“What You Pawn I Will Redeem” Analysis “What You Pawn I Will Redeem,” by Sherman Alexie gives readers a look at the life of homeless, easygoing, middle aged Native American, Jackson Jackson. The story, which is set in Seattle, describes the conditions that Jackson finds himself in. Alexie’s choice of motifs emphasizes the significance of cultural and historical references. With these concepts in mind, the reader is taken through a journey of self-realization. “What You Pawn I Will Redeem” narrates the internal struggle Jackson feels trying to figure out his personal identity as a Native American. The story chronicles situations that illustrate the common stereotypes about Natives. Through Jackson’s humble personality, the reader can grasp his …show more content…
There are hints in the story that lead to the assumption that Jackson is depressed. Jackson mentions that he is disappearing piece by piece. He is also constantly drunk, presumably because he is displeased with his life. He ended up on the railroad tracks after getting drunk. Jackson wanted to get killed if he willingly laid down on the tracks. When the cop finds Jackson on the tracks, he mentions to him that he was in a fight with “Mr. Grief.” When the cop mentions that Mr. Grief knocked Jackson out, he replies that Mr. Grief always wins. Mr. Grief symbolizes Jackson’s depression and his internal struggle with himself. Through this battle with himself, Jackson continues to pursue the regalia. Gaining the regalia is about gaining pride. Jackson mentions to the newspaper owner that, “It’s now a quest. I need to win it back myself” (14). Jackson also mentions to the cop, “I’m on a mission here. I want to be a hero” (24). Jackson wants to find something that will make him feel like he has done something for his culture and his …show more content…
When he talked about his friends, he would often repeat the phrase “Rose of Sharon, Junior, and me” in the same or similar fashion. Another reoccurring concept is disappearing. When Jackson and his friends get drunk, they seem to disappear once he wakes up. Rose of Sharon disappears the first time he wakes up after getting drunk with his friends. Next, Junior disappeared when Jackson wanted to go tell him that he won the lottery. He finds out he died of exposure. Jackson made friends at a Native American bar with Honey boy and Irene. After they get drunk and he wakes up, he sees that they have also disappeared. Jackson also mentions how he has broken hearts in the past and ever since he has slowly been disappearing. Jackson’s name is a motif. It is a repetition of the same name. His name is extremely significant. The Indian Removal Act was passed while Andrew Jackson was president. This signifies Jacksons search for himself. He is given a name of somebody that displaces his people. His name symbolizes the displacement of identity and his journey to find
Born March 15, 1767 on the Carolina frontier, Andrew Jackson would eventually rise from poverty to politics after the War of 1812 where he earned national fame as a military hero. Jackson won the popular vote in the 1829 election and became the seventh United States President. As President, Jackson sought out to be a representative of the common man. Jackson remarks in his veto message of July 10, 1832 that, “It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes.” Andrew Jackson put in place the Indian Removal Act of 1830. This act forced Natives off their homelands and onto the lands west of the Mississippi River. They encountered a journey, called the Trail of Tears, where they traveled by foot to what would be their new homes, which transformed the lives of thousands of Native Americans. The President’s intentions were to move all Natives west of the Mississippi River to open up the land to American settlers.
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
President Andrew Jackson wanted the white settlers from the south to expand owning land from Five Indian tribes, which was called Indian Removal Policy (McNamara). The Five Indian tribes that were affected were Choctaws, Muskogee, Chickasaws, Cherokees, and the Seminoles. In the 1830, the Removal Act went into effect. The Removal Act gave President Andrew Jackson the power to remove Indian tribes living east of the Mississippi river by a negotiate removal treaties (James). The treaties, made the Indians give up their land for exchange of land in the west (James). There were a few tribes that agreed to sign the treaties. The others that did not sign the treaty were forced into leaving their land, this was known as the Trail of Tears.
...alf seconds. If Jackson did not change his view of life, work hard at everything he did, and excel at sports, who knows where he would be today. He could be sitting in a jail cell because he never changed his ways and lost his temper, or he could still be living in a small house in a small town. Jackson decided that he did not want to do that, and that he wanted his family to be free from a live full of poverty.
Sherman Alexie writes in his story, What You Pawn I Will Redeem about a homeless Salish Indian named Jackson Jackson. Alexie takes readers on Jackson’s journey to acquire enough money to purchase back his grandmother’s stolen powwow regalia. Throughout the story, Jackson’s relationships with other charters ultimately define his own character. Alexie, a well know Native American author tells an all too common tale of poverty and substance abuse in the Native American community through his character Jackson. The major character flaw of Jackson is his kindness, which ultimately becomes his greatest asset when fate allows him to purchase back his grandmother’s powwow regalia from a pawn broker for only five dollars.
To understand Jackson’s book and why it was written, however, one must first fully comprehend the context of the time period it was published in and understand what was being done to and about Native Americans in the 19th century. From the Native American point of view, the frontier, which settlers viewed as an economic opportunity, was nothin...
...The Indian Removal Act was all a part of Jackson’s expansion process, and he would stop at nothing until America made the most of its land.
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
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
Jackson wants to find something that will make him feel like he has done something for his culture and his people. These sayings contradict his actions because every time he gets closer to gaining more money, he spends it. In the long run, Jackson’s pitfalls did not stop his determination to gain back the regalia and ultimately find his personal identity. Given that he is Native American, the reader might assume that Jackson has a feeling of resentment towards white people due to the displacement of his people. From the beginning of the story, Jackson reveals a protective feeling caused by white people.
life, as well as in the lives of the other Jackson’s, there seemed to be so much pressure for success, but they all seemed to lack self-esteem.
named after him. As readers we begin to learn the type of man that Jackson indeed
Jackson had a hard time in school; he was shy and awkward, and due to his backwoods education, started at the bottom of his class, having to compete against guys like George McClellan and other Ivy Leaguers. He improved his grades and started moving past less motivated classmates like George Pickett. He kept a book of motivational maxims he collected, one of his favorites was “You may be whatever you resolve to be”. He graduated in the top third of his class; some said if he had another year he would have reached the top.
When America looks back on the years of Andrew Jacksons presidency, they may think of many things about his tenure as the leader of our nation. They may think of his ample use of the veto power or perhaps they remember him as “the people’s president.” However, the thing all modern Americans should remember and attribute to him is the signing of the Indian Removal Act in 1830. This act would set the stage for, and be one of the direct causes of, one of the great atrocities in American history.