The telling of a story requires a relationship between the narrator and the listener. At the very least, the narrator and listener must share a common language, or be provided with a translater, in order for the communication to be effective. Yet beyond this seemingly technical requirement, the narrator and listener must also share a certain commonality of experience in order for the exchange of ideas on the metaphorical level of "story" to function.

This commonality of experience is discussed in John McGowan's A Common Experience:

While it [Mause] is a moving and important narrative of its own right, it can not be considered truly valuable unless it represents a broad commonality of experience.

The commonality of experience of which McGowan speaks is twofold, it is both the commonality of experience evident on the level of the Holocaust, and the commonality of experience evident on the level of the Father-Son relationship between Vladek and Art.

In Ceremony, Tayo and his "friends," Harley and Leroy, share the commonality of experience of World War II. This commonality of experience fuels their constant ritual of storytelling. Their individual narratives are based as much upon the commonality of experience of all of the Indian soldiers (i.e. their acceptance into white society while in uniform followed by a rejection from white society after the war's end) as they are upon the individual's memories.

This sense of commonality is most evident in Ceremony when it is absent. Emo questions the commonality of experience that Tayo shares with the rest of the Laguna men in saying:

You don't like my stories, do you? Not good enough for you, huh? You think you're hot shit, like your cousin. Big foot-ball star. Big hero. . . One thing you can do is drink like an Indian, can't you? Maybe you aren't no better than the rest of us, huh? (Ceremony, 60)

Emo notices that Tayo does not like his stories, and he concludes that Tayo's lack of participation in the commonality of experience, of Laguna racial purity, is the cause of this. Emo is both right and wrong. Tayo in fact does not share the commonality of experience that Emo's stories are predicated upon. But the commonality of experience that Tayo does not share has nothing to do with racial purity, rather Tayo does not share the hatred that Emo holds toward the Japanese. Tayo sees the Japanese as victims of the white culture as thoroughly victimized as th Laguna people are.

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