Monday, June 20, 2011
Indian Killer / Reader Response
Select a brief passage from Sherman Alexie's novel Indian Killer that spoke to you in some powerful way. This could be a passage that you could identify with due to personal beliefs or life experiences. It could be a passage from which you learned something you find especially valuable, or even a passage that you found particularly problematic for some reason. Share this passage and explain how it spoke to you. Probe it for some deeper meaning that it contributes to the novel as a whole but also how that meaning is relevant to your life. In other words, how does the passage enrich your understanding of both the novel and the world around you?
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pg 33 & 34.
ReplyDelete"But as the years passed, many of Maries reservation friends flunked classes, lost interest, were intimidated into silence by cruel, white teachers, or simply had no energy for school because of hunger. Marie felt more and more isolated. Some bright kids were more interested in Spokane Indian culture than in a public school education. Many of those kids skiped school so they could travel to pow wows or attend various cultural events….they could speak Spokane as fluently as many elders, but they could barely read English. They were intelligent and humorous , and never wanted to leave the reservation. They had chosen that life, and Maria both resented and envied them. Because she did not dance or sing traditionally, and because she could not speak Spokane, Marie was often thought of as being less Indian. Her parentsm who did speak Spokane, had refused to teach Marie because they felt it would be of no use to her in the world outside the reservation….. Marie had found a way to escape the reservation. Now she was afraid the reservation would pull her back and drown her in its rivers that she only ventured home for surprise visits to her parents, usually arriving in the middle of the night. ”
I chose this passage based off of my life experiences. This reminds me of my own family. I’m 1/4th Native American on my dad’s side. We visit the reservation at least once a year, usually in the late summer so that we can attend the powwow that our tribe has. I took this passage to heart because it reminds me of my own dad and how he is looked at on the reservation. We have plenty of family when we visit but we don’t like to visit for long. It is almost like they look down on you if you decided to do better with your life and not stay on the reservation. My parents own their own business and they always get questioned about it because not a lot of people on the reservation own their own business. To be honest, a lot of my family works at the hotel/casino that is in their main source of income for the land. My dad saw the way his family settled and he decided at a young age he wasn’t going to settle and he left and came to Illinois in order to build his own life. Unfortunately, life on the reservation tends to revolve around beer, cigarettes, and drugs. They just tend to get so pessimistic and judgmental towards those who don’t live their lifestyle – no job, smoke weed, and drink beer 24/7. I think this passage is important to the novel as a whole because it shows just how hard it is to distance yourself from the only thing you know – the reservation. Some kids don’t get that luxury like the characters Marie and Reggie did. They wanted more for their lives and were seen as “too good.” Natives tend to look down on “their people” who leave “their land” and don’t follow their customs 100%. I really liked how the author, Sherman Alexie, was able to keep it real in his writings. He didn’t sugar coat the Native American side of it at all.
“Black hair, brown skin and eyes, high cheekbones, the prominent nose. Tall and muscular, he looked like some cinematic warrior, and constantly intimidated people with his presence. When asked by white people, he said he was Sioux, because that was what they wanted him to be. When asked by Indian people, he said he was Navajo, because that was what he wanted to be.”
ReplyDeleteI liked this passage because from my life experience people wear masks. Those masks are generally placed there as means to gain acceptance by a certain group of people that you wish to associate with. We feel a need to fit in so we hide or dull down who we really are. People hardly ever embrace who they truly are. When your around one group of friends you are one person and when you are alone you or with another you are an entirely different person. In this passage he shows this. People for the most part are scared of ever showing their true self to other people. We always aspire to be more than what we are. We aren’t happy. I think this shows why MMO’s “Massively Multiplayer Online” games are so popular. Its hard and sometimes impossible to become what you truly wish to be in real life but you can become with a few strokes of a keyboard who you want to be online. I think this is why some people tend to live in the fantasy world instead of their own. We need to except who we are and embrace it. We will never be truly happy till that day that we take off our masks and expose ourselves for what we really are. Cause if you need a mask to be truly accepted you will never really fit into that group. You will always feel like an outsider. I know one of my masks is that use is one at work. In an effort to be accepted by my peers there I hide my conservative thinking behind a somewhat more liberal one. People there like to bash people like Glen Beck and Rush but what I want to scream is that you aren’t really listening to what they are saying. You are so busy attacking them at a personal level that you are missing the message, but I don’t. I want to fit in and I want to be liked so I just shut my mouth. Why? I know I would be happier if I said what I don’t. So why do it?
Indian Killer / Reader Response
ReplyDeleteFor the passage from Sherman Alexie’s novel Indian Killer, I selected page 92. It is the following paragraph about Reggie’s mother:
“Martha Polatkin had married Bird because she was searching for a way off the reservation. She’d wanted to have a big house, a nice car, green grass, and, no matter how cruel Bird was, she’d known he could provide her with all of that. And because he had, in fact, provided her with all of that, she’d tried to ignore Bird’s hatred of “hostile” Indians, even after he’d impregnated her and she’d given birth to Reggie. As for Bird Lawrence, he’d hated hostile Indians so much that he insisted Reggie use Polatkin, his Indian surname, until he’d earned the right to be a Lawrence, until he’d become the appropriate kind of Indian” (92).
I think this passage is relevant to women of all cultures. I can’t blame the character Martha for wanting to leave the Indian Reservation. Some Indians leave to attend college. Martha found a way for herself to get off the reservation. Martha was given comforts of a home and car. Martha felt that in order to keep all of this she had to overlook Bird’s strange and cruel treatment to her and her son. If Martha left Bird she would not have money and would need to return to the reservation with her son. She did not want to do this and so stayed in the marriage to Bird. This affected how Reggie grew up and what Bird wanted to teach his son. Bird was mean and wanted Reggie to think more about white men and not Indians. This treatment only made Reggie angry.
This type of situation goes on in our world today. Too often a young woman wants to leave her home or town and does so by marriage. When the marriage turns into less than ideal or cruel the woman will often stay in the marriage for financial reasons. This is especially important to her if she has children. The woman does not want to live with less, or have a problem paying rent somewhere. So the woman puts her own wants and needs aside to help her children which sometimes creates problems of it’s own.
“Cornelius was watching Zera sleep. She spent most of her waking hours in a struggle for emotional balance, and it showed in her face. Deep wrinkles, haunted eyes, sudden gestures and unpredictable movements. In sleep, she relaxed, sometimes smiled, and Cornelius thought her beautiful. Sleep is a little piece of death, he thought, and Zera found some peace in that temporary afterlife. (214)
ReplyDeleteThe part of this passage, “Sleep is a little piece of death”, really jumped out at me. I deeply related to this. Some people turn to drugs, some to alcohol, some to violence, and some to sleep to find some kind of solace. I can recall many instances where sleep was a little piece of death for me. True death was never an option so this is the next best thing. It’s the calm in the storm. It was an escape and a complete separation from the harsh realities that life can bring us. It was also a part of life that I had some control over.
This passage isn’t as simple as it appears on the surface. A person could easily disregard it as just two down-and-out people who are totally devoted to each other. This passage reflects the pain and suffering of the Indian people. Sleep is when we are most vulnerable and it’s also when we are most real. I find it admirable that in the midst of everything, and as messed up as Vera is, that Cornelius finds her beautiful. It’s unconditional and it’s the way it should be. I feel that all of us could learn a thing or two about life from Cornelius and Vera.
This passage also shows that people of all walks of life go through hard times. This passage shows that while humans seem different on the outside, that inside we are similar in how we grieve and/or deal with emotional pain.
Some people can be quick to judge this type of scenario, not even stopping to think that it could be closer to home than they realize.
“We have other difficult-to-place children as well. Now, there is nothing wrong with these babies. They’re perfectly healthy, but they’re not whit. Most are black. We also have Indian baby. The mother is six months pregnant now (Pg. 10)”.
ReplyDeleteI chose this passage because I am also adopted. Both of my adopted parents could not have kids so they chose to adopt out of the country, they also wanted a perfectly healthy baby. My parents did not care what color they got as long as it was a baby. I think this passage has a lot of importance to the novel as a whole because it tells the past of John Smith. Also tells about how badly his parents really wanted a kid. So instead of going for a regular white baby they wanted something different. the parents were good to John they took him to see what dance the Indians do, also get him into sports and teach him how to play basketball even if he is not very good at it. His parents are the reason why john is alive. I believe my parents are the reason why I am alive today. My parents do not make me who I am, I did that myself, my parents just gave me a stepping stone into life. I believe in that way John Smith and I are alike. It is a small passage but I believe it still helps out the reader as the reader reads on throughout the book.
“Hey,” Marie said. “Do you want to dance?”
ReplyDelete“I guess,” he said. He had learned about owl dances, but feared them. John knew many Indian tribes believed the owl was a messenger of death. For those Indians, the owl was death itself. Yet, those same Indians who feared the owl still owl danced. John had always been confused by that. Were the Indians dancing out of spite? Were they challenging the owl? Or perhaps they were dancing to prove their courage. With Indians, death was always so close anyway. When Indians owl danced, their shadows were shaped like owl. What was one more owl in a room full of Indians dancing like owls?
When I first read the novel, I did not see a lot of significance in this passage. I read past it, and I did not give it much thought. As I continued through the novel I would think back to the passage though. Every once and while, an owl would fly up in the novel. I then began to wonder if the owl was a bigger symbol than I first realized. As I continued even further in the novel, something dawned on me. When Mark Jones was giving his testimony to the police, he said that the he could tell that the killer had wings. After I read that part, I stopped and began to think. The wheels in my head were turning, but I thought I better continue to read to see if more information would be given. At the end of the novel, the Indian Killer was in a cemetery surrounded by owls. It was at that point that I determined that Sherman Alexie did not want the reader to have a definite answer regarding the identity of the Indian Killer. I also believed that Alexie wanted the reader to come up with his or her own ideas. Before I give you my conclusion, I feel that I should give a few more things that I believe add to my overall guess to who the Indian Killer was. Marie told Dr. Mather about the Ghost Dance, and she told him how the Indians danced the dance in the hope that the colonizers would be killed. Also throughout the novel, certain people continued to say that the Indian Killer wasn’t a who, but a what. Also Marie said that the Indian Killer was most definitely not a man. The last thing I want to point out is that the killings did not start until after John danced with Marie, doing the owl dance.
My belief is that the Indian Killer was a spirit that was called up by the new generation of Indians at the university. I believe deep down, many of the Indians disliked that they were considered different, and because of this they resented the white men for causing their unjust lives. From the quote I have gathered that John and the rest of the dancers did not realize what they conjured. In fact, John was completely confused on why the group would be dancing a dance of death. I believe that the Indian Killer is a spirit that is a combination of a man and an owl. The Indian Killer looked like a person, but it had primal instincts, such as a thirst for blood. Also the Indian Killer would leave feathers at all of its crimes, which I believe that it took from itself as a symbol of being there. The killer would also complete a ceremony over each of its victims, which I believe it did because the man’s spirit in side of it was old and ancient, and its instinct was to follow tradition.
This passage was very important to me because I feel that it opened many doors for the interpretation of the identity of the Indian Killer.
In the beginning of chapter 17, page245, Dr. Mather is lecturing to his class, he says, “The Indian Killer is an inevitable creation of capitalism.” He then begins to tell that a capitalistic society will create a lower class of workers and as the distance between upper and lower class increases the chance for a lower class revolution will increase. He then labeled the Indian Killer a revolutionary construct, meaning causing, supporting, or advocating revolution. I do agree with Dr. Mather in the way that capitalism births a lower class in which there will be a power struggle between the rich and poor, that will ultimately lead to a show down or revolution. This has been proven time and time again in history and some Sociologist like Carl Marx dedicated his entire life to study the effects of capitalism. This being said, I do not agree that the Indian Killer is a creation of capitalism. By making this statement Dr. Mather is essentially calling most if not all Indians lower class. By saying that the Indian Killer is a revolutionary construct is getting a little closer to analyzing the nature of the Indian Killer. The killer’s actions were revolutionary and whether he wanted to or not he was constructing a hostile environment in the city of Seattle and surrounding areas. This can be felt threw one citizens idea to lock up all Indians violating their natural rights as citizens. As the situation unfolded and became more volatile the city of Seattle began to tear itself apart through random hate crimes. So to call him a revolutionary construct I believe would be false. To call him a revolutionary deconstruct I believe would be better. He is indeed causing a revolutionary actions and feelings but I believe he is not doing this on purpose. I also feel that the Indian Killer has no feelings of rich and poor, capitalist or no, the Indian Killer’s persona is that of a killer, and that persona is driving others into revolution out of fear.
ReplyDeleteFrom page 183
ReplyDelete“As if to tell a secret, Reggie’s white girlfriend had leaned forward. Reggie and his white friends leaned toward her.
“I hate Indians,” she’d whispered.
Reggie had tried to laugh it off, but he’s felt as if he’d been torn in half. Later that night, his girlfriend had tearfully tried to apologize to him. They’d parked on a dirt road a few miles outside of Seattle.
“I’m sorry,” she’d said. “I didn’t mean you. I love you. You’re not like those other Indians. You’re not like them.”
Reggie had not said anything. Without a word, he’d kissed her hard, stripped her naked, and fucked her for the first time. She’d cried out when he roughly penetrated her. She’d been a virgin, though Reggie hadn’t asked and wouldn’t have cared. Every night for a week, he’d picked her up from her house, driven her to that same dirt road, and fucked her. No condom, no birth control pills, no withdrawal. He came inside her and hoped he’d gotten her pregnant. He’d wanted her to give birth to a brown baby. He’d wanted to dilute his Indian blood. He’d wanted some kind of revenge. He’d wanted some place to spill his pain. After a week of painful angry sex, his white girlfriend had broken up with him. She had not been impregnated. She would never speak to him again.”
This passage bothered me for multiple reasons. Obviously, I’m female, so it had an impact from that perspective. It also made me wonder about guys in today’s world.
It is estimated that one third of the women in the United States have been sexually assaulted. When I look at friends of mine, that statistic holds true. I have friends who were raped by their step-fathers, a friend assaulted while getting off of the school bus and even a sister who had an unfortunate run-in in college. In general it has bothered me enough that I researched rape and sexual assault. The United States is the only really developed country with a sexual assault rate that high. Most people believe that the reason the rape rate is so high is because men in the United States have not been made aware of it. Britain has a rape/sexual assault rate of one in seventeen, vastly different from the United States.
I’ve often wondered about the thoughts behind a person’s head that cause them to assault someone else like that. Most people are not bad people, so what are the thoughts behind people’s heads that make us end up with such a high rape rate? This passage gave me a perspective I had never thought of before. Was it rape in this passage? Probably not, she loved him and she still saw him after the first night. Was it rape any of the other nights though? Possibly, she stopped wanting it and never spoke to him again after a certain point.
“I mean calling him the Indian Killer doesn’t make any sense, does it? If it was an Indian doing the killing, then wouldn’t he be called the Killer Indian? I mean, Custer was an Indian killer, not a killer Indian. How about you doc, are you an Indian killer” I chose this passage because it was the moment I realized that I had fallen into a cunning trap set by Sherman Alexie. Nowhere in the book does Alexie say in his description of the killer that the killer is an Indian. The characters until this moment in the story all perpetuate the certainty that an Indian is responsible for the killings. It is not until Marie springs this cunning piece of word play that I realized I had been doing the exact thing that the characters were doing by making assumptions not based on factual information. Marie then goes on to ask Mather in the same conversation whether He is an Indian Killer. I think this passage is particularly relevant because it exposes the readers growing bias. It also serves to ask the valuable question as to whether the Indian Killer could be a white man or a woman after all. This passage is important to the novel because it widens the range of people whom could be responsible for the murders that take place in the book. It also begins to ask the question of what a “real” Indian killer is. Marie implies that she thinks people like Jack Wilson and Mather are the real Indian killers because of their attempts to be a part of a culture that they have no place in. This passage made me aware of the fact that this story was not a straight-forward murder mystery, but rather an attempt to shed conventionality in that genre by blurring the lines between victims and perpetrators and leaving it up to the reader to decide which side the actual “killing” was being done to.
ReplyDeleteThe passage I chose from Indian killer was when John was daydreaming about his life on the reservation and what his mother thinks of him.
ReplyDelete“ She looks at her son. He has grown into a handsome man, tall and strong. But more than that, he is smart and generous, good to children and the tribal elders. For ten years, she has driven the tribal lunch van, which delivers meals to the elders, and John has often helped her. That was the way they both learned the tribal language.” (288).
I think this passage shows how John wants to be seen by others and how he wanted to turn out. He dreams about his mom and how she would love him no matter what he did and how he turned out. I think this relates to most people because they have an image of themselves that they want others to see but it is just not how they are. We all want to be loved and when we do not feel loved, we will search it out until we find it, no matter how good or bad it is when we find it. This passage helped me understand the book more because it let you see into how John actually felt about himself and what he wanted. He wanted his real mom to love him and care for him. He wanted her to not want him to leave the reservation because she loved him, but let him go because it was the best thing for him. It also says he wanted helped catch “rouge spiders” for the elders. That shows that he wanted to actually be tougher than he was but it was easier to dream about it. He also imagined that he was more involved in the tribe and that he had learned the tribal language. He just wanted to be close to the tribe that he never belonged to no matter how much he wished he was. It also shows me that most people may not want to be the way they are even when they have the “perfect lives” and doing pretty well.
pg 38 & 39
ReplyDelete“Marie saw sadness in John’s eyes. She had approached him because she thought he was a fellow student, another urban Indian, but now she felt his confusion and loss. He didn’t know how to dance, didn’t seem to recognize anybody at the powwow. Nobody shouted out his name in an effort to embarrass him, and Marie understood that isolation…But, somehow, most every urban Indian still held closely to his or her birth tribe. Marie was Spokane, would always be Spokane. But she was also an urban Indian, an amalgamation that included over two hundred tribes in the same Seattle area where many white people wanted to have Indian blood. Marie was always careful to test people to hear their stories, to ask about their tribes, their people, and their ties to the land from which they originated. The pretend Indians had no answer for these questions, while real Indians answered the questions easily, and had a few questions of their own for Marie. Indians were always placing one another on an identity spectrum, with the more traditional to the left and the less traditional Indians to the right. Marie knew she belonged somewhere in the middle of that spectrum and that her happiness depended on placing more Indians to her right. She wondered where John belonged.”
From this passage, I get that Marie judges whether or not somebody is Native American by asking questions, and depending on the answers, she knows who are Native Americans, and who is pretending to be Native American. But just because somebody does not know the answers to some of her questions though does not mean that they are not Native American. Some people, such as John Smith, may never have lived on a plantation, and may not know anything about their Native American culture or history, and so may not be able to answer Marie’s questions. If somebody tried telling me that I am not something that I really am, it would make me angry. People judge others such as Marie judges those who say they are Native American all the time in America, and it is just something that should not be done. Who are they to judge others, just by the way they act, or by the answers they give, they may just have been raised differently and so do not know how to act or what to say.
Page 90, “Reggie had grown up in Seattle with his white father, Bird, and his Spokane Indian mother, Martha. Though he’d visited the reservation a few times during his youth, Reggie had always been a stranger to Marie. Reggie was the mysterious urban Indian, the college student, the ambitious half-breed, the star basketball player, the Indian who would make a difference. Reggie carried with him the collective dreams of the family.” I chose this passage because I feel like I relate with Reggie very much when it comes to who he is and how everybody is looking at him to make a difference and bring a name to his family. I know what it is like to grow up with all of the pressure put on your shoulders from your family and your community to make a difference and become something with yourself and make a name for you and your family and your town that you are from. From a very little age people have always told me I would be famous one day and I have a chance to make it professionally in baseball and have always put extra pressure on me to be better than everybody else and to achieve such great accomplishments. I can relate to Reggie also with all of the pressure and how hard it is to deal with at times and how you always feel like you will never be good enough for people’s expectations. I think that all of the pressure that was put on Reggie was part of the reason that he failed in college and turned out to be the way he is because it is very difficult to grow up with that kind of pressure and to stay positive about it and to succeed. It is very tough when you feel like you have to please everyone and live up to expectations that are very hard to live up to.
ReplyDelete“When asked by white people, he said he was Sioux, because that was what they wanted him to be. When asked by Indian people, he said he was Navajo, because that was what he wanted to be.”
ReplyDeleteI find this quotation compelling because it embodies a reoccurring theme in the novel: identity. John does not know what Native American tribe he belongs to and suffers from an identity crisis. This passage shows how he explains his Indian heritage; it depends on who he is talking to. I find this sad and yet can connect it to my own life in a much lesser way. Growing up I had a hard time identifying myself with a certain group of people because I had friends in more than one “group.” I earned good grades so often times I was considered nerdy, but yet I also played on the soccer team. Junior high and high school can be a rough time for adolescents and identity is often very important to them. Personally, I just wanted to fit in and would be friends with whoever I was with, a study buddy or a soccer teammate. Sometimes even changing my attitude based on the other person, much like how John relays on other people to determine his identity. On a very basic level, this passage made me realize that even though John was adopted, Native American, a male, and living in Seattle, I could still relate to him in a small way. Because I was able to connect with John more despite all our differences, I was better able to understand the novel and the point Sherman Alexie was trying to make. The question of identity runs strong throughout the entire novel. We see John struggle because he doesn’t know his background. Also, the identity of the Indian Killer is never revealed, leaving another question of identity open.
“Would you give money to a four-year-old and tell her to feel herself, clothe herself, buy a house, pay bills? Of course not. Yet we give millions of dollars to these Indians and expect them to know what to do with such wealth. Then when we, as tax-paying citizens, complain about such a waste of our tax dollars, the Indians call us racist. They whine about their treaty rights. They wave their flimsy little treaties around. Well, I’ve got a piece of paper to show those Indians. It’s called the Bill of Rights and, citizens; it does not say one word about special rights for Indians. It says that all men are created equal. All men, not just Indians.”
ReplyDeleteI chose this passage because I completely agree with it and it is something that is happening even today. Every day, Mexicans illegally cross our borders and immediately get rights that some Americans don’t even get. They get free schooling, free health care, sometimes we even provide them with housing. They don’t have to work or anything for it, they just have it given to them, and if we stop, then we are made out to be the bad guys. I have even heard a story of a couple who had a baby in an American hospital and did not speak a word of English. So with our hard earned tax dollars, we provided them with a translator, and paid their cab fare so that they could still go to a doctor in town but live out of town. All this with provided to them without them having to pay a cent. If this were an American couple, they would have been expected to drive the distance without any compensation or find another doctor. I feel that if you live in America, you should be treated just like everyone else. We need to start following the Bill of Rights more closely, especially the part where it sais “All men are created equal.”
“That’s right, folks. David is missing. His pickup was found in the casino parking lot, but there is no trace of him. He’s disappeared. Now, I don’t want to jump to conclusions but I can just imagine what happened.” Truck sipped at his coffee. “The Indian tribes of Washington State have declared a cultural war on us, and the weapon they’ve chosen is the casino” (page 119).
ReplyDeleteI chose this passage by Truck about David Roger’s death because of when he says “I don’t want to jump to conclusions.” Even though he says that he does not want to jump to conclusions the next line he says is doing just that. He says that the Indian tribes of Washington State declared a cultural war, but he has no clue that Indians killed David. In reality in the book it was not Indians that killed David, it was two guys who robbed him. When Truck jumps to the conclusion that this was another Indian killing, it causes David’s brother Aaron to start committing crimes against Indians. Everyone jumped to the conclusion that it was the Indian Killer who killed David with out finding out for sure if it really was the Killer. I chose this passage because it related to me in a way. It relates to me because everyone says they will not jump to conclusions but they always do. I sometime jump to a conclusion of something when I do not have all of the information on the topic. This is usually a bad thing, for everyone. If you think that you know what really happened, then you some times will not listen to the true facts of what really happened. I have seen a lot of people get in trouble because they supposedly did something that was wrong, when it really was not what they did. The person accusing them of the offence just did not listen to everything that person had to say about what really happened. Everyone says that they do not want to jump to conclusions, but most of the time, they do. Thinking you know what happened before you get all of the facts could make you lose some relationships, or other things just because you are focused on what you know, not on the facts.
“The Indian women would laugh. They were always laughing. John wanted to laugh. He knew his laughter would make him feel more like a real Indian. He listened closely to the laughter, tried to memorize it. A booming belly laugh from a fat Lummi Indian. A low chuckle from Jim the Colville. A poke-to-the-rib-cage giggle from Lillian, a Makah. All kinds of laughter. All kinds of Indians. John would practice at home, stretch his mouth into those strange shapes call smiles, and laugh loudly enough to make his neighbors nervous”(277).
ReplyDeleteThis passage is from when John is at the Soda and Juice Bar, and he is looking at all of the other people. Once again he notices everyone’s laughter and wonders if that is what makes a true Indian. He has been searching for this “real Indian” mentality throughout the novel. John believes that laughter is the meaning behind being Indian. He just wants to find something to laugh about because he feels like that will make him a real Indian. John practices smiling and laughing in order to figure it out and be able to fit in with the Indians. By fake laughing, John proves the rest of the book and that he is not a real Indian. Since he has no knowledge of his history, he cannot laugh about his ancestors because he does not know anything about them.
This passage relates to me because when I was a child my family moved around a little bit, and I forgot about where I was from. Much like John, I forgot about my smile and laughter, and I did not like to smile because I did not know who I was because I did not really have any friends because I just moved in. I tried to fit in and make friends, but then we moved again. Once I got here I tried to make new friends. Eventually I met some new people and started to get my smile back. Since I finally somewhat understood me and what I was trying to accomplish I could smile. Smiles mean more than any other body language. A smile can make others smile because there is always a reason to smile, so by smiling I knew I was making others happy too. The world around me is now a much happier place because now everyone sees smiles and now everyone is always laughing around me.
“John knew the darkness provided safety for Indians now. But long ago, Indians had been afraid of the darkness. During the long, moonless nights, they had huddled together inside dark caves and had trembled when terrible animals waged war on each other outside. Often, those horrible creatures would find the cave and carry off one of the weakest members of the tribe. Indians had been prey. This had gone on, night after night, for centuries. Then some primitive genius had discovered the power of fire, that bright, white flame. Fire pushed back the darkness and kept the animals at bay. During the night, Indians still huddled together in their caves, but a fire constantly burned at the cave’s mouth. At first, those small white flames were a part of the tribe. Neither male nor female, neither old nor young. Neither completely utilitarian nor absolutely sacred. Still, despite the Indians’ best efforts, the flames began to rebel. At first, in small ways, by refusing to burn. Then, by scorching a finger or hand. And finally, by pulling a careless child into their white-hot mouths and swallowing it whole. And always, always, the flames were growing in number and size. John knew they became candles, then lamps, then cities of lamps. Those white flames re-created themselves in the image of Indians. They grew arms and legs, eyes and hair, but they could never make themselves dark…” This passage begins on page 249 and continues onto page 250. I chose this passage and I think it is very important to the meaning of this novel because it describes Indians and their struggle with the white people, or “white flame”. In the beginning of the passage, the Indians are the people that created the flame, realized its power and ability to be helpful and safe. It doesn’t take long though, and the white flame begins to burn out of control. The white flame, or white people to my understanding, starts to take advantage of the innocence of the Indians, and of their longing for a safer world. The white flames build cities and invade the land the Indians had once considered to be theirs and to be sacred. The thing that the Indians had created and found to be beautiful was now something to be feared. This passage speaks to me because I have encountered things in my life that I once loved and needed, that turned out to be things that were dangerous and bad to my life. These realizations came after I “grew up” and lost some innocence, much like the Indians in the above passage. After I learned that things aren’t always what they seem, I feel like I lost my innocence and my ability to trust things without making sure that they were worthy of my trust first, which was a lesson learned the hard way for the Indians.
ReplyDeletePg. 37 –“John knew many Indian tribes believed the owl was a messenger of death. For those Indians, the owl was death itself. Yet, those same Indians who feared the owl still owl danced. John had always been confused by that…Or perhaps they were dancing to prove their courage. “
ReplyDeleteI identify greatly with this passage in personal philosophy. In this short quote, Alexie has conveyed to his readers that life and death are nothing to be feared and that the only things holding us back from living our lives to its greatest capacity is ourselves. Just like many others out there, I came from a broken family; and like many others still, I have moved around quite a bit as a result, and I don’t mean from county-to-county, but trans-Pacific relocations. I share this information in context of the assignment, and I hope that others will not see it as a pity party—because it’s not. I certainly do not believe that my life follows anything along the line of “pitiful” or “tragic” and claiming it to be anything close would take away from those who have experienced true tragedies in their lives.
For me, it’s all about perspective and the choices that we make based on our perspectives. I could have chosen to believe that moving from Hong Kong and giving up the rather luxurious lives we have there as “the end of the world.” I could have chosen to believe that giving up the beginning of a very promising orchestra study was detrimental to me. I could have chosen to believe that giving up an internship with a renowned photographer to move half way around the world with my family as “stupid.” I could have chosen to mope about being the only Asian in an all-white, rural high school and about not fitting in. In short, I could have chosen to believe a lot of things. Woulda, shoulda, coulda. But why live in misery when I could just as easily choose to live happily?
Why fear what has happened or what could happen or what will inevitably happen when I could just as easily take it as it comes and make the most out of it.
Rather than living in constant fear, I would rather face life head-on. What will come, will come, there’s no use being angry or anxious about it. Life isn’t about regret, it’s about opportunity. Sure, moving so many times certainly could have been the end of the world, but it wasn’t because I didn’t want it to be. I chose to see and learn new things—and I am every bit better because of it.
A lesson like this could have gone a long way for Marie. While I believed that her anger was just, but I don’t think living that way was necessary. It was not fair that her professor pretended to know what it felt like being a Native America, and I know from personal experiences that it is frustrating to sit in a class and listen to a bigot reduce everything that you are to a few inaccurate novels; she didn’t have to be angry about it.
Rather than physically and mentally fighting and demanding for justice, and I’m not saying she should have been complacent, she could have taken the opportunity to enrich others in a different way.
Cont. in BlackBoard
“ If John happened to be a little fragile, well that was perfectly understandable, considering his people’s history. All that alcoholism and poverty, the lack of God in their lives.” (19)
ReplyDeleteWhile reading this book for the second time this fraise kept popping into my head. I think it set the tone for the rest of the story for me. The truth of stereotyping in the world is solidified in this passage. It seems that John gets preferential treatment because of race. I don’t think that is the point that the author is trying to get across. I believe the author is pointing out that John is allowed special considerations because they don’t want to find out what’s really going on with him. The teachers don’t care that he may have a mental disorder they just let him go so they don’t upset him or anyone one else. They only see him as an Indian and not a real person. That’s great teaching if you ask me. The act of stereotyping happens everyday. People are so judgmental of others just because they are different. People are so afraid of what they may find if they ask questions. I s it wrong to ask someone to be honest about how they feel, about how they are perceived? I don’t believe so. I’ve been guilty of stereotyping and I’m sure everyone else has too. Being stereotyped because of who you are, what you are, or where you live causes so many people to give up and become what people think they are. This passage made me think about what we, as a white community, have done and keep doing to the Native Americans. It is still their country and we are just visitors who never left. We as a country want to keep foreigners out, we hear about it on the news everyday, I wonder how the Native Americans feel about it.
“Come on, come on, you f*ing Indian,” said white mask. He jabbed his bat into Cornelius' belly. Zera was trembling beside him.
ReplyDelete“We don't want no trouble,” Cornelius said. “We'll leave.”
“Go back to where you belong, man!” shouted blue mask. “Get the f* out of our country, man!”
This scene is when Aaron and his friends are driving around downtown Seattle beating Native American people because of what they say is revenge for David. What they yelled at Cornelius and Zera disturbed me. America was originally the Native Americans' lands. They more than anyone belong here. This passage and a couple others about the displacement of Native Americans made me want to try to find a way to relate to them. The Native American's had a way of life that worked very well for them. Being hunters and gatherers they put very little strain on the environment. They were community oriented and very spiritual. Then the “whitemen” came and completely changed everything for them. With more powerful and effective weapons the new American settlers forced them off their land and forced upon them capitalistic and catholic views. Attempting to relate, I thought of how I would handle a similar situation. If a foreign people can with weapons that greatly surpassed our own and forced people off there property the the results would be disastrous. People would fight for there freedom and the rights we have determined we have. I believe in Catholic teachings and I would not be able to be persuaded to believe some completely different religion. And if new social and economic practices where suddenly presented to me and I was expected to fallow them I would be very reluctant. I believe it was completely reasonable that the Native Americans tried to fight and kill the settlers, and I understand why assimilating to our culture is difficult and avoided by the Native Americans.
When I was a kid one of my favorite movies was Pocahontas. I used to pretend to be an Indian in my backyard and I loved what little Indian culture I picked up form the movie. Now that I know of the hardships the Native Americans faced, much more than was presented in Pocahontas, I wish that our cultures could coexist and American could belong to Native Americans and Non-Natives equally.
I chose to examine a passage in the very last chapter of the book. The passage is on page 419. “A full moon. A cemetery on an Indian reservation. On this reservation or that reservation. Any reservation, a particular reservation. The killer wears a carved wooden mask. Cedar, or pine, or maple. The killer sits alone on a grave. The headstone is gray, its inscription illegible. There are many graves, rows of graves, rows of rows. The killer is softly singing a new song that sounds exactly like an old one. “
ReplyDeleteThis passage really stood out for me for several reasons. The first reason is because the Indian Killer is never truly revealed to the readers so this keeps the suspense up. But there is really only suspense on the surface. If you take a chance to analyze the passage in context with the rest of the book, you can see what the author truly meant by the passage. The Indian Killer is left unnamed because the author wants his readers to see the problems that are still dividing Indians from other cultures and vice versa. Because of this, he wants the readers to think that the Indian Killer can be anyone and everyone, that there can be a part of the Indian Killer in each of us.
The author shows this by making his description of the killer very vague. He gives the reader several different ways to picture the killer in order for them to be able to picture a killer that is individual and different from another reader’s perception of the killer. It is because of this that I thought the passage played a great part in helping to determine the killer in the novel. It really shows that the killer is whoever we want it to be, even ourselves. It is very interesting that an author can finish a novel that way.
Pg 38-9
ReplyDelete“But somehow, most every urban Indian still held close to his or her birth tribe. Marie was Spokane, would always be Spokane. But she was also an urban Indian, an amalgamation that included two hundred tribes n the same Seattle area where many white people wanted to have Indian blood. Marie was always careful to test people to hear their stories, to ask about their tribes, their people, and their ties to the land from which they originated. The pretend Indians had no answers for these questions, while real Indians answered the questions easily, and had a few questions of their own for Marie. Indians were always placing one another on an identity spectrum, with the more traditional to the left and the less traditional Indians to the right. Marie knew she belonged somewhere in the middle of that spectrum and that her happiness depended on placing more Indians to her right.”
This passage, although a lengthy one, really spoke out to me as a valuable piece of knowledge towards human culture as a whole. Life is a constant struggle for popularity and power. It is all about who you know and what you know and a constant competition . Every culture has a different view of what a useful weapon might be to gain popularity and prestige, but it is all carried with the same desire for power. In this passage, Marie feels all she has as far as power in the word is being Indian and knowing what that means and entails. Because she is so educated being herself, she sees this as useful challenge to others to see who is the better Indian. It is her security and what she knows best, so it is what she carries with her as her weapon. Other people find power in their education on world studies, art, music, and teaching. They can often find their power in money, success, fame, and justice. What gains people their power is what they use to challenge the world in some way. I have noticed while reading this book that these Indians carry the lifelong saddness that has come with the deterioration of their culture. Their power comes from knowing what it is to be Indian and never letting that go. It is about trying, to your best knowledge, to hold onto that power.
Mr. Russell’s testimony relaying information about what he saw the night Justin Summers was murdered:
ReplyDelete“‘No, Officer. I was just drunk. And I know this sounds crazy. But you know what I think? I think I don’t remember anything about that night because somebody wants me not to remember’” (Alexie 12).
The relevance to this passage is from life experience of denial. Denial is the failure to acknowledge an event or situation or an incapability to accept reality, rejecting the truth. My mother used to be a star cheerleader in high school, with a fit body. After she had my sister and me, she gradually gained weight. Recently, it became an unmanageable, life-threatening condition; she was five feet four inches, two-hundred twenty pounds and counting. I would find candy bars hidden in dishes we rarely used, chips beneath her bed, and Chunky Monkey ice cream concealed within the icebox. We asked her about the food items, and she would say, “I have no idea how those got there” or “it must have been your father.” The fabricated stories of her working out every morning at the gym were actually her stopping at Dunkin Donut gorging coffee and donuts. My father asked her why the bank statement showed these transactions; she denied ever going there and said someone stole the credit card. That same day, I asked her if she wanted to see a dietician, and she responded, “Why? I am fine just the way I am.”
Sherman Alexie’s novel, Indian Killer, portrays many characters in denial. John Smith denies he has a mental illness, “Vitamins, cough drops, and other circles, brighter and smaller, that quieted his head for a little while. But John knew those pills slowly poisoned him” (Alexie 74). Even beyond all opposing evidence, Jack Wilson asserts he is Indian, “‘I’m part Shilshomish Indian’” (158). To an extent, Reggie denies he is an Indian, “He’d pretended to be white, and had thought his white friends accepted him as such. He’d buried his Indian identity so successfully that he’d become invisible” (94).
Denial is a major motif in Indian Killer and a major motif in life. The passage enriches my understanding of the escape of reality among the characters within the novel and the escape of reality among real life individuals. This allows me to understand how the characters suffered with internal conflicts affected from society. Alexie portrays hiding among the lies, running from the truth as a coping mechanism for his characters.
Sigmond Freud, a famous psychologist of the late nineteenth, early twentieth centuries, defined this “coping mechanism” as denial. Today, people pretend events never occurred. A wife with an abusive husband will never admit her husband gave her the black eye. A young driver who hit the little boy on the bicycle will not acknowledge falling asleep at the wheel. A little pigtailed girl still puts a bowl of food and water out every day for her dog, Daisy, who died last year.
Overall, the passage represents how characters such as John, Jack, and Reggie cope with their intolerable realities, and on a larger spectrum how people chose to forget emotional events that they are unable to accept.
One of the many passages that stood out to me was on page 277. "The Indian women would laugh. They were always laughing. John wanted to laugh. He knew his laughter would make him feel more like a real Indian. He listened closely to the laughter, tried to memorize it. A booming belly laugh from Dr Lummi Indian. A low chuckle from Jim the Colville. A poke-to-the-rib-cage giggle from Lillian, a Makah. All kinds of laughter. All kinds of Indians. John would practice a home, stretch his mouth into those strange shapes called smiles, and laugh loudly enough to make his neighbors nervous."
ReplyDeleteI picked this passage because it shows how John does not belong and he knows that he does not fit in. John does try even though he knows that it is fake. It is important to belong to something and when someone does not belong, emotional issues can happen. This is true of people today. It is important for everyone to have their niche so they can connect with those that have the same interests as them. If they do not connect with anyone, they need to have an outlet or at least their family or someone to talk to that they can lean on to get through some of these issues. As a high school teacher, I have seen the emotional scars of students who do not feel they fit in, such as drug abuse, teen pregnancy (having someone of their own), self-mutilation, and thoughts of suicide. Emotional issues are very delicate, as we see with John who makes up stories of a family life on the reservation. Ultimately John's emotional issues lead to his death, where at the end when he fell from the skyscraper, his spirit walked toward an Indian couple in the horizon because he thought they might know his name. For young people, there are many resources available for teachers to use to help teens with their issues before it is too late.
“Seriously, citizens, I’m deeply, saddened. But I have to tell you, I’m not surprised by this turn of events. I mean, what happens to a child that is given everything he wants? The child becomes an aggressive, domineering brat. Well, citizens, we keeping giving Indians everything they want. We give them fishing rights, hunting lands. We allow them to have these illegal casinos on their land. They have rights that normal Americans do not enjoy. Indians have become super citizens, enjoying all the advantages of being Americans while reveling in the special privileges they receive for just being Indians.”
ReplyDeleteThis passage is from Truck Schultz’s radio show in the chapter Fire Starter. I initially chose this passage because I remember how angry it made me when I read it. It’s a prime example of ignorance and racism within the book. Truck is able to use his personal opinion to rile up the people of Seattle and cause a majority of the conflict within the story. I feel the way that Truck’s character is portrayed in the novel has some very accurate ties to the real world. Every day on the news or the radio people are able to express their personal opinions and beliefs in an attempt to influence the population. Moreover people in the news are able to use their opinions for personal gain just as Truck did in Indian Killer. While news reporter’s opinions and power to influence are not always used to the same extreme as Trucks, it does still exist. For instance several times in the novel, Truck references Rush Limbaugh, which is a perfect real world example. I believe society as a whole needs to do more to become better informed on controversial issues in the world such as racism and the war in Afghanistan; instead of relying on the skewed opinions of others to shape their own personal opinions. It’s these types of extreme opinions that create hatred and controversy all over the world. I can relate to all of this on a personal level from my experiences in the military. When you go overseas and see first-hand all the good that is being done, you quickly realize that because of the power of news and media, the American public can get a much distorted picture of what is really going on in the world. Overall this can have a very detrimental effect on our society and the way we few others and the rest of the world as was displayed in the novel Indian Killer.
“This is my magic,” said Carlotta. “And I think you know about magic. There’s good magic and there’s bad magic. This knife is both.” (253). I think this passage was valuable because it was starting to tie the book together. The racism and hate that the characters had in the book was starting to come out because of the Indian Killer who is using a knife. The story became more than a mystery novel. When I started to read this passage, I understood what the book was trying to tell the readers about racism, hate, and it showed symbolism. The Indians have been treated unfair since the Europeans came to the United States The knife had a lot of power. It brought the bad out of everyone and it also brought out the good. When the Indian Killer started killing, the white men Aaron and his roommates, started beating up homeless Indians. Reggie started beating up white men. They started to show their racism. The knife made people realize things that they hadn’t before. Olivia and Daniel always loved John. Olivia can’t sleep because John is missing. She realizes how much she loves and cares for him. John is lost. He helps Carlotta when the white guys try to beat her even though John could have been beaten too. Indians believed in spirits and magic. This passage was a great example. When someone has hit rock bottom they need something to bring them back up. The knife killed john, but it was not a bad thing for him. He was in the happiest place of his life. The knife made Wilson want to write a story. When Truck was scared in the alley way he finally began to be quiet. He realized that he had said too much. He told a lot of lies on air about the Indian killer and it began the hate of all the people. Wilson will never be seen as a normal person because of the knife. The magic of the knife scared his face for the rest of his life. The knife was one of the key elements of the story. The magic that was brought out in the book was mostly bad, but good did come out of it. Everyone started to show there “true colors.”
ReplyDelete“Many Indians barely paying attention to the game. They were talking, telling jokes, and laughing loudly. so much laughter. John wanted to own that laughter, never realizing that their laughter was a ceremony used to drive away personal and collective demons…..Black hair, brown skin and eyes, high cheekbones, the prominent nose. Tall and muscular, he looked like some cinematic warrior, and constantly intimidated people with his presence. When asked by white people, he said he was Sioux, because that was what they wanted him to be. When asked by Indian people, he said he was Navajo, because that was what he wanted to be.”
ReplyDeleteI choose two parts and compared them as a whole passage due to the similarity in themes that both have. The theme was identity, and that was relatable in many ways. As a child, I grew up differently compared to other kids. My name usually giving the first hint, other people knew I was not an “American”. The first part of the passage starts with a bright tone. The Narrator explains that many of the Indians were not paying attention to the game being played, instead, they were “talking, telling jokes, and laughing loudly”. The reason for this laughter is answered later in the passage, pointing out that their laughter was “a ceremony used to drive away personal and collective demons”. This is what attracted me to this passage. Laughter is the best medicine, but the cliché should add that Laughter is also the best defense. The defense is not from actual demons but, metaphorically, is about being seen as different. It is known that since our early childhood we have all strived to fit in to our society, some it is easier for others, but the hard part is having society fit you. This is what led me to the next passage. “Black hair, brown skin and eyes, high cheekbones, the prominent nose” sounds like a cartoon, not an Indian. Blonde hair, white skin, blue eyes sounds like a Barbie doll not a typical white person. Generalizations feed the fire for discrimination, and fitting into other peoples persona is a recipe for disaster. I always had to conform around my friends as a child, and until I met other kids just like me, I was never happy. “When asked by white people, he said he was Sioux, because that was what they wanted him to be. When asked by Indian people, he said he was Navajo, because that was what he wanted to be.” This ending of the passage is what I did but, instead of Indian, I choose being called an “American version” of my name instead of how it is actually pronounced.
"Would you give money to a four-year-old and tell her to feed herself, clothe herself, buy a house, pay bills? Of course not. Yet we give millions of dollars to these Indians and expect them to know what to do with such wealth. Then when we, as tax-paying citizens, complain about such a waste of our tax dollars, the Indians call us racist. They whine about their treaty rights. They wave their flimsy little treaties around. Well, I’ve got a piece of paper to show those Indians. It’s called the Bill of Rights and, citizens; it does not say one word about special rights for Indians. It says that all men are created equal. All men, not just Indians.” This passage in the novel says a lot to me, and while it can be taken in the context of the story, it also has roots in the actual world outside the book. Inside the novel we see many scenes with homeless Indians in the city, struggling to survive and being fed by Marie. These Indians obviously are not benefitting from all of the tax money that Truck is claiming they receive. When he brings up the bill of rights saying all men are created equal and how it isn't fair to treat them differently in a positive way, he is forgetting about history. When that was first written, all men were not created equal by a long shot in the eyes of the government and most people. Blacks were in slavery and Indians were seen as savages, murdered and pushed out of their homelands by the white man. How is that being created equal? While I believe we shouldn't have to pay for these crimes against them for as long as our nation exists, it is unfair to say they unjustly receive these tax-payers dollars. They should be able to mostly support themselves on a reservation, and if they choose to leave the reservation they are as equal as any other man or woman trying to make their own living in the United States.
ReplyDeletepg 220
ReplyDelete"See," said the Indian,"I'm keeping track. We all are.Every Indian is keeping score.What?This Killer"s got himself two white guys?And that little white boy,enit?This Killer"s got a long ways to go.Man he's the underdog."
I chose this passage because of its association to the mind set of many and racism or prejudices. There are many people who beleve that my causing bodily harm or death to persons of a particular race can resolve or make up for injustices caused by that race.In my opinion violence or dicrimination can never really help the situation,but they only make them worse.Because those often being targeted or victimized by these acts should not be held accountable when they weren't the ones initially responsible.Violence or hatred can never compensate the for discrimination of any kind.The acts of the Indian Killer may not be racially motivated.They may personal and may help to determine who the killer really is.
"John reached into his pocket and pulled out his knife. John didn't know if the blade would even cut Wilson. But if it worked, Wilson would bleed out all of his Indian blood, a few drops scattering in the cold wind. Then the rest of his blood, the white blood, would come in great bursts, one for each heartbeat, until there were no heartbeats."
ReplyDeleteI chose this passage because it really shows the release of John’s built up anger, I believe. Throughout the entire book John has so much self-conflict since he was adopted by white parents but is Indian. John at times in the book seems to be troubled on whether he is really Indian or not. I think the characters like Wilson and Dr. Mather are mocking people like John. Wilson is a white male, but claims he has a slight hint of Indian blood. Dr. Mather is also a white male but since he has studied Indian culture and lived on a reservation, he believes he is more Indian than Marie, a true Spokane Indian. In this particular passage John physically harms Wilson. Although John is not particularly close with Wilson at all in the story, I find this passage ironic. He is finally ending the struggles of people mocking the Indian culture. Whenever it says that Wilson would bleed out all of his Indian blood and it would only be a few drops, he is signifying that Wilson is not a true Indian. I also found it interesting that he mentioned him to have two different types of blood; Indian blood and white blood. To me, that demonstrates the barrier between Indians and whites.
The entire story Indians and whites constantly struggle. John also struggles with being Indian in a white family. We never really see John get physically angry until this passage which is at the end of the book. By harming Wilson, John is releasing his anger that he has towards white people mocking the Indians. After saying this, John actually leaves a mark across Wilson’s face so that everyone will know. Although this passage is not very long, I think it speaks clearly. To me it really presents that there is a difference in Indians and white people and also is kind of a symbol for the struggle between the two different races. It also hints that John is not the Indian Killer because he pulls out a dull knife and is unsure if it will even cut Wilson. The passage was powerful and had a deeper meaning to me as the reader.
pg. 220
ReplyDelete"See," said the Indian, “I’m keeping track. We all are. Every Indian is keeping score.What?This Killer"s got himself two white guys? And that little white boy,enit?This Killer’s got a long ways to go.Man he's the underdog."
I chose this passage because of its association to the mind set of many and racism or prejudices. There are many people who believe that my causing bodily harm or death to persons of a particular race can resolve or make up for injustices caused by that race. In my opinion violence or discrimination can never really help the situation, but they only make them worse. Often those being targeted or victimized by these acts should not be held accountable when they weren't the ones initially responsible. Violence or hatred can never compensate them for discrimination of any kind. The acts of the Indian Killer may not be racially motivated. They may personal and may help to determine who the killer really is.
The true identity of the Killer were never revealed, even though there were a few suspects, one would have to question if there was one particular suspect. The book goes back and forth to the different characters and reasons or motives for wanting to act out or commit acts of. My first thought was Reggie Polatkin because of the mistreatment by his father for being Indian and wanting him to conform to his way of thinking that all Indians were “savages”. But then my attention turn to John Smith who may have been out raged because of not knowing his true heritage and by acting out through violence.
So by the end of the book I was still wrestling with who the real “Indian Killer” was or if there was a killer at all.
I love the passage from page 253 when Carlotta tells John he has something special inside of him.
ReplyDelete“’You see, John-John, I think I know a little about you. I think I know a little of what you want. I can feel it in here.’ Carlotta touched her chest. ‘You got something special about you, enit?’ Then lower and deeper, as if her voice were coming from a different place inside of her. ‘Real Special.’”
I love this passage because I believe everyone has something special inside of them, even crazy John Smith. Many people would think that John Smith would be incapable of accomplishing anything, but Carlotta believes in him. Carlotta in a way shows John the hidden potential inside of himself. Her kindness touched me, and I wish more people were as kind hearted as she was. This passage reminds me to embrace my differences and use my talents to do great things.
Everyone has the potential to do great things. We each have different gifts and abilities to help us accomplish the tasks we want to accomplish. Every person is created uniquely and differently, but the differences make each person special. I believe that anyone can do anything if they have confidence in themselves.
A real life example of this occurred in my own life very recently. My pastor’s daughter, Bethany, just celebrated her thirteenth birthday this past weekend. For her birthday, she decided she wanted to help people who are less fortunate than she is. She pleaded with members of my church and over 350 volunteers came together and helped create over 80,000 meals for malnourished children over seas. She accomplished her dream. Some people may have thought she was crazy, but she used the abilities and passion she had to gather people together and accomplish this huge task.
A quote that stood out to me in Indian Killer is "We are what We have lost." It's so powerful by using such few words. It stands out to me because I have lost so much in my life and I believe it has made me a stronger and better person. Whether it be family members that I have lost, or lost loves, I have learned from them and have learned to not take life for granted. I believe what we have lost builds our personality and how we act altogether. Even though losing is always hard, it's also a good thing in such ways that it helps us live better.
ReplyDelete“The adoption agency refused to divulge John's tribal affiliation and sealed all of his birth record.” This sentence I selected is from page 12 in Indian Killer. This statement is the start and cause of all of John’s troubles throughout the rest of the book. John’s parents, especially his mother Olivia, did everything they could to give him opportunities to learn about Native Americans and make him feel knowledgeable about Indians. Since he does not know what tribe his mother is in or how to get a hold of her, he becomes curious and angry as he gets older. This causes him to have a lot of problems fitting in and he tries to search for an identity and information on his mother, as he gets older.
ReplyDeleteThis sentence and everything that happened after about his longing for his mother and family is something I can relate to. I myself was not adopted, but my mother was. Her adoptive parents left some information available for her to see and just as John is curious as a child, so was she. She looked into the information about her biological parents and found out who her father and mother were. They happened to live right outside of Chicago and owned a company that she knew of. After researching more she figured out exactly who her dad is and has known him about him for years. She never had the guts to contact him, but my brother, sister and I have all had the urge and almost did multiple times. We all constantly wonder what they are like and if we look like them, or if we have any cousins that we would like to meet. Although my grandparents are great and I would not trade them for the world, I can relate to John Smith the whole time while he is wondering about his mother and the sense of not belonging.
I chose a passage from page 91 where Bird is talking to his son Reggie.
ReplyDelete“Come on you little shit,” Bird had whispered. “You want to be a dirty Indian your whole life? What’s the answer?
“Dad I don’t know.”
“What?”
“I don’t know, I’m sorry.”
Bird had slapped Reggie across the face.
This passage spoke to me in a very intense manner. It evoked anger in me when I read it. It’s particularly hard for me to imagine this happening in the real world. I’m sure it does happen but based on my life experiences this act just seems odd and cruel.
I also believe that this is the main source for all of Reggie’s built up anger and aggression. By his dad talking to him this way and beating the ever loving tar out of him he learns to hate “hostile Indians”. These hostile Indians according to Bird are basically all the other Indians. So Bird is basically trying to beat and shame all of the Indian out of Reggie and make him resent Indians as well. I believe this would also leads to Reggie’s resentment of white people as well since his father is white.
Ultimately, because of this hatred of Indians and whites all caused by the same man, Reggie’s emotions are pretty much spinning in a whirlwind. Relating this to the real world, this could explain a lot about some of the emotionally angry people. I’m not one to say that the way people act are based on one particular experience or group of experiences with a person, but I do believe this can mess up the framework for starting normal healthy relationships with people. I could only imagine how it would be hard, for anyone who has been through what Reggie has been though, to talk to people or start relationships with people and not fear being immediately judged or be in fear of getting hurt mentally or physically.
On page 208 there is a passage that struck me as one that actually negatively “lifts up” the Indians by saying that they are put in a higher place than everyone else with negative and false facts in response to the Indian Killer by Truck.
ReplyDeleteThe passage in the 3rd paragraph,“...I mean what happens to a child that is given everything he wants? That child becomes an aggressive, domineering brat. Well, citizens, we keep giving Indians everything they want. We give them fishing rights, hunting lands. We allow them to have illegal casinos on their land. They have rights that normal Americans do not enjoy. Indians have become super citizens, enjoying all the advantages of being Americans while reveling in the special privileges they receive just for being Indians.”
The reason that I chose this certain passage was the fact that Truck is describing the things that Indians were given to them, but it lacks any of the truth in which that Indians are no super citizens, if they then they would have had his job already, since you know, they are given everything. When he talks about a child who is given everything “...becomes an aggressive, domineering brat.” he is not really lying there, but to say that is what the Indians are becoming is nothing short of hostility. Any race that is given to much can become that bratty little child. I feel that whites are the ones who are prone to this type of behavior more than anyone else. What may seem like a lot that is given to them is actually not that much. Saying that the Indians have rights that normal Americans do not is not exactly correct. Yes they are given many rights that Americans already have, but there is nothing to say that they are above anyone else. John worked at a normal construction job, Marie went to college like every other nationality in the country has the opportunity to have. It's just that not every one of them is able to. Also when he says that Indian's are given special privileges just for being Indians, well didn't we get special privileges just being white during the segregation? There are many things given to us whites that we take and have taken advantage of. True there are certain advantages given to certain peoples, but that doesn't mean that another doesn't have another one. I'm not trying to personally out any certain group or show favoritism to another, but more or less arrive at an equal standing with the situation being presented.
“Dr. Mather, I hear you know who the Indian Killer is.”
ReplyDelete“Well, Officer, I don’t know who the Indian Killer is, but I have some information you may find useful in your investigation.”
“And?”
“Well, it’s about a former student of mind, a Spokane Indian named Reggie Polatkin.”
“Any relation to Marie Polatkin?”
“Why, yes. They’re cousins. How do you know her?”
“She’s the Sandwich Lady.”
“Excuse me?”
“She delivers sandwiches to the homeless.”
“Really. I can’t imagine her in such a role.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, she always seems so impulsive, so emotional. What’s the word I’m searching for? So individualistic. Not tribal at all. I mean, she actually threatened me with physical violence earlier today.”
I chose this passage from the book, Indian Killer, because I felt it was a great portrayal of how people cast judgment on others without knowing who they are. How many people take the time to actually get to know someone? Just like Dr. Mather, many people think they know what type of person someone is without actually getting to know them. People are not always as they seem. I can’t say how many times I have met someone and thought they were one way, but after getting to know them, found they are different than I thought. Or vice versa, many of my friends, after spending time with me, find I am different than their first impression. Often times we evaluate others by appearance, by job status, by ethnicity, or even religion. I believe this idea of categorizing people permeates throughout the book. Dr. Mather makes several assumptions of Marie because of her ethnicity. From his statement, we find he assumes she should be tribal, non-individualistic, and non- violent. Also in the book, we find white people assume that all Indians are bad. Because it is an Indian doing the killing, all of them must be locked up! What’s that old saying? You can’t judge a book by its cover.
“Martha Polatkin had married Bird because she was searching for a way off the reservation. She’d wanted to have a big house, a nice car, green grass, and, no matter how cruel Bird was, she’d known he could provide her with all of that. And because he had, in fact, provided her with all of that, she’d tried to ignore Bird’s hatred of “hostile” Indians, even after he’d impregnated her and she’d given birth to Reggie. As for Bird Lawrence, he’d hated hostile Indians so much that he insisted Reggie use Polatkin, his Indian surname, until he’d earned the right to be a Lawrence, until he’d become the appropriate kind of Indian” (92).
ReplyDeleteI chose this passage not only because it really happens but also to me it’s funny because a lot of people actually do it for money. If I was in Martha’s situation I would probably do the same thing but I don’t know if I could take the abuse. Living on the reservation would be hard and I don’t blame her why she married Bird for a nice house, nice car, and money. No one could imagine the hardships that people on reservations have to go through. Even though Marie is gone Bird still has someone to abuse their son, Reggie. Bird told Reggie things about Indians and how he shouldn’t be like them. Reggie has his mother’s last name because Bird doesn’t believe he has earned his last name. Marie is a very strong woman to let a man push her around, and still be loyal and kind as Sherman Alexie makes her. Not only does this passage show that a lot of people today marry for money but also that having a better life can simply mean being abused but having better homes, cars, and having more money.