The Man to Send Rain Clouds by Leslie Marmon Silko Book Analysis Essay

“The Man to Send Rain Clouds” by Leslie Marmon Silko shows how two differing cultures can get lost in translation trough similar practices. The biggest example of this is when Leon and Louise ask Father Paul for holy water for their Native American burial ritual. Another example can be found earlier in the story when Leon was picking up the body of his grandfather for burial and does not explain to Father Paul that Teofilo was actually dead. Multiple times through-out the story the author shows how people from different backgrounds can interpret things differently.

When Teofilo is laid in his grave, Louise asks Leon to get the priest to sprinkle holy water on him so that he won’t be thirsty in the afterlife. Father Paul believes that Leon and his tribe are practicing Christians, which it confuses him as to why they want him to sprinkle holy water on Teofilo even though he didn’t get a proper Christian burial. Father Paul is even skeptical of the reason he was asked to sprinkle holy water, “not sure that Teofilo was so small, wondering if it wasn’t some perverse Indian trick-something they did in March to ensure a good harvest” (Silko 256). Despite this he still sprinkles the holy water on Teofilo choosing to believe that Leon might understand the importance of the steps in a Christian Burial. While the sprinkling of holy water is important in the Christian burial practice, in Leon’s Native American Culture, it was important to give Teofilo water as well showing how the same action is different depending on culture.

Earlier in the story, when Leon and Ken were picking up Teofilo’s body, the two men run into the Father Paul who asks them about how Teofilo is doing. Leon tells Father Paul that, “Everything is O.K.” (255) and that, “he won’t do that again” (255) never telling him that Teofilo was actually dead. This can be attributed to how different cultures view death and that to Leon, Teofilo isn’t actually dead but rather just moved on or still alive in some way. This differing view displays how depending on cultural background, miscommunication can occur without one realizing.

Leslie Marmon Silko shows the audience two differing cultures attempting to mix, with differing aspects of each being either not understood or miscommunicated. When Father Paul sprinkles holy water on Teofilo’s body, this shows how the same action has multiple meanings depending on culture. Leon not telling Father Paul that Teofilo is dead shows how different cultures views of the world can cause miscommunication unintentionally. Despite the fact that Leon and his tribe’s culture has been nearly lost, they still hold on to the few aspects they have despite being urged by Father Paul to give Teofilo a Christian burial.