Society is ever changing and the people are just the same. Throughout history, it is shown that people change and mold to their surroundings. But when a deeper look is taken it is revealed that there is a minority that is unwilling or unable to fit these standards as most people do. These people tend to be forced into seclusion or made to fend for themselves. This is shown through the colonization of America and up into more recent times. The Native Americans are the first to make a life on this land, and when the English set up a new society, the Natives are forced onto smaller and smaller plots of land until forced to conform or to live on a reservation. The idea of this societal conformity is shown in “What You Pawn I Will Redeem” by Sherman Alexie, a short story author. Society's pressure to improve an individual living differently is hurting more than it is helping.
Jackson is a Native American living on the streets in Seattle. He is alone and no matter how much effort he makes to form his own tribe-like community, he is always left with only himself. Jackson is feeling the pressure of society to fall into the role that many Natives are today. Society stereotypes Natives to be alcoholics that are very fickle with their money. Jackson is subconsciously allowing these social pressures to control his actions with his effort to obtain his grandmother's ceremonial blanket. The man that owns the pawn shop gives him money to put towards reaching his goal, but he quickly spends it on alcohol for him and his friends. This is an example of positive social pressure becoming negative because he feels the pressure to have a tribal community around him, and this causes him to ignore the goal and focus on others. While this may seem posi...
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...ildren, and then stay home and raise the children. Though this path is intended to be a positive pressure from society, it can lead to a hard life for the woman and the children. Sometimes these women become depressed or angry, and this gives the opportunity to cause an unsafe household to develop for the kids, and the woman that is raising them.The social pressure is intended to make a happy and healthy home life for the family, but can ultimately destroy the family and it’s dynamic.
Works Cited
Alexie, Sherman. “What You Pawn I Will Redeem”. Comp. John Schilb and John Clifford. Making Literature Matter. Print.
O’Connor, Flannery. “A Good Man is Hard to Find”. Comp. John Schilb and John Clifford. Making Literature Matter. Print.
Russell, Karen. “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves”. Comp. John Schilb and John Clifford. Making Literature Matter. Print.
As I read Flannery O’Connor’s short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, I find myself being completely consumed by the rich tale that the author weaves; a tragic and ironic tale that concisely and precisely utilizes irony and foreshadowing with expert skill. As the story progresses, it is readily apparent that the story will end in a tragic and predictable state due to the devices which O’Connor expertly employs and thusly, I find that I cannot stop reading it; the plot grows thicker with every sentence and by doing so, the characters within the story are infinitely real in my mind’s eye. As I consider these factors, the story focuses on two main characters; that of the grandmother, who comes across as self-centered and self-serving and The Misfit, a man, who quite ingeniously, also appears to be self-centered and self-serving. It is the story behind the grandmother, however, that evidence appears to demonstrate the extreme differences between her superficial self and the true character of her persona; as the story unfolds, and proof of my thought process becomes apparently clear.
Interpretive and escapist are two types of literature present in Sherman Alexie’s “What You Pawn I Will Redeem”. Escapist is written for people who seek a distraction or relief from reality. Interpretive is written to make people understand questions of life and death. Sherman Alexie conveys his story through plot and conflict in “What You Pawn I Will Redeem” to show interpretive and escapist aspects in the story.
1) O’Connor, Flannery, A Good Man Is Hard to Find (Women Writers: Text & Contexts Series). Rutgers University Press, 1993.
Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. 2189.
Douglas, Ellen. "O'Connor's 'A Good Man is Hard to Find.'" Contemporary Literature Criticism. Eds. Carolyn Riley and Phyllis Carmel Mendelson. Detroit, MI: Gale, 1976. Vol. 6. 381.
Schilb, John, and John Clifford, eds. Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012. 866. Print.
Bandy, Stephen C. "One of my babies": The Misfit and the Grandmother in Flannery O'Connor's short story 'A Good Man Is Hard to Find'. Studies in Short Fiction; Winter 1996, v33, n1, p107(11)
O’Connor, Flannery. "A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” The Story and Its Writer. Charters, Ann. Compact 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/ST. Martin's, 2011. 676-687. Print.
Flannery O’ Connor’s story: “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is the tale of a vacation gone wrong. The tone of this story is set to be one irony. The story is filled with grotesque but meaningful irony. I this analysis I will guide you through the clues provided by the author, which in the end climax to the following lesson: “A Good Man” is not shown good by outward appearance, language, thinking, but by a life full of “good” actions.
O’Connor, Flannery. “A Good Man is Hard to Find." Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. 8th ed. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Boston: Wadsworth, 2013. 228-237. Print.
O’Connor, Flannery. “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” Flannery O’Connor: Collected Works. New York, NY: The Library of America, 1988. 137-153.
“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.
2nd ed. of the book. New York: St. James Press, 1995. Literature Resource Center -. Web.
O'Connor, Flannery. "A Good Man Is Hard to Find." The Story and Its Writer An Introduction to Short Fiction. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford / St. Martin's, 2011. 1042-053. Print.
Schilb, John, and John Clifford, eds. Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and writers. 5th Ed. Boston: Bedford, 2012.