Select a brief passage from Sherman Alexie's
novel Indian Killer that spoke to you in some way. This
could be a passage that you identified with due to personal beliefs or
life experiences. It could be a passage from which you learned something you
find especially valuable. It could even be 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? Imagine the novel as a mirror for your life and the world around around you. What do you see reflected back to you when you look in that mirror?Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Indian Killer: Reader Response
Select a brief passage from Sherman Alexie's
novel Indian Killer that spoke to you in some way. This
could be a passage that you identified with due to personal beliefs or
life experiences. It could be a passage from which you learned something you
find especially valuable. It could even be 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? Imagine the novel as a mirror for your life and the world around around you. What do you see reflected back to you when you look in that mirror?
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The passage that spoke to me the most was the one on page 79 where John is talking about how he does not trust the foreman. Whenever he got close to John, John would look for his closest escape route and identified potential weapons. He always had to make sure he was closer to the elevator than the foreman. I did not identify with this passage but it did speak to me. It was a good reminder to me of why I am majoring in psychology. So many people walk around with these mental illnesses or irrational fears but no one knows it is happening. John's coworkers think he is a bit odd but they have no idea what is really going on in his mind. His mental illness has gotten so bad that it is impairing his work and other areas in his life. There are people out there every day that struggle with things like this but no one has any idea. I want to be the one person who can realize that something is wrong and help them through it so that they don't have to struggle with it the rest of their life. The passage hits home for me because I have a friend that suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder. It has gotten to the point where it affects her every day life. I hate to see that happen. Only a few of her close friends know about it, its not like when someone has a broken leg where everyone can see it, the only way people are going to know about it is if he or she opens up about it. That passage made me sad because he is suffering alone. Although is made me sad, it reassured me that I am going into the right field of work.
ReplyDeleteThe most meaningful passage to me is about identity, which is a reoccurring theme throughout the novel. “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.” John has no idea what Native American tribe he belongs to, which leads to case of identity disorder. Not saying he is mentally diagnosed, but in the sense that he feels as if he doesn’t belong to any group, an outcast to everyone. John’s lack of identity leads to serious problems and is an issue he struggles with as the plot progresses. Maggie stated that John does suffer a psychological disorder, which could explain John’s behavior and actions relating to his identity; however, diagnosis of a fictional character is subjective. John states that he is a certain tribe based on the group he is trying to identify with. Trying to explain your identity to this subculture is very challenging, since it becomes a test to prove your heritage. John’s lack of knowledge to his Native American heritage is the central problem to his identity issue.
ReplyDeleteThis passage was meaningful to me because as an adolescent, it was a very difficult transitional period trying to identify with the right crowd. Just about every person can relate to this phenomenon, it’s a part of growing up. Growing up in a small rural town, identifying with the right crowd is more difficult because your role models are limited, so you have to fit in with a select few of cliques. As an adolescent I was known for changing my ideas or behaviors, trying to impress peers to feel that acceptance and belonging. Just as John explains, telling people exactly what they want to hear or think, leads to acceptance but comes with an identity crisis. John, like many others struggle with identity issues, even later in life. Identity not only applies to John, but also applies to all the characters in the novel, including the real identity of the Indian Killer.
I agree that Johns issues probably did start with the fact that he was adopted by a white family. I think that everyone does struggle with their identity growing up but I cant imagine how much harder it must be for children who are adopted and have no idea the back ground they came from.
DeleteOne of the passages that caught my attention relates to the idea of racism. It begins on page 386, “...it's like this white-Indian thing has gotten out of control. And the thing with the blacks and the Mexicans. Everybody blaming everybody...I don't know what happened. I can't explain it all. Just look around at the world. Look at this country. Things just aren't like they used to be.'
ReplyDelete'Son, things have never been like what you think they used to be.”
At this point in the story, Sean Ward is confessing the crimes that he, Aaron Rogers and Barry Church committed against Native Americans. This conversation takes place between Sean and an unknown character assumed to be a police officer. In this passage, Sean is attempting to justify the actions of his friends. The officer’s response, “Son, things have never been like what you think they used to be,” is an eye opener to the idea that racism doesn’t go away just because we choose not to see it.
Racism is a major theme throughout this novel. In her discussion of the novel, Loree Westron randomly selects 40 pages in search of direct racial references. She finds that “The number of references was as high as 30 on a single page, and the average worked out to 8.2.” Although this passage from the novel embodies the idea that racism is, and has always been everywhere we look, it wasn’t the author’s intention to be racist. Rather Alexie attempts to show his readers how often racism happens right under our noses.
Many people today, whether they realize it or not, are “but…” racists. They will say things like “I’m not racist, but…” and then some stereotypical racial remark. Although I cannot think of a specific example, I do not deny the probability that I used this phrase at one point. There are copious amounts of these examples, so much so that there are entire websites and books dedicated to the idea of “not racist, but... ”. Human beings have a tendency to be afraid of what is different and racism will persist as long as people continue view other races as different.
I loved this scene in the novel too. It really hit a home run in saying "things have never been like what you think they used to be". The world changes so rapidly but yet slow enough we can see the progression of racism rising and falling in a circular way. I feel that the novel wouldn't be anything without the irony of racism in how Indians are beating up whites, whites or beating up Indians but yet we are all supposed to live peacefully together. Leaving the police with the hard job of keeping the peace.
DeleteMany parts of Indian Killer spoke out to me, but the passage on page 245 starting with “The kidnapping of Mark jokes...” spoke to me the most. The passage speaks about Indian babies being taken away to live with other families, which ruins their culture and any possibility of a future for Indian children. This passages can summarize how the Indian killer must have felt about the Indian people having their babies taken away.
ReplyDeleteThis particular passages speaks to me because I feel as if I could understand why the Indian killer took away Mark Jones. From doing this over multiple years, Indian culture is severely reduced and the Indian people are eventually forgotten. The Indian killer gives the world a dose of it's own medicine, the entire community is severely wounded. For once throughout the story, the community's people can feel what the Indian people have felt for such a long time. Mark Jones is not at risk with the Indian killer, he is just proving a point to the community as a whole. I feel as if this passage alone can be the sole reason why the Indian killer exist in the story. This passage has so many deep meanings that can be expressed to the reader, which makes it a great passage to select. This particular passage was able to connect to me because I would be devastated if my family was being taken away, I too would want revenge.
Just as Alexandria Petras mentioned “racism is a major theme throughout this novel” is too true. The passage I selected about culture being taken away from Indian's is a form of keeping Indian people down, and not allowing them to grow. This passage opened my eyes to what Indian people must suffer from in real life. Having their own land taken away and culture, and their people being reduced to small numbers. Overall this passage has deep meanings within the book, and within our own culture.
One of the major themes of this book is racism and the creation of rather arbitrary distinctions between people of different skin colors or backgrounds. Although this is brought up on almost every page of the book, one passage that really stuck out to me was on page 273. This scene involves the character Robert Harris giving his testimony about the three men who attacked him in the reservation high school football field to a homicide detective. Harris tells the detective he’s sure that the men who attacked and blinded him were Native American men and then compares his unprovoked attack to the Indian Killer’s attacked on other white men, including an innocent little boy. Harris wonders why the Indians would go after people who haven’t done anything wrong, people who just happen to be white.
ReplyDeleteThis scene stayed in my mind more than any other because it underlines what I think most people seem to forget when it comes to racism; there’s no such thing as “reverse” racism or discrimination. Racism isn’t discrimination against one specific group of people because that’s not how it works. Anyone can be racist and no matter who the racist is or who is suffering from racism, it’s never okay. Have white people done horrible things to people of color in the past? Yes. Does that mean all white people are evil and deserve to be punished for the crimes of white people who haven’t lived for centuries? Of course not. That’s just as ridiculous as saying all the Native Americans in this novel should be punished because of what Reggie Polatkin and his friends did to Robert Harris.
A few posts ago, Alex Petras made a comment about how human beings are afraid of what is different and I think this can apply to everyone, not just white people. Thinking otherwise is just as racist as the people who claim Native Americans or Hispanics or black people are less just because they aren’t white.
Racism is one of many ignorant stances people take in the world today. I am so disgusted by the things I have heard come out of people's mouths concerning someone who isn't like them. I digress, the scene you chose from the book was my first choice and it really bothered me a lot, but I passed on it since you got to it first. Caitlin, I disown you as a sister.
DeleteI chose the same passage as Alexandria, “...it's like this white-Indian thing has gotten out of control. And the thing with the blacks and the Mexicans. Everybody blaming everybody...I don't know what happened. I can't explain it all. Just look around at the world. Look at this country. Things just aren't like they used to be.’ 'Son, things have never been like what you think they used to be.” and I agree with many of the points she made.
ReplyDeleteIn this situation race is going to be an issue. It unfortunately is the way it works in the U.S. Not many people want race to ever be an issue, or a factor in anything. But if that is the linking factor, then it will be. What I found most interesting was the last two sentences of the quote. Looking at the sentence “things just aren’t like the way they used to be.” First, I question what exact moment in time is Sean referring to. Race has always been an issue in the U.S. and all around the world. Look at Pearl Habor. Literally the next day we took U.S. citizens with dual citizenship in Japan and placed them in concentration camps.
What confuses me is the police officers statement about things never being like what Sean thought it used to be. Well like any American should know we have had our rough patches with racism. You know the whole slavery then segregation thing? Sure things in this book got a little wild but I think Sean has a decent idea of the past. He’s probably talking about what Seattle was like before the murders but as the theme of the books leads us towards - racism has been around, is around, and will be around whether its in a grand scale or just between too people.
Overall this quote really got me thinking about the book’s timeline and the our nation’s history of racism as well. It also led me to think about the racism I have personally seen and experienced in my life.
If people just accept that race is an issue then it will continue to be. Thinking "it unfortunately is the way it works" is like sitting back and letting things happen because the situation is hopeless, there is nothing that can be done. If this type of thinking is allowed to continue, if no one steps up and says "Hey, this is unnecessary," the situation will never get better.
DeleteSean offers the idea that “this white-Indian thing has gotten out of control”. The point the officer is making is that it was always out of control. He suggests that Sean may have been oblivious to the struggles Indians were having with whites, or “the blacks and the Mexicans”. Just because you tell yourself a problem doesn’t exist doesn’t mean the problem isn’t there.
The passage that speaks to me most is on page 151 where the killer is identifying each child, noticing things about them and how they intermingle that most other people would not notice. I identify with this passage the most because it is very easy for me to relate to. Like the killer does, i too like to sit back and study the group in question. I like to listen to their conversations and find out which of them are fake, which are real, which are cowardly, which are brave. It is how i have chosen my friends today, sitting back and listening, seeing how they act in their natural environments to see if i would enjoy their presence or not.
ReplyDeleteI could not pick a single one passage from this book, but I do believe that I can relate to John Smith, his whole character spoke to me. He was a man alone in society searching for his happiness that nobody else accepted. Nobody in my life has accepted what I have wanted to do nor have they supported me so I feel alone in this world just as much as John did in this novel. "He felt like a fraud" (Alexie 35) is one passage that I guess you could say I can relate but it also goes back to the character of John, I felt like a fraud on the Lincoln Land basketball team because everyone but me loved the game and everybody but me really wanted to be on that team, so I felt like a fraud. I am not Indian, I have not had to suffer through racism and I believe this is the only difference that John and I have.
ReplyDeleteOpening paragraph of chapter 12 is one passage that spoke out to me. This paragraph ends with “He rubbed his stomach, remembered how, when he was twenty years old, he thought he was pregnant. No one had believed him, so he had forced himself to throw up every morning to prove it. For nine months, he waited to give birth, surprised by how little his belly had grown.”
ReplyDeleteI choose this passage because when I was reading it I stopped and reread it a few times to make sure I had read it correctly and understood what the author was trying to get across to the readers. It also made me think of the current marketing idea in Chicago using pregnant boys to demonstrate that teenage girls aren’t the only ones getting pregnant, hopefully leading to a decrease in the percentage of teen births. However, that does not apply to what this novel is about.
Thinking deeper into it, John’s baby could have symbolized his Indian side, his Indian heritage trying to escape out of him to either be present in his life or to relinquish him of his Indian blood. On the due date he had conjured up, he heard the drums and music pounding in his head with increasing volume. I think the harmony was his ancestors trying to tell him that he needs to embrace having Indian blood and to stop fighting his white parents. Olivia and Daniel did everything they could do to show John that there are others like him and he is not alone in the world. They were his guides into the Indian world. Enchanting him with powwows and all the books you could possible ever want to read on Indians. John thought since they were white and he was brown they wouldn’t be able to understand him and help him, but really he was just objective of the help.
John realizing that he is in fact not pregnant and shouting “No! Don’t cheat me! Don’t cheat me again!”, could be him telling God that he can’t have something else taken away from him. John had a huge emptiness after Father Duncan had disappeared and I think after he did is when John really began to feel lost. John felt like he was cheated out of the only thing, only person he knew who was Indian and who was teaching him, showing him history of Indians and Christians. Somehow Father Duncan connected the dots in John’s head.
The passage that stuck out to me comes towards the very end of the book. It’s in the next to last chapter when they are interviewing Marie. “No. Listen to me. John Smith was screwed up. He was hurting. He didn’t know up from down. He got screwed at birth. He had no chance. I don’t care how nice his white parents were. John was dead from the start. And now you’re killing him all over again. Can’t you just leave him alone?” (Alexie 417). The way that Marie phrases that response is the perfect explanation of John Smith. His whole life he doesn’t know what to do or what to think and it all started as soon as he was in this world. He was removed from his natural element and culture and placed into a culture that wasn’t even remotely close to the same. In fact these to cultures despise each other. As he grew up he knew things weren’t right. It really was ripping him apart on the inside. He did feel dead because he was an Indian without a tribe, he kind of felt worthless. I can relate to this passage because there was a period in my life not that long ago where I felt very much the same. I felt like I was so much separated from the people around me. When you feel separate from your “kind” it feels like it is a battle you already lost and you will never be able to win. As Dillon posted earlier it’s a natural thing as you grow up to try and fit in with cliques and feel in a group. Really though, I think John Smith already lost that battle at birth, at least in his mind. He spends the rest of his life observing and knowing he’ll never fit in. Which is very similar to how I have been for most of my life. Why fight the battle you’ll never win? Some people are just meant to be different. For some it comes by choice, but most of the time it’s outside actions that change a person for their whole life. Hence the story of John Smith.
ReplyDelete“Listen" said Mather. "I understand what you're going through, I really do. An Indian woman in college. I understand. I'm a Marxist."
ReplyDeleteReally," said Marie. "I'm a Libra.”
This excerpt from “Indian Killer” speaks volumes and represents the essential idea behind the racism present throughout the whole story. Professor Mather, runs the class Marie is taking, but according to Marie, his choice of literature is a joke and his personal experience is lacking. In an attempt to stand against her teacher’s methods, Marie follows Mather to his classroom and tries to express her feelings regarding his class.
Professor Mather is a classic example of a stereotypical university professor, who believes they are more intelligent and more capable than any of their students. He is antagonistic towards Marie and shuts her down before she can finish her statement. Mather is a stock professor in a racist novel who propagates misinformation to young minds, in a never ending cycle of ignorance.
This novel doesn’t need to be imagined as a mirrored image of real life, it shouts the truths that are already there. People like Mather continually poison the minds of hundreds of students with their subtle rhetoric and hidden teaching agendas. I have experienced these types of professors on many occasions, only to be shut down for speaking out against them because I am merely a student. I am lucky enough to understand the necessity to question everything I experience in school and in life, to understand the opinions of my peers and my professors and establish my own voice.
Being a teacher should be a position of unquestionably ethical standards with the sole purpose of giving students the means to understand the world around them. There is no room for biased opinions and loaded words in academia, unless of course you are taking a class regarding the theory and practice of rhetoric and debate. This passage ignited a fire of rage inside my stomach. The level of ignorance this world has to endure on a daily basis, from every avenue and every experience should not be so in the class room.
As far as racism is concerned, I have said this for a long time and I will say it to everyone in this blog. Racism will never disappear until the concept of race is removed from our minds. There is no such thing as race. We are all human and we all look different. Genetic differences account for eye color, hair color, hand shape, foot size and a billion other factors, including skin color. People talk about how much they can’t stand inequality, but at the end of the day they don’t do anything about it. Would anyone here stand up for what they believe in?
I agree with your overall point here, but there is no such thing as pure objectivity. I don't think anyone, professor or otherwise, can ever completely rid themselves of their biases, the agendas, the influences of their lived experiences. Using one's personal biases to influence others in a negative way is definitely unethical and, I would argue, dangerous.I think that how one responds to another's agenda has more to do with how much they agree or disagree with that agenda. If, for example, no professor had an agenda, their selection of texts, their lectures, their assignment would be divested of all meaning. That's certainly not a good alternative. i think the best we can hope for is to try to be aware of our agendas, our personal biases and how both affect everything we do. And yes, always question everything.
DeleteYou also make an excellent point about race. Unfortunately, I do not think that will ever happen. Humans naturally (?) categorize everything. It's how we make sense of the world around us including the people in it. Race happens to be one of those categories. We could pose the same argument about gender.
DeleteThe passage I chose to comment on from Indian Killer occurs on page 183 of the novel. Reggie Polatkin is sitting in a pizza place with a few of his friends and his girlfriend, who all happen to be white, when a drunken Indian stumbles in and proceeds to stagger over to a booth before passing out. Reggie’s girlfriend turns to the group and says, “I hate Indians.” Later on in the night, his girlfriend tries to apologize to Reggie for her remark, saying, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean you. I love you. You’re not like all those other Indians. You’re not like them.” (183).
ReplyDeleteI think this passage has a lot of relevance in today’s society, as well as addressing what I believe is one of the key themes of the novel: the idea of there being “good” Indians and “bad” Indians, and the idea that white people are the ones who determine which Indians fall into which category. I think this idea can be tied in with what Alexandria Petras said in her comment concerning racism and the various means that people take to cover up their racist beliefs and try to turn them into something resembling acceptance. She discussed the statement that I’m sure we’ve all heard someone make at one point or another (I know I’ve heard it many times in my own life): “I’m not racist, but…” In a way, this is the sentiment that Reggie’s girlfriend is trying to express. She wants Reggie to know that she’s not racist because she loves him. However, she immediately follows her statement up by saying that the reason she loves Reggie is because he doesn’t act like a “bad” Indian. Instead, Reggie acts like a “good” Indian, which, according to his girlfriend, means that Reggie acts white. I think this issue of dividing racial groups into good and bad, with good being those who act most in accordance with the racial majority and bad being everyone else, is an important theme throughout the entire work and can be seen in many passages through the novel, particularly passages involving Reggie.
I chose the same passage as Ryan Schulussler. It spoke to me for many different reasons. I could not decide who was right or wrong in this situation, Professor Mather or Marie. I agree that Mather is somewhat of a stock character but I don’t think he is completely wrong for shutting Marie down. He let her argue back and forth with him for a while until he finally got sick of her interrupting the class and shutting down everything he believed/taught in, in front of all his new students. Personally, I would never talk to a professor the way she did, but then again I have never had to deal with a stereotype. Marie is defiantly a round character. I don’t think it helped that she already had her own point of view about him before she met him. Marie was fired up from the beginning by the students talking about the dead body that was discovered and knowing that her cousin Reggie getting expelled from the university had something to do with him. To me it’s an ongoing question in my mind. Marie was right for standing up for her heritage and speaking out about something she believes in but would she still have been so judgmental towards Mathers if she hadn’t have known about Reggie?
ReplyDeleteThe passage that spoke to me was on page 21 where everyone was watching the game and john was observing the people around him. He noted that there were many different Indians with many different characteristics, like eye color and skin color. He then, while observing stated, “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.” The reason I love this passage so much is because it embodies what society is now. We’re always observing and comparing. We want so much more than what we have and we always want what another person has. Judging from the outside and not knowing stories behind everything. When the quote says … “never realizing that their laughter was a ceremony used to drive away personal and collective demons” , it’s meaning that people mask their pain and sins with temporary happiness. I don’t know if this is what was meant by Sherman Alexie for sure or not, but that is how I interpreted the passage. The reason why this passage speaks to me so much is for the fact that I struggled with an eating disorder for 4 years. I know all about judgment and masking pain. It’s a quality that many people do in today’s world. We live in an age where appearance is everything. The life that you have is an exact reading of who you are. You see a similar message on page 32, “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.” People wanting you to be something and you wanting to be something, you either are or you are not. Sgross1486 comments that they feel like a fraud in this world and no one is there for them. I know a lot of people feel that way, I sure did. We all need to stop trying to live up to someone else’s expectations and stop trying to “find” happiness and live for ourselves. We are the only person we will ever have.
ReplyDeleteWorking as a paramedic in Springfield gives me daily doses of trying to live up to someone's expectations. A paramedic can do a few more treatments than a RN, but the majority of population in the surrounding town thinks that we are a glorified transport to the hospital. This is very frustrating and demeaning to someone who went through two years of never seeing my family due to the work load, just so I could transport someone from their home to the hospital for no real reason other then a ride. The society that I work in expects the ambulance to pick them up and take them to the hospital with no questions asked. Some of the older generation will not let a paramedic treat them at all because they still think that we are just a faster way to the hospital. Paramedics as a whole are trying to break through this barrier, but it is a tough battle up hill. I still love getting in my ambulance every third day and working the streets, but there will always be that expectation that we are a glorified taxi cab.
DeleteI like the point you make about identity, Jessica. e.e. cummings wrote, "To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting." I think your comment captures the spirit of this quote. Certainly John and many other characters in the novel are trying to do just that, and they feel like they can never stop fighting for their identity. I think many of us can relate to that idea.
Delete“A capitalistic society will necessarily create an underclass of powerless workers and an over class of powerful elite. As the economic and social distance between the worker and elite increases the possibility of an underclass revolution increases proportionally. The Indian Killer is, in fact, a revolutionary construct” Despite the fact that Dr. Mather’s is a stock character this quote to me is a summation of the entire book. In the case of this book the Indians are the powerless workers and Caucasians are the powerful elite. Social economic status and the divide between the haves and the have not’s are a re-occurring theme in this novel but is based solely on race as the main factor for distinction. The author does allude to the few Indians who transition into mainstream “white” culture; and the few whites who are not college professors and professionals like the homeless war vet but the divide is constant. With the use of arguments between the characters and exaggerated hate rhetoric to exemplify the culture clash in the novel it is truthfully a hazy reflection of the modern United States. It is truly unfortunate but I personally feel as if I can relate to the characters in the novel and while reading it caused me to be more infuriated than probably necessary. Being a minority in a predominately white culture I have experienced the social economic divide that is so very common in the US but is amplified in the novel. I often saw the title African American instead of Indian while reading the novel because our similarities are undeniable. Like me many blacks don’t have an option but to transition into mainstream society and try to “fit in” because like John we are unable to identify our culture because it has been stripped away. Both ethnicities drew the short straw and because we are living in a capitalistic society we are inevitably made into the underclass of powerless workers. In our world the revolutionary construct is not being done in the form a physical murder but minorities breaking the stereotypical mold and bridging the socio-economic divide like Ursula Burns or Rosalind Brewer who are my inspirations.
ReplyDeleteI found the passage about how society had created the Indian Killer interesting. Truck Shultz's rantings about the status of Indian culture as a scapegoat for the wrongs of nation where rediculous and at the same time thought provoking. The auther did an amazing portrayal of someone that is far from his own personality. Nice post. This book was so well written.
DeleteThe passage that spoke out to me was more of an entire chapter and not just a small passage. In part three, chapter 28, Reggie is leaving Seattle. As he is walking down the country road, he is startled by a truck that comes up from behind him. The old man offers Reggie a ride and asks him where he is heading. Reggie tells the old man that he is running away. As both of the men are sitting in the truck driving down the road, Reggie asks the old man if he knows the story about Captain Jack. The old man states that he has never heard of this man and asks if he was in the Navy. Reggie replies that no he was not in the Navy, but that he was a Modoc Indian. Reggie goes on to tell the story of Captain Jack to the old man. Reggie states that Captain Jack is not his real name and that his real name was Kintpuash. He went on to tell the old man that Captain Jack and his band of 8 warriors, along with some women and children, hide in lava flow tunnels from the U.S. Calvary. They hide and fought the Calvary for some time before Captain Jack decided that he could not fight any more and surrendered to the Calvary. He surrendered due to the women and children. He did not want to see them slaughtered due to his fighting. Captain Jack was then hung and beheaded. His head was shipped off to the Smithsonian Museum where it was put on display like Archie Bunker’s arm chair. After Reggie tells the old man the story, he tells the old man that Captain Jack should have never surrendered and that he should have kept fighting. Captain Jack should have continued to run and hide and fight off the advancing Calvary. The old man asks Reggie if that was the reason that he was running. Reggie said that he was not Captain Jack.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter is the poster child for never giving up on what you believe. Reggie was not running away due to fear, he was running away to continue the fight. He was bidding his time and “restocking” for the next skirmish with the white man. Reggie is fighting for improving the rights and bettering the lifestyle of Native Americans across the country. He is breaking the stereotype of what an Indian is and proving that he can be just as good as a white man.
This chapter touched something within me, a fighting spirit that I still have to this day. Everyone has hardships during life and having the ability to continue the fight to achieve the goal that you set forth. The fight may be uphill, but having the courage to continue the fight is what this chapter is about to me. The best way to accomplish this goal may be to run for a little bit and bid your time like Reggie and fight the battle when the time is right. Either way, the fighting spirit that Reggie possesses is something that I can relate to in my past experiences.
The duality of Reggie was something I paid attention to in the novel. I admired his sister's and his passion for being strong, to keep fighting. At the same time I felt disappointed when Reggie went to such extremes to act on his beliefs. The Indian with blue eyes never seems to find an solution.
DeleteI think it is important to fight for what we believe in and for our own place in the world. I also believe that their are both beneficial and detrimental ways of fighting for those things. Due to Reggie's unfortunate and horrific experiences, I believe he fuels his own fight with hatred. This is destructive for both him and the people he encounters. He violently attacks others who have caused him no harm or demonstrated no ill will toward him. Once Reggie reconciles his own internal turmoil, I think he will be in a better position to fight in a more constructive way.
DeletePage 62. The Indians came to David's family farm to steal camas root because it was important to their tribe. David's father told the Indians it was not to be allowed. They came anyway. One night David, his brother, and father hid in a hunting blind with weapons with the intent to scare the intruders. Eventually a car pulled up with no headlights and an unsuspecting group of Indians, perhaps a family exited the vehicle to search for their beloved camas root. The root was nothing to David's family but had worth for the tribe. As the family approached and proceeded in doing what his father expected, the two young boys and the hateful father shot at the direction of the Indian family. Though the father told them to shoot over their heads, David's brother Aaron took aim with the intent to kill one of them.
ReplyDeleteThe disturbing part about this is that the impressionable young boy had learned the hatred of his father and thought it would be the right thing to do if he killed one of them. Perhaps he might have receive praise and acclamation from his brother and father.
Indian Killer touches on the hatred and racism that is instilled in the young. Passed down from older generations. Fathers, media portrayals, teachers and professors of higher education. I would like to believe that we are better than this as a people, but I find my own struggles with race and equality are difficult at times to censor to my own daughter.
Listening to a comedy radio station I hear a large percentage of racial jokes, which are amusing. I admit there are differences which should not be ignored and the stigmas of American society especially that when looked at from a different point of view are just plain silly. The author of this novel has taken a serious look at it and placed it next to violence and bigotry, and in doing so has made me fortify or reexamine my own ideals. It is important to make sure progress is in the smallest of details to the most impressionable of minds.
Indian killer is a very racially charged book because of the killing of one race due to the confusion of one man who is multiracial. He wants to get rid the half that he sees as infierior. Hes not alone their are others that feel the same way as he does. Some of them try to rub the indian off of their own skin. They should be proud of who they are and their heritage, Sherman Alexie was critized on his display of indian americans. He is revaling what I think needs to be shown. Even it goes on in todays society but we are not mindful of it. We have to be fully aware of whats taking place around us. Some people want to change the way they are becuase they dont like thier color or where they come from. Johns confusion cause to kill those who are for all purposes just like him.The 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).
John wants to be accepted without having to scarifice one or the other. He should not worry about how others view but only worry what he thinks about himself and the ones that love him. Most of the time people are concered with how others view them even though it should not directly aaffect their lives or well being. Perception is not always reality like most think. It is important not to give labels to individuals based on their race or ehtinicty. They should be judged on their actions.