What Sacagawea Means To Me Analysis

512 Words2 Pages

“What Sacagawea Means to Me” was featured in TIME magazine’s Lewis and Clark edition. In the article, he writes about Sacagawea’s struggles throughout the Lewis and Clark Expedition and challenges his readers to think personally about the benefits and downfalls of colonization. He supports his argument and preaches to his audience with a satirical tone that forces the reader to think critically about his questions. He argues in his article that the story of Sacagawea and America are both contradictory, and forces the reader to see their world in a different way. Alexie’s use of satirical language was essential in making his audience think and understand the article. In “What Sacagawea Means to Me,” Alexie’s tone was satirical. He constantly makes dark but humorous remarks about the way Sacagawea’s treatment during her life. Alexie writes about a Sacagawea theme park where one would be put through the things Sacagawea went through in 15 minutes, which mocks Sacagawea by comparing her life to a western attraction. He writes that …show more content…

Alexie’s contrasting style is used to help support his thesis that America is a contradiction. Sherman uses events and people to show the contradiction in our history. “How did we get from there to here? This country somehow gave life to Maria Tallchief and Ted Bundy, to Geronimo and Joe McCarthy… to the Declaration of Independence and Executive Order No. 1066…” and forces readers to understand the contradictory state of the union, and the entire world. The forced analysis put forth in “What Sacagawea Means to Me” pushes the readers of TIME to digest his complex thought, and to enrich themselves in a history different than the one found in their high school

Open Document