Facts: William E. Story had promised his nephew, William E. Story II, $5,000 if his nephew would abstain from drinking alcohol, using tobacco, swearing, and playing cards or billiards for money until the nephew reached 21 years of age. The uncle responded to his nephew in a letter dated February 6, 1875 in which he told his nephew that he would fulfill his promise. The uncle died a couple years later without sending the money to the nephew.…
In Sherman Alexie's, “What You Pawn I Will Redeem,” an alcoholic, homeless Indian sets out on a quest to win back his grandmother's stolen regalia. The main character and narrator, Jackson Jackson, stumbles upon his stolen family heirloom in a pawnshop window and proceeds to spend the next day trying to earn enough money to buy it back. The pawnshop owner tells him he will sell it back to him for $999 and that he has 24 hours to come up with the money. Jackson gains small amounts of money here and there, but always ends up spending it on alcohol or food. When the 24 hours is up, Jackson returns to the pawnshop with only $5 to spend. The shop owner asks him if he worked hard for the small amount of money he had, Jackson tells him, “Yes,” and the owner gives him the regalia. Alexie…
In the short story “What You Pawn I Will Redeem,” written by Sherman Alexie, Jackson Squared is a homeless alcoholic Indian man who is on a quest to prove to others that there is still good people in the world that are willing to help others. Jackson states, “The pawnbroker didn’t know it was stolen. And, besides, I’m on a mission here. I want to be a hero, you know? I want to win it back, like a knight” (Alexie 24). Jackson’s point is that he doesn’t want people to feel sorry for him because of his situation. He wants to prove to others that when someone is in a horrible situation that doesn’t mean that they should lose hope.…
For example, when discussing Pontiac and his war in the Ohio valley, Richter tells of the various motivations Pontiac had in staging his war (p.193-201). Also, Richter does a worthy job of setting up the following individual stories of violence between the white invaders and Native Americans by explaining the importance of their customs, such as reciprocal gift giving, in which Richter states, “The chiefs are generally the poorest among them, for instead of receiving anything… these Indian chiefs are made to give to the populace”…
In Sherman Alexie’s short story, “What You Pawn I Redeem,” Jackson, the protagonist, must figure out how he can merge his Native American culture into modern day Seattle. The characters in this story have similar characteristics of real life Native Americans. According to The main character, Jackson Jackson, is part of the Spokane Indian Tribe but he has moved to a larger metropolitan area in Seattle, which is much different from the cultured-based Spokane Reservation. Most people move to a new area and have to deal with finding new friends and finding their way around town, but Jackson has bigger problem. He is caught up in his Native American culture and has not quite learned how to live the modern day lifestyle. The story shows that it is important that he keeps his culture alive without becoming separated from the modern world. Jackson is put to the test each and every day to find new ways to interact in the big city and figure out how he can mix his historic traditions with the contemporary civilization that is set in Seattle, Washington. He must adapt to a new culture without losing his own. The struggle to balance modern day living and the Native American culture in Seattle is revealed through the setting.…
The “Night Flying Woman” was a story told by an Ojibway grandmother to her young…
Miner describes the tribe as a North American group living in the territory between the “Canadian Cree, the Yaqui and Tarahumare of Mexico, and the Carib and Arawak of the Antilles.” He goes on to say that their nation was founded by a cultural hero, Notgnihsaw, who is mainly known for two great feats of strength; the throwing of a piece of “wampum” across the river Pa-To-Mac and the chopping down of a cherry tree in which the “Spirit of Truth” resided” (Minor, 1956) Almost everyone in America knows the story about George Washington cutting down the cherry tree. This is when the intentions of the author’s work are realized. The name of the tribe, “Nacirema” is actually “American” spelled backwards, and “Notgnishaw” who cut down the cherry tree is “Washington” spelled backwards.…
In the story “An Indian Father’s Plea”, the story shows how culture is oftenly affecting how one views others and the world by showing what Wind-Wolf did as a child before he went to school. For example, throughout the story, the father of Wind-Wolf shares to his teacher what Wind-Wolf was exposed to as a child, “. Because of this, Wind-Wolf’s educational setting was not only a “secure” environment, but it was also very colorful, complicated, sensitive, and diverse.” This can show that the child is exposed to his Native-American culture and later in the story, the father talks what the child does spiritually with his mother and what he experienced in his tribe. “Wind-Wolf was with his mother in South Dakota while she danced for seven days straight…
In Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, the author allows readers to create a vivid image of the lives of the Spokane Indians by using teen language, humor and irony because it allows the readers to face serious issues in an enjoyable way. Junior makes the readers understand the way he lives in his reservation full of poverty and alcoholism and goes to the outside world filled with people discriminating against him. Alexie, using Junior’s humor and teen language makes these tragedies seem less awful and to address the alcoholism surrounding him.…
I really enjoyed the story What You Pawn I will Redeem. It was very well written and kept my attention throughout the story. It is amazing that he walked by a pawnshop and immediately recognized his grandmother’s regalia without ever seeing it other than in pictures. I enjoy reading about Native American cultures and beliefs. There was a lot of humor in this story and Jackson definitely did not take himself too seriously.…
First, we can see his Native American heritage in the language of the poem. For example, he refers to the elderly woman whom he is conversing with as "white" (line 1), which gives the impression he is not; there would be no real reason of mentioning skin color unless it was important to him. He is also very negative about the white woman's definition of history. The woman says, "'Look, / look at all the history,…
Thomas is put on trial for his crimes against storytelling. He had to defend himself in tribal court against his own people. Prior to the trial, he hadn’t spoken for twenty years. His stories remained within himself. During his trial he represented himself and he was the only witness in his trail. When called to the stand, Thomas closes his eyes and begins to story tell.…
“One of Bird's most serious charges against Alexie is that in Reservation Blues he ‘'prey[s]' upon’ his community and culture in perpetuating damaging stereotypes, including that of the drunken Indian. As she puts it, ‘Stereotyping native people does not supply a native readership with soluble ways of undermining stereotypes, but becomes a part of the problem, and returns an image of a generic 'Indian' back to the original producers of that image’ (49)” (Evans).…
“What You Pawn I Will Redeem” is a story of a man who struggles day to day in efforts to identify with himself and his culture. Spokane Indian, Jackson Jackson, is faced with a mission which is practically impossible. Jackson is convinced that a mysterious pawnbroker has his grandmother’s sacred powwow regalia; therefore, Jackson is to come up with $1,000 to “win” it back. Jackson identifies this certain regalia by a yellow bead hidden somewhere on it. His grandmother’s regalia is a clear depiction of how something is not perfect but can be so beautiful. This can relate to Jackson being that though he was not well off, he was a genuinely kind-hearted person. In this short story, Jackson is faced with hurdles involving oppression, substance abuse, homelessness, and even violence. By reclaiming this meaningful family treasure, Jackson Jackson subconsciously believes that he can connect and discover his cultural identity.…
These stories gave much insight on the values and beliefs of Native Americans. They deeply valued nature and these tales, included the creation of it. It showed the making of…