Can a person become a hero by being homeless? In the story "What You Pawn, I Will Redeem" by Sherman Alexie, Jackson Jackson is portrayed as a hero of his own story who managed to survive in the streets. He knows how to get food for himself. As a homeless person, we expect that he has a hard life, but instead, Jackson seems to enjoy his life in the streets. He is connected to the community, and many people love him. This essay hypothesizes that Native Americans are effective homeless people who enjoy living in the streets. Alexie shows their connection to communities. Besides, the story indicates that homeless Indian Americans cope with different conflicts and they gain their success while living in the streets.
What are some of the ways that the narrator is an "effective" homeless person?
Typically, Jackson describes himself as an effective homeless person because he knows how to survive in the streets. He enjoys his life in the streets with his friends, and he is proud of being homeless. Jackson says “being homeless is probably what I have ever been good at” (Alexie, 2003, p. 173). Jackson is an effective homeless person because he knows how and where to get the best free food. Besides Jackson has made friendships with convenience-store and restaurants managers who give him an opportunity to use their bathrooms. He has created and managed his reputation thus being able to gain favors from people. He has also gone far to connect himself with the police officers who are ready to help him when in trouble
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How does this show his connection to communities and places throughout the story?
This act of being friends with many people empowers his trustworthy in the community and society. He has managed to win the hearts of many people to love him. The city seems to have accepted him even though he is homeless. He knows how to carry out interpersonal relations as cited in (Troyer, 2008). For instance, he can convince different people about his grandmother’s stolen powwow regalia and the offer to support him get it back. He is connected to the communities through his Love and generosity to other people. For instance, he goes to a club and buys alcohol to other people in the club. Besides, by having a charming reputation, he connects himself to many official places where he is highly accepted. He can visit the Real Change office and is welcomed warmly by the editor although he is a homeless person.
What sorts of conflict do the Native Americans in the story cope with ?
In this story, Native Americans have the capability of dealing with racism and hatred conflicts. They can intermingle with other people from different races in an ethical manner. Jackson, Junior, and Rose of Sharon have different origins, but they are relating well to each other as a family bonded by love (Fletcher, 2006). Besides, instead of reporting about the stolen powwow regalia of his late grandmother to the police, he emphasizes on settling the case himself and be on good terms with the owner of the pawnshop. The Native Americans are also able to cope with intrapersonal conflicts although most of them do it in negative ways. Jackson says that he has been killing himself since when his mother died. But to cope with this conflict, he is used to taking alcohol together with his friends.
How is the concept of cultural homelessness presented as a historical and metaphorical conflict?
In this story, the concept of cultural homelessness is presented as a historical conflict by showing that the whites view most American Indians as homeless people. For instance, the Big Kitchen (a greasy diner in the International District) is known for serving the homeless Indians (Cline, 2010). The homeless Indian Americans have been feeding in this hotel freely. Thus, this hotel has a perception that most of American Indians are connected with homelessness and that’s why it has opened its services to feed the homeless. Besides the cultural harmlessness has presented as a metaphorical conflict by showing how Native American perceive their need to win. For instance, Jackson tries hard to find ways in which to win the regalia back.
How does the narrator in the story cope with his setting/context, whether through imagined escapes or other means? Is he successful?
The narrator copes with his setting in the story through Jackson’s imaginary that her grandmother got cancer after someone stole her powwow regalia. Jackson imagines how cancer got her broken heart due to the pain of losing the powwow regalia according to (Ladino, 2009). As per his imagination, cancer leaked out from the heart to her breasts. Typically, the Alexie is successfully coping with the context through imagined escapes, where Jackson believes that if he gets the powwow regalia, he will be able to restore the life of his grandmother. In this context, the writer escapes the real reason for Jackson’s grandmother’s death and links it to the theft of the regalia.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the story "What You Pawn, I Will Redeem" by Sherman Alexie, Native Americans are represented as a family through care and love. The Native Americans live in harmony with each other for their survival. They have introduced a mode of creating friendships with other people as a tactic to obtain favors like free food or money from the whites. Notably, Jackson represents the heroes who live in the streets while being trustworthy to the community and society. The essay has shown how the Native American are effective homeless people who are happily living in the streets. In this story, Alexie has revealed how being on good terms with everybody has managed the Native Americans to have a happy street life.
References
Alexie, S. (2003). What You Pawn I, Will, Redeem. NEW YORKER-NEW YORKER MAGAZINE INCORPORATED- , 168-177.
Cline, I. (2010). The Hero of the Modern Mock Epic: Sherman Alexie’s ‘What You Pawn I, Will, Redeem.’. The Image of the Hero II , 139-41.
Fletcher, M. L. (2006). Looking to the East: The Stories of Modern Indian People and the Development of Tribal Law. Seattle J. Soc. Just. , 5 , 1.
Ladino, J. K. (2009). " A Limited Range of Motion?": Multiculturalism," Human Questions," and Urban Indian Identity in Sherman Alexie's Ten Little Indians. Studies in American Indian Literatures , 21 (3), 36-57.
Troyer, R. A. (2008). Dialogue and Discourse Structure: A Speech Move Analysis of Sherman Alexie’s Story ‘What You Pawn me Will Redeem.’ In The State of Stylistics (pp. 303-331). Brill Rodopi.
