Buffalo Bill Alexie's Evolution

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Recommended: Native American identity and colonization

Alexie in his poem Evolution applies vital images to convey his message to the audience. Firstly, symbolism is a significant poetic image used. Buffalo Bill represents the well-off which stands for the white people or the American government. On the other hand, Indians are used to signify Native Americans who got regarded as lowly and weak in the society. By using Buffalo Bill Alexie communicates the power that some have over others in the community and how others are easily at the mercies of their superiors. His prominence in helping with western civilization meant he occupied a place of importance. His acts in the poem equally show his superiority. Native Americans are otherwise called Indians to explain how they got regarded by the American society (Kirszner & Mandell, 2012). Indians were taken to be imposters and people of no value hence the lack of respect accorded to them by the white Americans. …show more content…

Every phrase used points to the aspect of exploitation of Indians which was a significant component to making them worthless people in the society. The elements of pawning items, description of falling skeletons as well as many other words in the poem are meant to relate the actions of the Indians to the poverty that they were expected to thrive in according to the whites. The degradation of Native Americans is evident from the title of the poem that shows how these people fell from superiority to inferiority. The pawn shop placement directly opposite the liquor store is timely to worsen addiction to alcohol and with high rates of addiction one would do anything to get a taste of alcohol (Kirszner & Mandell, 2012). In the pretense of helping the Indians reach money, Buffalo got their valuables at throwaway

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