In Laguna culture, stories are as central as the language that tells them. Stories weave the world and are constantly reinvented and recreated over time. In Storyteller, Leslie Marmon Silko layers short stories, pictures, and poems to depict the common theme that stories and having a storyteller to remember them creates a world where no one really dies, but lives in the memories. Although all of his works convey this idea, Silko's short stories, "Storyteller" and "The Storyteller's Escape," use characterization to illustrate the cyclical immortality of stories and the ever-present need for someone to remember and recite this story. “Storyteller” uses characterization and plot to illustrate the eternal aspect of stories as well as the habitual continuation of a storyteller. In “Storyteller”, three main stories are present: the story of the grandfather, the story of the death of the woman's parents and the story of the woman. Although each of these stories takes place in its own time, with its own characters, they build into one intertwined story. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The story of the grandfather is told throughout women's history and unfolds like his own. Alternatively, the story of the parents' death shapes the woman's story, shaping what she will do and say. From the beginning of the tale, it is explained that the grandfather “always [continues] the stories” (18) and “tells a story even while he dreams” (19). Silko presents a modernized version of an ancient figure of Laguna culture: the storyteller. The grandfather tells a story that the reader does not know at first. His story takes the form of a “giant bear” (21) which he describes in great detail, painting the beginning of his enduring drama. Although little is known about this story at this point, it will unfold alongside the women's story. Interrupting the grandfather's story, Silko soon moves on to the story of the death of the woman's parents. The memory ends with the grandmother overcome with sadness and anger at the lies the shopkeeper told to avoid being guilty of the deaths (24). Truth is an important ingredient of stories, and the trader's lies shine as a defiling twist on the sacred aspect of stories. Following the parents' story, a hunter joins the grandfather's story. The hunter attempts to lure the bear to its death, and this part of the story ends with the old man muttering in his sleep that "the story must be told." There must be no lies” (25). This statement contrasts with the merchant's previous story and foreshadows the woman's story. Silko begins to piece together each element of the story to create a unified moment. As the bear approaches the hunter, the woman approaches the trader. The woman creates her story by leading the trader to his death in the icy river (28). The end of the grandfather's story is not yet revealed, but it looms as the female events unfold. Silko presents two stories, seemingly different, but with exactly the same content. It updates an old story into a new story, showing how they grow and continue to live. The history of the parents is also linked to the history of the woman. When asked why she refuses to say that the death was an accident, she relates her story to that of her parents, explaining: "He lied to them... But I won't lie" (28). The woman juxtaposes the murder of her parents by the merchant with themurder of the merchant. Both were premeditated, both could have appeared as an accident, but the woman took responsibility for her story while the shopkeeper tainted his story with lies. The woman uses almost the same words as the grandfather to end her story. She explains that “the story must be told as it is” (30), echoing the grandfather’s “there must be no lies” (25). Silko punctuates the importance of stories in Lagunaculture as well as the pride associated with the truth in them and their maintenance over time. The woman's story ends with her reciting the beginning of her own story; continually loops his story, just as the grandfather had done with his (30). This represents the need for a storyteller and proves that the position of the storyteller will live on just as stories will live on. The grandfather ends his story by explaining that while the hunter was waiting to kill the bear, his plans were shattered when he dropped a knife and it shattered against the ice. The man was helpless and the bear was ultimately victorious (30). The bear represents the woman and reflects the repetitive and ever-changing nature of Laguna's stories. Over time, stories change shape, never dying, but adapting to the times. Likewise, the storyteller never dies but is passed on like stories. Once the grandfather's time is over, the task of telling the stories is given to the young woman. The woman becomes the storyteller and she will tell her version of the same story. As people and their lives disappear, the stories continue. The job of telling the story passes to another, creating eternal life for the stories they tell. Although a very different story, "The Storyteller's Escape" focuses on the same themes as "The Storyteller." Through characterization and content, Silko constructs another world of timeless truth and tradition. This time there is more emphasis on the importance of having a storyteller to remember each story and keep the memories of those lost alive. The beginning of “The Storyteller’s Escape” vividly describes the eternal importance of stories. The narrator explains that “with our stories / we can escape almost anything / with these stories we can survive” (239). Silko presents multiple meanings in these lines. The storyteller has heard all the stories; she knows all the circumstances and how it ended. Thanks to this, she can literally “escape almost everything” (239). There is no new problem, nothing that someone else hasn't already done. For the storyteller, she can escape by calling on the stories of the past to guide her. The stories morph into one another, repeating history and guiding the lives of the living. The other part of this quote states that through stories “we can survive” (239). The connotation here changes from surviving in life to surviving forever. The stories help them navigate their lives, and once they die, their lives become part of the stories. Rather than dying, they survive thanks to memory. This same idea can be seen more distinctly at the beginning of the old storyteller's tale. The storyteller is old and close to death. As she stumbles toward the end of her life, she declares that she "could die peacefully / if there was just someone to tell / how I finally stopped / and where" (241). This brings us back to the original idea that even stories of death create survival. Silko illustrates how desperately important the stories are through the woman's plea for someone to be there to remember her. Rather than dying without witnesses, the storyteller creates her, 2012.