Essay about Sherman Alexie What it means to be an Indian...

Sherman Alexie: What it means to be an Indian in America â€Å"Dr. Mather, if the Ghost Dance worked, there would be no exceptions. All you white people would disappear. All of you. If those dead Indians came back to life, they wouldn’t crawl into a sweathouse with you. They wouldn‘t smoke the pipe with you. They’d kill you. They’d gut you and eat your heart.† -Marie, Indian Killer, 314 The identity of the modern Native American is not found in simple language or description. Neither does a badge or collection of eagle feathers determine Native American identity. As Alexie demonstrates through the character of Dr. Mather and Wilson, pony-tails and store bought drums are mere materialistic symbols and stereotypes: they have no real value†¦show more content†¦Yet the hatred that Marie embraces is intrinsic to the reality she’s come to understand, which, Alexie reminds us, is formed in terms of opposition and argument. She is politically antagonistic because she feels she has to be, and is extremely disrespectful to any white person she might not like upon closer contact. Yet Marie is intensely passionate about education, about her culture, and about the Indian struggle. As Alexie strives to demonstrate throughout Indian Killer, this hatred, while not without cause or inevitability, is the root of racial wars and senseless violence. In human terms of hate and love, of power and submission, modern day Seattle teems with deeply set racial problems and equally damaging ignorance. Alexie intends that Native American identity be understood in a legacy of relocation and family destruction: he begins his tale centered on the ironically named John Smith and John’s removal from his mother and his culture. John becomes embedded in this hate and violence, yet is never identified as a killer or a murder: in fact, none of the cast is identified as the murderer or the culprit of kidnappings. The entire city of Seattle becomes a leaping bed of violence and destruction through the lives of Alexie’s characters: the characterization of his rich cast promotes racial commonalities in violence and rhetoric, as well as behavior. Yet while Alexie acknowledges that modern Native American identity isShow MoreRelatedEng 2001040 Words   |  5 Pagesinfluences Poverty is one of the main problem in the world, either developed country or developing country. Poverty both influence developed country, America and developing country, Mexico. In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian and The Devil’s Highway, they both facing the poverty issue. Sherman Alexie is telling us about the Indian American living in a hard life and Luis Alberto Urrea is telling us about the poor Mexican people migrating to United States for gaining wealth. Both ofRead MoreEssay Sherman Alexie1140 Words   |  5 PagesSherman Alexie The odds were against Sherman Alexie on that day in October 1966. Not only was he born a minority, but he was also hydrocephalic. At the age of 6 months, he had a brain operation, but was not expected to live. Though he pulled through, doctors predicted he would be severely mentally retarded. Fortunately, they were wrong, but he did suffer through seizures and wet his bed throughout his childhood (What 1). Rather than being called Native American, which he feels is a guiltyRead MoreReservation Blues By Sherman Alexie1677 Words   |  7 PagesSherman Alexie’s novel, Reservation Blues, successfully captures the essence of pain and struggle that was so evident in both the slavery of Africans and the eradication of Native Americans, and integrates the power of blues music in order to bring the reader a breathtaking story. Alexie develops a strong, interconnected web of characters sharing common misfortune. Whether it is in Coyote Spring’s inability to succeed, Robert Johnson’s painstaking attempt to leave his guitar over the years, alcoholismRead MoreCrow Testament Analysis1627 Words   |  7 PagesAs seen throughout Sherman Alexie’s work, despair and hardship caused by European influences among Native peoples is a common issue that seems to be a reoccurring element in his work. Through the use of figurative language, Alexie is able to transcribe those issue s onto paper by using metaphors and illusions to describe emotions conveyed by the Native peoples. Sherman Alexie is a Native American writer that is influenced by his experiences while growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in theRead MoreThe Lone Ranger And Tonto Fistfight Essay1521 Words   |  7 PagesThe Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven is a book written by; Sherman Alexie. In this book, Alexie writes about a group of Native Americans who live on the Spokane Indian Reservation. As this novel may be fiction, some of the stories that are portrayed in the text have some very real meaning the them. These Native Americans endure lots of heartache and tragedy in this book as they are faced with problems like alcoholism, car accidents, loss of loved one and houses burning. In the face of adversityRead MoreSummary Of Democracy Of America By Alexis De Tocqueville1314 Words   |  6 Pages In† Democracy of America† chapter XVII written by Alexis de Tocqueville, he discusses the plight of indians(natives). Tocqueville talks about how he believed the fate of Native Americans would be to completely deprived of liberty. In addition to what he believed, Tocqueville says, â€Å"The success of the Cherokees proves that the Indians are capable of civilization, but it does not prove that they will succeed in it†(page 401).Whenever the Indians were able to submit to civilization they were neverRead MoreThe Process Of Learning How I Read And Write848 Words   |  4 Pageswhich Alexie, Malcom X, and Douglass achieved their competence in literacy. The unconventional method through which they learned the art of reading and writing was a way more extreme and complex path from the one that anyone else at their age would have had. The three authors mentioned above, all comes from disadvantaged backgrounds that prevented them to get their instruction and found shelter in books stories when they were alone. They all were all men who truly loved to read. Sherman Alexie andRead MoreClose Reading of a Poem Essay1280 Words   |  6 PagesPoem ON THE AMTRAK FROM BOSTON TO NEW YORK CITY: BY SHERMAN ALEXIE On the Amtrak from Boston to New York City is an emotionally provocative poem by the Native American Indian writer, Sherman Alexie. It describes a train journey from Boston to New York City in which an elderly white woman excitedly points out historical sites to her fellow passenger, a younger Native American Indian. The poem demonstrates how narrow minded the American Indian finds the white American culture; for, it does not goRead MoreOmniscient Point of View in â€Å"This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona2086 Words   |  9 PagesOmniscient Point of view in â€Å"This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona† The story â€Å"This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona† by Sherman Alexie is a fictional narrative that reflects his experiences during his past and present life. The author allows the audience to become the social media that critiques his life when he evokes important episodes of his life through Victor and Thomas Builds-the-Fire liveliness. In this process, Sherman Alexis uses his omniscient point of view to tellRead MoreAnalysis Of Sherman Alexies Novel The Lone Ranger And Tonto Fistfight In Heaven2012 Words   |  9 PagesEssay 1 In Sherman Alexie’s novel The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven shows the struggles of daily Native American life, which is shown through the point of view of male character. All though out the book the following three questions appear: ‘What does it mean to live as an Indian in this time? What does it mean to be an Indian man? and What does it mean to live on an Indian reservation?’ Alexie uses literary devices such as point of view, imagery, characterization to make his point that