Contemporary Indigenous American Voices

Question 7 • ELA 11B-CR

Which piece of dialogue from Leslie Marmon Silko’s story "The Man to Send Rain Clouds" best illustrates that Christian rites are not important to Leon or his community?

Answer

“Thank God for that. Teofilo is a very old man. You really shouldn’t allow him to stay at the sheep camp alone.”“No, he won’t do that any more now.”

The priest dragged a chair out of the kitchen and offered it to Leon.“No thank you, Father. I only came to ask you if you would bring your holy water to the graveyard.”

“‘Why didn’t you tell me he was dead? I could have brought the Last Rites anyway.”Leon smiled. “It wasn’t necessary, Father.”

Leon put on his green cap and pulled the flaps down over his ears. “It’s getting late, Father. I’ve got to go.”When Leon opened the door Father Paul stood up and said, "Wait."

Explanation

Father Paul says he could have given Teofilo the Last Rites, but Leon replies, “It wasn’t necessary, Father.” This directly shows that Leon and his community did not consider the Christian rite essential when Teofilo died. They do ask the priest to bring holy water, but the dialogue in C most clearly expresses that the Last Rites were not important to them.

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