Finishing the Ceremony!

We finished Ceremony!! Some of my questions are answered but I still have so many. There are two parts that confuse me the most. The first is when Robert comes to visit Tayo. "'They want you to come home. They are worried about you. They think you might need the doctors again... Old man Ku'oosh and some of the others are wondering too why you haven't come. They thought maybe there might be something you should tell them...And Emo is has been saying things about you. He's been talking about how you went crazy and are alone out here. He talks bullshit about caves and animals'" (Silko 228). I started to question the reality of Tayo's situation. Robert is concerned about Tayo but he doesn't want to agree with Emo. Does he secretly agree with him? Is Tayo really imagining the spotted cattle? Most of the novel is through Tayo's perspective and there is no way to tell how reliable he is. There are points where he is more clear than others but I don't know if what he says is true or only what he believes is true. Tayo could be running around the open spaces chasing imaginary cattle and talking to himself. Maybe Emo is the more sane one of the two.

The other part that confused me was when Emo, Pinkie and Leroy attack Harley. The whole story that Tayo tells seems a little off. I understand that Emo is somewhat evil and doesn't like Tayo because he is a racist but would he go that far? They kidnapped and tied Harley up. "Pinkie held [Harley's] leg, and Leroy cut a whorl from the bottom of his big toe. Harley screamed hoarsely; the sound trailed off to a groan" (Silko 251). They were all friends!? How can someone do this to someone they were friends with? The they just laugh and leave. Tayo doesn't kill Emo because he can resist witchery and he is on the path to finishing his ceremony. I question the reality of the whole encounter. Tayo is dehydrated, exhausted and hasn't eaten in a day or so. Anyone can start to imagine things after being out in the desert all day.