Poverty and homelessness are often, intertwined with the idea of gross mental illness and innate evil. In urban areas all across the United States, just like that of Seattle in Sherman Alexie’s New Yorker piece, What You Pawn I Will Redeem, the downtrodden are stereotyped as vicious addicts who would rob a child of its last penny if it meant a bottle of whiskey. Ironically the storyteller does not try to cover the fact that yes, he is an alcoholic who self-destructs and lives a meager existence. Yet Jackson Jackson is more than a homeless drunk. He is a Native American first and foremost, an Interior Salish to be exact, born of a people abused and stricken with misfortune in the land of the free. Jackson is proud of his heritage and throughout the story references the way of the Indians, whilst befriending and conversing with a number of other tribal relatives. Jackson, even admits, “Being homeless is probably the only thing I’ve ever been good at.” Despite his failure, he is still an Indian man, searching for a proclamation of his heritage in his grandmother’s regalia. Sherman Alexie’s, What You Pawn I Will Redeem, is a brutally honest exploration of an honest and homeless Native American’s connection with his ancestry, using metaphors and symbolism to convey the message of unity with one’s heritage and an escape from the tortures of the past. One of the first things Jackson, who attributes his matching first and last names to the humor of his family, tells us is that he will not be telling us his downfall, for that is his Indian secret. Saying how he must, “work hard to keep secrets from hungry white folks,” immediately giving the impression that his nationality is going to shape the perso... ... middle of paper ... ...s, exactly what he started with, no more no less. Taking pity on him the owner gives him the regalia however, seeing his longing and guessing the challenges he must’ve faced to even make it back to the shop the next day with any money at all. Proudly Jackson dances out of the store saying, “I took my grandmother’s regalia and walked outside. I knew that solitary yellow bead was part of me. I knew I was that yellow bead in part.” Living through his grandmother’s memory in the end, Jackson, throughout his depressing and yet oddly fantastic journey to only end up where he started is a wonder. He connected with his people, united in poverty and injustice, purely Indian. Metaphors and symbols are prevalent in Sherman Alexie’s, What You Pawn I Will Redeem, being extremely effective in exposing the plight of the Native American in their own home country.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic novel written by Harper Lee. The novel is set in the depths of the Great Depression. A lawyer named Atticus Finch is called to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. The story is told from one of Atticus’s children, the mature Scout’s point of view. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, the Finch Family faces many struggles and difficulties. In To Kill a Mockingbird, theme plays an important role during the course of the novel. Theme is a central idea in a work of literature that contains more than one word. It is usually based off an author’s opinion about a subject. The theme innocence should be protected is found in conflicts, characters, and symbols.
This story made me frustrated at the way people get forced into a rut that they can’t escape. Jackson Jackson isn’t completely innocent, no one is, but most of his problems were a result from the wrong that others had inflicted upon him. The frustrating part was that He was incapable of getting himself out. He did things like spend money on alcohol and cheese burgers, only to end up throwing it all up and even less money. To me, this story is about redemption. Jackson received grace from people like the good cop, and the pawnbroker. None of his own efforts changed his situation, only the kindness of others changed him. These kind deeds helped reconcile the reality of Jackson’ life and his situation. In a story like this, I always hope for a
He has an internal conflict because he wants to save money to buy back his grandmother’s regalia from the pawnbroker, but he also wants to share his money and he receives money throughout the story. “‘I’m hoping, and I don’t know why I’m hoping it, but I hope you can turn thirty bucks into a thousand somehow.’ ‘I believe in magic.’ ‘I believe you’ll take my money and get drunk on it’” (Alexie para 230). When he receives money, he always ends up spending it on alcohol and sometimes spends it on food. He never spends all his money on himself. Jackson has a man versus nature conflict and a man versus man made environment conflict. His man vs. man made environment conflict occurs when he is too drunk to find a good place to sleep. He ends up falling asleep on train tracks. An example of Jackson’s man vs. mother-nature, “’I was cold and sleepy,’ I said. ‘So I lay down.’ ‘You dumb-ass, you passed out on the railroad tracks.’ I sat up and looked around. I was lying on the railroad tracks’” (Alexie para 195). Jackson also has a conflict with white society. “‘One day you have a home and the next you don’t, but I’m not going to tell you my particular reasons for being homeless, because it’s my secret story, and Indians have to work hard to keep secrets from hungry white folks’” (Alexie para 1). Jackson also has a man versus man conflict with Honey Boy, who tries to get Jackson to hook up with him but Jackson says he’s not a homosexual. “‘I’m flattered, Honey Boy, but I don’t play on your team.’” (Alexie para 165). Jackson does not show any signs of complexity. He is also a stereotypical homeless man. He does spend the majority of the money he gets on alcohol. Jackson also is dynamic since he clearly changes because in the beginning he was just a homeless man with his friends with nobody really paying attention to him, then at the end he felt that everybody stopped to watch him
Clive Barker, the author of The Thief of Always, writes a fantasy about Harvey(the main character) taken into into a place full of illusions. Soon he finds out that there was this horrible Hood that had taken his precious time and almost has eaten his soul. So, Harvey then tries to destroy this evil Hood who ends up to be the oh so perfect house. Hood is evil and different ways he is evil. There are many things that makes someone or something truly evil. Hood is ultimately evil. These are the things that make him who or what he is. Evil is significant to most stories because that is the major conflict. The antagonist, Hood, does a really good job of being the bad guy. Usually it’s a person who is has some kind of kindness inside,
Thomas Paine once said “The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” Conflict is an obstacle that many characters in books go through. It is what drives the reader to continue reading and make the book enjoyable. Additionally, authors use symbolism to connect their novels to real life, personal experience, or even a life lesson. In “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee and “A Lesson Before Dying” by Ernest J. Gaines, both take place during a time where colored people were being looked down upon and not treated with the same rights as white people. However, both novels portray the conflict and symbolism many ways that are similar and different. Additionally, both of these novels have many similarities and differences that connect as well as differentiate them to one
Mahatma Grafton showed courage while covering a story about Winnipeg’s mayor. Many years ago, the mayor had been banned from the United States because they thought that he was a communist. Recently he tried to remove his name from the list, and Mahatma was given that story to write about. However, his editor did not like the way that Grafton had written out the story. Grafton had tried to write the story fully, and truthfully to not impact the reader’s opinion on the mayor. When his editor began fixing his article to try to insinuate that the mayor was still communist, Mahatma said, “If you want to write about the mayor, you do it. But I’m not helping you” (Hill 72). In the face of a man of authority Mahatma stuck up for what he thought was right, and faced difficulty without worrying, or being fearful of the repercussions which is the definition of courage. Mahatma shows that even though he is new to a job, and does not have any power, he will still follow his beliefs which is why this quote is one of the best quotes that could be chosen. Courage was also shown by one of Mahatma’s father’s coworker, The Rabbi. The Rabbi, and Grafton’s father worked as a porter in the railway business. While they stopped after the long trip the black porters were told to sleep in a flophouse without beds, or to find their own place to stay whereas the white porters slept in hotels . Most of the other porters avoided the place,
In the short story “What You Pawn I Will Redeem”, Sherman Alexie uses the two most well known stereotypes of Native Americans today, that they are alcoholics and homeless. These are more modern day stereotypes but they fall under the the main stereotype, that Native Americans are helpless and uncivilized. Alexie’s short story focuses on a character named Jackson Jackson, who happens to be both homeless and an alcoholic. Jackson is walking past a pawn shop when he notices his grandmother’s regalia that was stolen from his family fifty years ago. The owner of the pawn shop gives Jackson twenty-four hours to come up with the money for the regalia. The story takes us throughout his journey which consist mostly of Jackson buying alcohol, food, and even some lottery tickets. Jackson would acquire money through a variety of situations right after getting money he ended
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of Indian he knew very well. Before he was known of this describe, it takes back of how he became
“Often fear of one evil leads us into a worse”(Despreaux). Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux is saying that fear consumes oneself and often times results in a worse fate. William Golding shares a similar viewpoint in his novel Lord of the Flies. A group of boys devastatingly land on a deserted island. Ralph and his friend Piggy form a group. Slowly, they become increasingly fearful. Then a boy named Jack rebels and forms his own tribe with a few boys such as Roger and Bill. Many things such as their environment, personalities and their own minds contribute to their change. Eventually, many of the boys revert to their inherently evil nature and become savage and only two boys remain civilized. The boys deal with many trials, including each other, and true colors show. In the end they are being rescued, but too much is lost. Their innocence is forever lost along with the lives Simon, a peaceful boy, and an intelligent boy, Piggy. Throughout the novel, Golding uses symbolism and characterization to show that savagery and evil are a direct effect of fear.
History is rich with culture and tradition. Culture and traditions greatly influence people’s behaviors, the way they perceive others, and the way they are perceived by others. Environment also plays into the development of culture and the decisions people make. Although each person has an individualized idea of what culture is and practices their own unique traditions, the fact remains true that every human being is subject to the effects of culture and tradition. Three classic authors accurately portray culture through setting and tradition in order to affect the reader’s view toward the characters and the authors themselves in Zora Neale Hurston’s “The Gilded Six-Bits”, Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”, and John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt: A Parable.
In the play Measure For Measure by William Shakespeare many twist and turns are made to create the plot of the play. The play is a comical relief play meaning that the play will end in multiple marriages, and throughout the play there will be random places where the scene will bring back the attention of the people in the audience who were drinking alcohol beverages. The play has five major characters along with few other minor characters who develop the plot of the play as well.
Under the Net starts with Jake-A writer, the protagonist, and the narrator of the novel, and Finn, his friend, being thrown out of the apartment that they have been living there for free for almost two years by their friend Madge, who is concerned that her new, rich lover would not like her having two males living with her. In response to that, Jake tries to find shelter by asking other friends. Throughout the story, Jake goes through a different series of events that leads him to change his view of life and himself. A theme throughout the novel is the idea of reflection. Murdoch uses first person narrative view, metaphor, and reflection and relationships with other characters to understand the reality if life.
“You can chain me, you can beat me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind.” This quote is from Mahatma Gandhi. He was born on October 2nd, 1869 in Porbandar, India, and was assassinated on January 30th, 1948 in New Delhi, India. He was the leader of the Indian Independence movement, and believed in a philosophy based on truth, and nonviolence called, Satyagraha. He’s also inspired many movements for civil rights, and freedom. The most important ways he impacted India were by, the Salt March, the six day fast protesting against the segregation of the untouchables in an election, and the founding of the All-India Spinners’ Association.
Reading and writing are not and were never very easy for me especially writing. As a young child it was very difficult for me, scenes both my parents only speak, write and read spanish. So I really never had anyone to help me and practice with me at home. I had to learn read, write and speak english basically on my own, but I got help from some teachers on the way.Throughout the years by having help by many teachers. I have learned so much and have bettered my writing and reading skills. I also have increased my vocabulary and learned to read and understand what I read.