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What You Pawn I Will Redeem Analysis Essay

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The Insight of Native Americans in Sherman Alexie’s Jackson Jackson According to the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 11.7 percent of Native Americans and Alaska Natives deaths between 2001 and 2005 were alcohol-related, compared with 3.3 percent for the U.S. as a whole, more than three times the percentage of the general population. Native Americans are overrepresented in the homeless population by approximately 19 percent by a study of Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care for Homeless Veterans program. Jackson Jackson, in “What You Pawn I Will Redeem” by Sherman Alexie, embodies the above study. Unlike the traditional heroes who mostly win the fights, make all the right decisions, can do almost everything, and have perfect characteristics like bravery, strength, charm, Alexie portrays the protagonist, Jackson Jackson as a modern anti-hero who is very complicated. Within twenty-four hours, Alexie expresses Jackson Jackson representing the Native American experiences, “Spokane Indian boy” …show more content…

The young generation blames the old one for losing the land and culture. The young generation is embodied in Jackson to show the will and determination to reclaim the lost heritage. Although he is miserable, alcoholic and homeless, he focuses on his goal. His characteristics make him an excellent anti-hero model. According to Jonathan Michael’s article in Relavent Magazine, our faith to the world has been shaking through series of tragidies and terrible events such as 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Iraq War, the economic recession, the Herricane Sandy, the Newtown shooting, the Boston Marathon attack...ect. Thus, the hero character does not reflect the true of the society we live. In the readers’ perspective, Jackson Jackson is model of the anti-hero character, and the believable and relatable character is one of the enjoyable stories to

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Jackson took on a new persona, he still embodied the West but was stained by his ruthless takeover of Indian Land and the forced relocation of Indians. It is evident there are many different perspectives on

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The way that they are represented in the novel provides an insight into modern day native American culture unparalleled by any history book. The way women, children, men, religious figures, and senior citizens are represented in the book allow readers to see the way native Americans interact with others. These interactions allow us to see how native

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Bo Jackson is a epic hero due to his supernatural foes, national heroism, and him being a great warrior.

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Petalesharo’s writing reflected the treatment of Native Americans during the 1800s. Being a Native American himself, Petalesharo was able to give perspective on a point in history typically viewed from a white man’s opinion. The excerpt “Petalesharo” explains how the Native American was able “to prevent young women captured by other tribes from being sacrificed”, making Petalesharo well liked by the Americans (588). Petalesharo gave the “Speech of the Pawnee Chief” infront of Americans to convey the differences between Native Americans and Americans through emotion, logic, and credibility, which showed how the two groups will never be the same, but still can coexist in the world together.

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One reason I believe Andrew Jackson is a hero is because he worked hard to empower the common people. The source: Thomas Bailey and David Kennedy, The American Pageant, 1994 states, “Jackson’s victory accelerated the transfer of national power from the country house to the farmhouse, from the East to the West, from the snobs to the mobs. If Jefferson had been the hero of the gentleman farmer, Jackson was the hero of the dirt farmer.” The quote shows that Jackson equalized the power between the wealthy and

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Writer Sherman Alexie has a knack of intertwining his own problematic biographical experience with his unique stories and no more than “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” demonstrates that. Alexie laced a story about an Indian man living in Spokane who reflects back on his struggles in life from a previous relationship, alcoholism, racism and even the isolation he’s dealt with by living off the reservation. Alexie has the ability to use symbolism throughout his tale by associating the title’s infamy of two different ethnic characters and interlinking it with the narrator experience between trying to fit into a more society apart from his own cultural background. However, within the words themselves, Alexie has created themes that surround despair around his character however he illuminates on resilience and alcoholism throughout this tale.

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1353 Words | 6 Pages

The novel Reservation Blues, written by Sherman Alexie reveals different struggles encountered by the Native Americans on the Spokane Indian Reservation through the use of history, traditions, and values. Thomas Builds-the-Fire, a pureblood Indian, forms a band with his childhood acquaintances Victor Joseph and Junior Polatkin called Coyote Springs. Alexie uses a variety of scenes and personal encounters between characters and their dialogue to portray the meaning of tribal identity throughout the novel. A cultures goal is to prove their identity and be superior to one another; The American culture has achieved dominance through white hegemony while the Spokane American Indian tribe is in a battle of oppression struggling to preserve their tribal identity. Spokane Native Americans are very passionate about their tribal identities yet are envious of the power that the white hegemony holds against them, leading them to their depression.

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1794 Words | 8 Pages

Wallace explains the different reasons why the Indians were removed from their land without blaming it on Jackson. He does this by pointing out the growth of the Industrial Revolution, the high demand for more cotton, and the promise that was made to purchase the Native American land in Georgia by the federal government. This all adds to the historical period by show different points of view of topics we thought for sure were only one way. All of them show how it’s not just one factor that makes things happen, but multiple factors that influence events. This

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933 Words | 4 Pages

They are trying to save their lives.” Although Sherman Alexie’s success seems as if it has only opened up doors for himself it did not, it opened up doors for other Indian kids that are still on the reservation. When Sherman Alexie wrote his books and poems the kids on the reservation read them. They gave them hope, he gave them a reason to fight for their lives the way he did. Those kids too started to write their own short stories and found the same joy in learning that Sherman Alexie did.

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Native Americans in Canadian society are constantly fighting an uphill battle. After having their identity taken away in Residential Schools. The backlash of the Residential Schools haunts them today with Native American people struggling in today 's society. Native Americans make up five percent of the Canadian population, yet nearly a quarter of the murder victims. The haunting memories of Residential Schools haunt many Native Americans to this day.

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The most common theme throughout the book is the use of alcohol and alcoholism among Native Americans. The use of alcohol in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, shows its inappropriate role in Native American society. Junior’s writing after his sister’s death exemplifies this when he says that he, “Knew everybody would tell stories about Mary… and the whole time, everybody would be drinking booze and getting drunk and stupid and sad and mean” (pages 211-212). Alcohol has taken Junior’s sister from him, but in the process it reveals the truth of the stereotype of alcoholic Native Americans. Alcohol is used in a nonchalant manner and becomes normal to Native Americans.

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Andrew Jackson was a villain for a few reasons. One reason why Jackson was a villain is because he put America at risk. After he won this first term as president, Jackson put his supporters in top government positions. This meant that Jackson put less qualified people in charge of making the decisions that are necessary for America’s success. Furthermore, even after the Peggy Eaton affair in which Jackson was forced to have his unqualified cabinet to resign, he still only took advice from his loyal friends and supporters, known by his enemies as the “kitchen cabinet”.

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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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777 Words | 4 Pages

In Sherman Alexie’s short stories (and poems), there usually three central themes that the story rotates. In this paper, I will be exploring how he (Alexie) explores the themes losing culture, a cycle of regret, and using drugs (mainly alcohol) to escape. In Indian Education, the short story, Alexie seems to show that whenever young Victor tries to express himself through his culture, he is punished. Take the section “First Grade” for example. In first grade, Junior (the main character and narrator) says that “The little warrior in me roared to life that day..” and makes comparisons to traditional Native American warriors, such as describing the brusies on the other boy’s face as “war paint” or how Junior chants “it’s a good day to die”, which is phrase typically associated with Crazy Horse, who was a Native American chief.

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571 Words | 3 Pages

The Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington State was where Alexie first began to cultivate his love and understanding of reading. Although his parents were never able to obtain a consistently paying occupation, they were able to find an assortment of minimum wage jobs. This, by reservation standards, made his family middle class, and enabled his father to purchase numerous books that continued to fuel his love for reading. As a three year old toddler, Alexie made the defining decision to love books due to his love for his father who zealously pursued knowledge and reading.

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