Do You Know Where I Am Alexie Analysis

Do You Know Where I Am? consists of a dark and bleak tone as David, the narrator, describes the journey of life with his wife, Sharon. Going in depth about their hardships and the unforgiving nature of their marriage, the mood of the story remains heart-wrenching. When David lies as the cat incident occurs, Sharon still agrees to marry David since that relationship is all she knows; however, she realizes in her heart that he is not the man she desired to marry originally. Sharon states, “I am going to marry a liar”, and on her deathbed, she still exclaims, “You’re a liar”. By never forgiving his mistake and continually holding him to blame for their boring and unfulfilling marriage, the theme becomes evident. The theme of Do You Know Where

David does not fully grasp how Sharon feels about him when they were young and in love, as he continually feels the desire to prove to her and himself that he is a hero or astonishing man. The fact that David did not want to save the cat in the first place, yet he did it to preserve Sharon 's feelings for him is very ironic. While wanting to look like a noble man in Sharon 's eyes, even though she already viewed him in that way, David wound up negatively changing how Sharon perceived his character and integrity. Insecurities in himself and in his relationship become evident when he seems to care so deeply about what the cat strangers think about him. “I wanted to briefly be adored by strangers, to be remembered as a handsome and kind man, a better man, more complete, even saintly”. This quote expresses David’s ongoing internal battle between knowing who he is as a person and worrying about how others identify him. In reality, the only person’s opinion that David should be cautious about is Sharon 's, which ironically is the only opinion that he destroyed in the process. Another ironic part in the story is how Sharon never forgives David for the lie he told that day, yet later on in their marriage, she is the one lying the most and keeping the biggest secret of all, the