Alexie Poem: What You Pawn I Will Redeem

In the short story written by Alexie Sherman, “What You Pawn I Will Redeem”, we are introduced to an alcoholic and homeless First Nation’s man, Jackson. Through the story we are invited to watch Jackson’ quest to regain his grandmother’s long lost regalia that had been stolen years before. Jackson’s mishaps, always of his own design, show us the man Jackson really is. Alexie has written a round character with many different facets. Led through one day and one night we follow Jackson’s mission. Alexie shows Jackson to be a kind yet flawed man through symbols, setting and mood. Throughout the story we are shown Jackson’s inclination towards hope; however there is a deeper, darker message to the story, Jackson’s fight with alienation and alcoholism.

“One day you have a home and the next you don’t…” (p.169). The author gives us a sense of being lost right from the start of the story. Next, we are introduced to Jackson, who is a homeless severe alcoholic living on skid row, “As an alcoholic Indian with a busted stomach, I always hope I can keep enough food in my stomach to stay alive” (p.178). Jackson has an illness, just as someone fights cancer, Jackson is fighting alcoholism. It is slowly killing him and while the story is superficially light the symbols, setting, and mood reveal a deeper pain. Jackson struggles through life but it always seems to come down to his

Jackson’s very search is beyond optimistic; a First Nations homeless alcoholic trying to raise one-thousand dollars in twenty-four hours seems ludicrous. However through simple dialogue we are shown slowly through the story Jackson’s penchant to see things through a sanguine lens “I know it’s crazy, but I wondered if I could bring my grandmother back to life if I bought back her regalia” (p.176). Even though Jackson is a bad alcoholic he tends to look at the silver lining in things.

While there is optimism in Jackson’s life we also find loneliness. The author shows the desolation that Jackson feels in the following line: “Piece by piece I disappeared” (p.170). The author portrays a slow dissolution of self. While there are people in his life there is a detachment as well. Throughout the story we realize that Jackson seems to buy his friends, through Rose and Junior with alcohol to the Aleuts with breakfast. Jackson’s “teammates, defender’s and posse” disappear and this further isolates Jackson. While Jackson lives a solitary life this does not stop him from buying friends where he