become an alcoholic.
Harley, Leroy and Pinkie, who also fought in the war, are also suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and are self-medicating themselves with alcohol. They all spend their time reminiscing about how great the war was and how much respect they were given when they were in uniform. Tayo tries drinking, but it only makes him sicker (Silko 53). The stories only make him think more about the discrimination the Native Americans face at the hands of the White man, whom they still seem to admire.
The veterans no longer tell the traditional stories about the people's relationship with the earth and the deities, but tell about the witchery of the modern world. Tayo visits Ku'oosh, the old medicine man, who tries to heal him with the old ceremonies, but the old man says there are "Some things we can't cure like we used to...not since the white people came" (Silko, 38). Tayo is trapped. He cannot enter the White man's world, because he is no longer accepted now that the war is over, and he cannot find peace in the old world.
He is not cured by Ku-oosh, but he is helped somewhat and begins to reflect on the past, and look back on his younger days, living with Aunt
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