a significant transformation from a drug-dependent lifestyle to a commitment to militant ecological activism. Her journey is central to the narrative, reflecting themes of identity and purpose.
Sterling, a gardener in Lecha's compound, faces challenges related to his Pueblo heritage and seeks to reclaim his identity after being exiled under false pretenses. In contrast, Seese represents the struggles women face within an exploitative environment, grappling with a guilty past shaped by male influences in the realms of drugs and sex.
Menardo, a Mexican entrepreneur, embodies the destructive impact of greed and the international economic systems that perpetuate it, offering a darkly humorous yet critical perspective on ambition and downfall. Finally, David, Seese's partner, illustrates moral failures through his irresponsible behavior, contrasting sharply with Lecha's nurturing spirit. The interplay of these characters highlights the novel’s thematic concerns of cultural dislocation, gender dynamics, and the quest for integrity.
Almanac of the Dead: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Leslie Marmon Silko
First published: 1991
Genre: Novel
Locale: Arizona, Mexico, and Colombia
Plot: Social realism
Time: Late twentieth century
Lecha (LAY-chay), the mother of Ferro, and sister of Zeta. She is a celebrated psychic and keeper of the sacred Lakota text of the almanac. Initially in drug-dependent retirement, she ends up identifying herself with visionary, militant ecologists. Her complicated evolution is one of the novel's main structures.
Sterling, the gardener in Lecha's compound, exiled from his Pueblo home on mistaken grounds of cultural violation. His safe return to his native place is an understated counterpart of the more global nature of Lecha's ultimate commitment. He attempts to retain his integrity and self-respect.
Seese, Sterling's opposite number in Lecha's household. She has a guilty past. If Sterling's problems have ethnic origins, Seese's originate in her gender and in her helpless involvement with an exploitative male world of drugs and sex.
Menardo (may-NAHR-doh), a Mexican entrepreneur. He illustrates the destructive and dehumanizing nature of personal greed and the international economic order that fosters it. His rise and fall has darkly comic as well as more sinister elements. His story can be read as a parodic treatment of the novel's other shape-changing motifs.
David, a photographer, Seese's lover and the father of her child. His reckless treatment of both these dependents has its moral payoff in his involvement with pornography and Nazi-style futurists. These developments are not only a critique of David's disregard for Seese and the subsequent obscene exploitation of their child but also contrast vividly with the nurturing character of Lecha's commitment.