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El Tonto Del Bario and The Man to Send Rain Clouds

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Many key developments in the short stories, "El Tonto Del Barrio," by Jose Armos, and, "The Man to Send Rain Clouds," by Leslie Marmon Silko, are made through the emphasis on cultures. Silko and Armos use ethnic traditions in the development of themes, through a combination of maintaining tradition and by a compromise between culture and ages. The Grandfather dies in the beginning of The Man to Send Rain Clouds, and the grandkids then use a mixture of the Native American traditions and the Catholic rituals for his funeral. El Tonto Del Barrio is about Romero and the way he connects with the Barrio. It shows the effects of the way Romero originally interacted with the townspeople and the way this changed as Seferino insisted that Romero needed to be paid for his work. Both authors showed how the cultures strived to maintain their traditions through their stories. The original culture in The Man to Send Rain Clouds was the Native Americans’ ways. Even the title of the story is symbolic, as that was a traditional prayer to the spirits by the Indians for rains. A key part of their livelihood was their sheep. This is shown in the story through the way the grandfather was found. Teofilo was discovered by Leon and Ken under a big cottonwood tree surrounded by his herd, he had been on his deathbed and he still would not leave his sheep. Leon and Ken wrapped the grandfather in a bright red blanket, painted his face, tied a ribbon in his hair, and tossed corn meal and pollen around him (Silko). Each of these actions would have been important to the grandfather. This is how generations before had treated the deceased. The funeral also held many traditions. The ceremony itself was performed by the medicine man. They sprinkled corn meal around his to give him food for his travel to his next place. He was still wrapped in his red wool blanket, he was also wearing a pair of moccasins. Teofilo had made these himself with the intent of wearing them f

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