Tony's Story by Leslie Marmon Silko -- Analysis and Themes

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PDF of Tony's Story: Link (Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with this link)
  • Army men returning to the reservation
I wondered why men who came back from the army were troublemakers on the reservation.
  • The fantastic (Todorov)
I looked back and saw the red light on top of the car whirling around, and I could make out the dark image of a man, but where the face should have been there were only the silvery lenses of the dark glasses he wore.
  • How could just speaking about something make it more real?
But I knew that cop was something terrible, and even to speak about it risked bringing it close to all of us; so I didn’t say anything.
  • There's some more abstract fear that haunts Tony than the cop, something others can't see
Leon glanced in the rear-view mirror. "He's following us!"
My body began to shake and I wasn't sure if I would be able to speak. "There's no place left to hide. It follows us everywhere."
  • Tony refers to the cop as "it"
  • Tony is sure the whites are cannibals


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