For Paula

Running head: LITERARY ANALYSIS DRAFT

Literary Analysis Draft

Oscar Vasquezmolina

ENG 125: Introduction to Literature

Instructor: Lynndi Kesler

17 April 2017

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1. Literary Analysis Draft

Include an original title that

hints at the subject of your

analysis. [Lynndi Tennyson

Kesler]

LITERARY ANALYSIS DRAFT

Writing Prompt

Write an analysis of a key character in a literary work. Focus on two or three key actions of that

character. Discuss the character’s motivations and decisions in terms you can support with clear

evidence from a critical reading of the text. Consider whether this character’s actions fit together

or contradict each other. You may also want to consider whether or not any other characters in

the story are aware of this conflict, and if so, how they influence the character you are writing

about.

Working Thesis

Through Jackson Jackson’s homelessness, alcoholism and mental disposition the author is

suggesting that if native American’s can rediscover their culture, then their pride can be restored.

What You Pawn I Will Redeem

The short story by Alexie Sherman, “What You Pawn I Will Redeem” commences with

the statement, “One day you have a home and the next you don’t.” The author intends to

highlight not only Jackson’s literal homelessness but also his cultural homelessness as a Spokane

Indian. Like all other Native Americans, he is culturally connected to a history of forced

removal, dispossession, and lost land. His homeless resonates throughout the story, representing

not only his economic state but also his cultural and psychological state. Alexie uses his

homelessness, alcoholism and mental disposition to suggest that the solution for the Native

American’s plight would be the rediscovery of the culture.

Jackson, like many other Native Americans, takes alcohol to forget the misery and

deprived living conditions arising from a state that colonialism left them. The Spokane Indians

suffered from decades of exploitation at the hands of the U.S government and white settlers. The

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1. the author

Use the author's name here.

[Lynndi Tennyson Kesler]

2. then their pride can be

restored.

Is he saying by Jackson's

alienation from his culture

caused his downfall? [Lynndi

Tennyson Kesler]

3. What You Pawn I Will

Redeem

Put quotation marks around

short story titles. Revise

throughout. [Lynndi

Tennyson Kesler]

4. Before jumping straight into

the story, begin with an

attention-getter (relevant

quote, question, short

anecdote) that entices

readers to keep going.

[Lynndi Tennyson Kesler]

5. you don’t.”

An in-text citation should

immediately follow a direct

quote. The in-text citation

should include the author's

last name, date of publication,

and the page or paragraph

number where the quote was

found. Please review the APA

section of the Writing Center

for additional information and

examples. Revise throughout.

[Lynndi Tennyson Kesler]

6. intends to

He has already written the

story, so what he intends to

do has been done. [Lynndi

Tennyson Kesler]

7. Alexie uses his

homelessness, alcoholism

and mental disposition to

suggest that the solution

for the Native

American’s plight would be

the rediscovery of the

culture.

I like this as your thesis

statement better than the one

above. This provides more for

you to analyze and better

says what the top thesis

statement only hinted.

[Lynndi Tennyson Kesler]

8. takes

drinks [Lynndi Tennyson

Kesler]

LITERARY ANALYSIS DRAFT

result was a generation deprived of material possessions, culture, and heritage (Brown-Rice,

2013). Jackson laments these conditions stating, “…I am living proof of the horrible damage that

colonialism has done to us Skins…”, (Alexie, 2003). He is thus drunk for the majority part of the

day and can barely hold a steady job. Despite having offers from the Real Change organization,

Jackson can barely sell enough papers to make a decent living stating that the job needs him to

be sober, but he is not good at doing so. He spends all the cash he finds on the streets on alcohol,

sometimes sleeping on the railway tracks have blacked out and thrown out of the bar. This is why

reclaiming his grandmother's powwow is so important to him. He considers himself on a crucial

mission asserting, “I want to win it back, like a knight.” By recovering his grandmother’s lost

dancing regalia, he would be reunited with his lost culture and heritage. Ultimately, when he

does so, he ceases being invisible to the world and becomes significant again, “Pedestrians

stopped. Cars stopped. The city stopped. They all watched me dance with my grandmother. I was

my grandmother, dancing.”, (Alexie, 2003). By reconnecting to his roots, he regains his identity

and sense of worth.

Jackson informs us that his mental condition is not all that good, having been diagnosed

with asocial disorder. This sounds as though he could be dangerous or violent at times but goes

on to clarify the opposite claiming, “…that makes me sound like I’m a serial killer or something.

I’ve never hurt another human being, or, at least, not physically.” However, on a drunken spree

after winning the lottery, a rendezvous with Irene, a chubby Duwamish Indian, (Alexie, 2003),

leaves him blacked out in the bathroom and come to, to find everyone having left the bar.

Disoriented, he starts a fight with the bartender and is thrown out after a sound beating. Jackson

cannot hold a steady job or father a family symptoms of historical losses such as cultural

dispossession as Brown-Rice suggests. Loss of identity and way of life has psychologically

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1. (Alexie, 2003),

Only include an in-text citation

in the middle of a sentence if

following a direct quote. If this

information is paraphrased,

you can save the in-text

citation for the end of the

sentence. [Lynndi Tennyson

Kesler]

LITERARY ANALYSIS DRAFT

traumatized many of the Native Americans, and hence they find difficult to adjust to the society.

Alexie points out the importance of the society recognizing their plight and offering assistance

wherever possible through characters such as Officer Williams who is always kind to Jackson,

“He was a good cop with a sweet tooth. He’d given me hundreds of candy bars over the years.”

He suggests that helping them to rebuild their past through change can help the Native

Americans to rebuild their future.

The homeless state of Jackson Jackson symbolizes not only his physical state but also the

cultural homelessness that he shares with other native Americans. Jackson flunked out of college

and has been unable to hold a steady job for over six years. He has does not have a place to call

home stating, “Being homeless is probably the only thing I’ve ever been good at.”, (Alexie,

2003). Being homeless is an important aspect of his identity. It summarizes the state of the entire

Native American identity; cultural homelessness. Jackson reveal how the society ignores or

frown upon the homeless Indian saying that passersby only bear "a look of anger or disgust or

even sadness at the terrible fate of the noble savage.", (Alexie, 2003). Throughout the story,

emphasizes on his individuality to separate himself from the notion of the stereotype collective

identity. He describes himself as an American Indian from the experiences and memories of his

past, such as those evoked by grandmother. He paints himself as a culturally aware Indian

pointing out how other Indians don’t like acknowledging themselves as Red Indians such as his

friend who went by the identity of a Plains Indian, a generic term, instead of his specific tribe.

Alexie is suggesting that the problems facing the Native Americans arise from forgetting their

roots and heritage and hence losing their identity. He, therefore, orchestrates for Jackson to win

back his grandmother’s dancing regalia as part of the solution to rediscovering their pride.

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LITERARY ANALYSIS DRAFT

The problems faced by Native Americans are majorly due to a loss of their identity and if

their culture and heritage can be restored, so can their pride. The psychological trauma,

alcoholism, and homelessness that plague many Native Americans is due to an identity crisis.

The society needs to focus on measures that will help improve the living conditions of the Native

American instead of being insensitive to their plight by helping them to reconnect with their

roots.

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LITERARY ANALYSIS DRAFT

References

Alexie, S. (2003). What You Pawn I Will Redeem. The New Yorker. Retrieved 15 April 2017,

from http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/04/21/what-you-pawn-i-will-redeem

Brown-Rice, K. (2013). Examining the Theory of Historical Trauma Among Native Americans.

Tpcjournal.nbcc.org. Retrieved 15 April 2017, from

http://tpcjournal.nbcc.org/examining-the-theory-of-historical-trauma-among-native-

americans/

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1. The New Yorker.

Italicize [Lynndi Tennyson

Kesler]

2. An additional secondary

source is needed for support,

and this should come from

the Ashford Library to ensure

credibility. [Lynndi Tennyson

Kesler]