A Poem that is a Reflection of History

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Poems sometimes are used to express feelings on society at that time or reflections on what has happened in the past. Sherman Alexia in Evolution reveals his frustration on early American settlers. He reflects on the history of American settlers and what they did to the Indians to make themselves feel good. In the poem Evolution a settler opens a pawn shop on a reservation right across the street from a liquor store. He has the Indians come to the pawn shop and pawn everything that they have. He not only takes everything they have but he also supports their habit of drinking. His main purpose to open the pawn shop was to have the Indians sell their belongings, so eventually he could open up a Native American museum to exploit their culture. Sherman Alexia reveals how American settlers in history took over Indian reservations and forced their own beliefs on Indian cultures, therefore making them feel helpless and taken advantage of.

Buffalo Bill opens up pawn shop on an Indian reservation for the Indians to use but it turns out that Buffalo Bill does this to take advantage of the Indians. Indians never really needed to use a pawn shop before, but Buffalo Bill opened the pawn shop so that it would stay open ."..24 hours a day, 7 days a week."(ln3) He made it seem that he was opening the pawn shop so that they could support their drinking habits. The Indians came running to the pawn shop giving everything they had to do give. "The Indians come running in with jewelry televisions sets, a VCR, a full length based buckskin outfit..."(ln4-6) They gave up everything they had, even things that meant so much to them. They gave outfits that took them a really long time to make,and that are important to their culture away. Eventually it come down to the Indians giving themselves to Buffalo bill. "The Indians pawn their hands, saving the thumbs for last, they pawn their skeletons, falling endlessly from the skin and when the last Indian has pawned everything but his heart, Buffalo Bill takes that for twenty bucks." (Ln7-12) The Indians are pawning everything but their thumbs because that's the only thing they have that lets people now that they are human and not animal like they were being treated. Buffalo Bill takes all this from them and gives them twenty bucks saying that's all their worth to him.

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