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Summary Of What You Pawn I Will Redeem

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“What You Pawn I Will Redeem” In Sherman Alexie’s short story What You Pawn I Will Redeem, the main character Jackson Jackson is on a quest for self-identity. Jackson is a homeless Indian alcoholic on a mission to buy back his grandmother’s powwow dance regalia that was stolen from her fifty years ago. It all started when Jackson walked past a pawnshop and noticed it hanging in the window, and he felt it was his duty to retrieve the regalia and reclaim his Indian identity. “It is a quest now. I need to win it back by myself” (Alexie 177). While on a quest, the journey itself is more important than the destination. We learn the most about ourselves looking back at all the obstacles and challenges we have overcome when we finally get to the …show more content…

He left the Spokane Indian reservation to go to college and get an education, which he failed out of very quickly. He also had a wife and kids, but he left them because he said he was better at being homeless. “Being homeless is probably the only thing I’ve ever been good at” (Alexie 170). Although Jackson is an alcoholic and homeless, he is not bitter about it. When Jackson passed the pawnshop and noticed the regalia he immediately wanted to raise the one thousand dollars to reclaim it for his grandmother since it had been stolen from her. Stealing does not sit well with Indians because they grew up learning that everything had been stolen from them. They grew up knowing that white people had moved them from their land, forced them from their homes, and taken everything important to them. “One day you have a home and the next you don’t, but I’m not going to tell you my particular reasons for being homeless, because it’s my secret story, and Indians have to work hard to keep secrets from hungry white folks” (Alexie 169). Indians feel alienated in America because they are made to think their culture is out of the social norm. Americans thought by taking away the Indians land and culture that they would adopt a new culture like ours. By doing this, Americans have made Indians feel alienated and alone in their own homeland. Sometimes we forget that the Indians were here first and we forced them from their own land. Jackson

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It is inevitable to have a mission during our life,whatever it will result in what kind of consequence. The following three stories that we learned this semester show us one common thing—the protagonists in those stories are in a mission. In Sherman Alexie’s story “What You Pawn I Will Redeem”,Jackson Jackson’s mission is to get his grandmother’s regalia back. In Louise Erdrich’s story “I’m a Mad Dog Biting Myself for Sympathy”,the mission of the man in this story is to steal a toucan as a Christmas present to his ex-girlfriend. Also,there is a mission of Ned Merrill,who is the protagonist in John Cheever’s story “The Swimmer”.

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“Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is Christ Jesus” Romans 3:24-26 (KJV). This verse holds significance throughout the story, “What You Pawn I Will Redeem,” by Sherman Alexie. Nothing is ever fully justified freely without the grace and redemption through Jesus Christ and “Jackson Jackson” finds this without really every realizing its significance until the end of the story. Redemption is found in the darkest of times and helps you to find who you really are. Alexie writes about a homeless Indian, named Jackson Jackson, searching for money to buy his grandmothers regalia that he finds in a pawnshop; but there is a greater significance in the title of the story and in the symbols, rather than just a small summary of the story, that fall in line with the title throughout the story than just what is told.

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The character I chose is out of Sherman Alexie’s What You Pawn I Will Redeem. The character explains he is, “I’m a Spokane Indian boy, an Interior Salish” (Alexie, 278). He describes himself as, “If there’s such a thing as being an effective homeless man, I suppose I’m effective” (Alexie, 278). He gives us additional information on his character in which he takes great pride because he is trustworthy, “I’ve made friends with restaurant and convenience-store managers who let me use their bathrooms.

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A Critical Analysis of “What you pawn I will redeem” In “What you pawn I will redeem”, Sherman Alexie tells us a story about Jackson trying to get his grandmother regalia back. Jackson tells us about being married a few times, being homeless, working blue collar jobs, fathering a few children and going crazy. This critical analysis paper will focus on Jackson’s story and will show the quality and effectiveness of Sherman Alexie’s writing. I really enjoyed the story “What you pawn I will redeem” by Sherman Alexie.

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