Sherman Alexie
In How to Write the Great American Indian Novel, the author Sherman Alexie uses imagery, synecdoche, and repetition to develop the central idea that Native Americans are stereotyped. Society gives them a stereotype where all Indians live their life a same, specific way, otherwise they aren’t considered Indians. For example, Alexie uses imagery to show a stereotype of every Indian man that white women have a deep love interest in. “White women feign disgust at the savage in blue jeans and a t-shirt, but secretly lust after him. White women dream about half-breed Indian men from horse cultures” (9-10). This simply states that every white woman who has a deep interest in an Indian man, it’s for a half-breed Indian man in blue jeans and a t-shirt.
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When white women have a lust for Indian men, it would be for a man described exactly as the poem says. This is imagery because when the author describes these Indian man, the audience can most likely picture him in their minds.
Alexie also uses repetition to create the central idea by repeating the word “tragic”. For instance, “All of the Indians must have tragic features: tragic noses, eyes, and arms. Their hands and fingers must be tragic when they reach for tragic food” (1). This indicates that all Indians are tragic and that they live a tragic life. Alexie uses the words “tragic” (several times) and “must” to show the audience that if he/she is an Indian, they are indeed tragic. Sherman Alexie also uses synecdoche to develop the central idea that all Indians live their life the same, specific way by grouping them in certain categories. To support, “When the Indian women steps out of her dress, the white man gasps at the endless beauty of her brown skin. She should be compared to nature: brown hills, mountains, fertile valleys, dewy grass, wind, and clear water” (5-6). This is showing that all Indian women should be compared to nature when they are with a white man. This shows synecdoche because the author is grouping all Indian women together and sating that all of them can be compared to the same thing, nature. Lastly, “Yet Indian secrets can be disclosed suddenly, like a
storm. Indian men, of course, are storms. They should destroy the lives of any white women who choose to love them” (8-9). This explains that society sees all Indian men as “storms” by saying that every Indian man who loves a white woman, destroys her life. This displays synecdoche by how Alexie groups all Indian men who love white women are all compared to storms. To summarize, the central idea of Sherman Alexie’s How to Write the Great American Indian Novel is that all Indians are stereotyped to the extent where society sees them all as one classification where they live their lives all the same way. Alexie uses the literary elements of synecdoche, imagery, and repetition to develop this central idea to explain to the audience that our society today brackets all Native American Indians as one.
When white women have a lust for Indian men, it would be for a man described exactly as the poem says. This is imagery because when the author describes these Indian man, the audience can most likely picture him in their minds.
Alexie also uses repetition to create the central idea by repeating the word “tragic”. For instance, “All of the Indians must have tragic features: tragic noses, eyes, and arms. Their hands and fingers must be tragic when they reach for tragic food” (1). This indicates that all Indians are tragic and that they live a tragic life. Alexie uses the words “tragic” (several times) and “must” to show the audience that if he/she is an Indian, they are indeed tragic. Sherman Alexie also uses synecdoche to develop the central idea that all Indians live their life the same, specific way by grouping them in certain categories. To support, “When the Indian women steps out of her dress, the white man gasps at the endless beauty of her brown skin. She should be compared to nature: brown hills, mountains, fertile valleys, dewy grass, wind, and clear water” (5-6). This is showing that all Indian women should be compared to nature when they are with a white man. This shows synecdoche because the author is grouping all Indian women together and sating that all of them can be compared to the same thing, nature. Lastly, “Yet Indian secrets can be disclosed suddenly, like a
storm. Indian men, of course, are storms. They should destroy the lives of any white women who choose to love them” (8-9). This explains that society sees all Indian men as “storms” by saying that every Indian man who loves a white woman, destroys her life. This displays synecdoche by how Alexie groups all Indian men who love white women are all compared to storms. To summarize, the central idea of Sherman Alexie’s How to Write the Great American Indian Novel is that all Indians are stereotyped to the extent where society sees them all as one classification where they live their lives all the same way. Alexie uses the literary elements of synecdoche, imagery, and repetition to develop this central idea to explain to the audience that our society today brackets all Native American Indians as one.