Sherman Alexie's Indian Killer was an amazing book. His ability to develop characters and use of flashbacks made the book engaging throughout. Alexie uses the murders as a way to stir up the underling racial tensions between Native Americans and the 'white man.' In an act as simple as naming the serial murderer, the Indian killer, the city of Seattle was torn into two groups with fear being the one shared emotion. For me, the most telling parts of the book were the chapters John imagined his life on the reservation. He looked at what his life would be like if he had grown up as a real Indian. The reservation is a place of love and acceptance that he didn't feel in his life. This is something that all people do, imagine their lives as it could have been. What would life be like if the choices made in our life were made different? This becomes John's obsession, one that he can only deal with by his lust for the blood of the one who caused him the pain in life. John undoubtedly had some mental instability. He was constantly hearing music and saw father Duncan who had disappeared years before. This mental handicap probably played into his pain, but John had no way of coping with it.
This idea is also seen in Marie. On page 61, the narrator reveals that Marie feels her life is a constant struggle. As she confronts her teacher, she does it out of necessity. Struggle is her existence. This is what I believe is the theme of the novel. It is certainly about the racial hatred of the first nations people, but more than that, it is the struggle of the Native Americans. Marie's character is the most outspoken Indian in the book. She knows her history and believes in the Native American culture. She stands up to her professors, organizes powwows, and feeds the homeless Indians. For her, Alexie writes, "For Marie, being Indian was mostly about survival, and she'd been fighting so hard for her survival." This struggle for survival is effected every Indian in the story, from the homeless who had nothing, to John who was raised by a family that had everything. Even Reggie was trying to survive. He was beat by his father at a young age, and when he attended the University of Washington, his teacher broke the trust they shared. Reggie was the most promising student in Dr. Mather's class. When Dr. Mather's found the tapes of the Indian stories, Reggie asked him to destroy them. And then the falling out happened, where again Reggie was back being a ten year old boy, simply surviving.
Who the killer is doesn't really matter. It could be any Indian. It could have been in the cast of characters Alexie introduces, or more likely in my mind, some Indian the reader never meets. The killer's identity is not ultimately important, what is important is the genocide of the Native people and the elimination of their culture. The struggle to stay Indian, to understand what it means to be Indian.
I completely agree that everyone imagines a different life full of happiness. Unfortunately, most people whom are discriminated against and living in fear have to dream about happiness as opposed to having happiness. Sherman Alexie did leave question about the killer's identity. The part when John was getting his knife collection together hinted more towards My belief that John is the killer. Also the first victim he was carrying off on his shoulder to an abandoned house reinforced my belief. The fact that he allowed the boy to live showed me an understanding that he felt for the parents as he was seperated from his parents and proved further that the book was more about sending the message that revenge was the underlying theme. The revenge as a result of acts of discrimination from ignorant people.
ReplyDeleteI thought this book was a great story. The author was trying to let us see what it was like to live in Seatle at that time. When you said that john always was trying to find himself that is true. I don't think he ever found himself because he was always the outcast and he could never fit in. Even with is own family whenever his parernts kept on going back to his apartment and waiting there for hours and they would ask random indains if they knew their son John Smith. I felt bad for him maybe if he wasn't adopted then he would of had it easier.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t look at it in the same way as you did with your statement that "Who the killer is doesn't really matter. It could be any Indian." I think this is a good point although I think it does matter in some ways. I think that he left if kind of open so that the reader would really think about it and think of the other character to lead them into more deeper thinking. I do agree with your point about “what is important is the genocide of the Native people and the elimination of their culture. The struggle to stay Indian, to understand what it means to be Indian.” I agree that this is a large part of what Alexie is trying to get across with his book.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the way you pointed out that Alexie showed the different backgrounds of Marie's life contrasting with John's life. I guess rich or poor racial discrimination and reaches most ethnic groups. Some people just deal with life’s hurdles better that others, I guess.
I agree with your frame of thinking about the killer never being revealed as unimportant. If you have never been exposed to Native culture and the hardships they endure on a day to day basis you learn a lot throughout the novel. Although this sounds like a dead head thing to say, it's not about the destination it’s about the journey. The open ended way that the story is concluded does leave you reeling and wondering who it was but at the end of the day did it really matter who was committing those crimes? The lesson learned is left unchanged.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this was a good book and that John was trying to find himself because of all the discrimination between the Indains and The so called whte man but I believe that John did not find himself and what he was looking for. If he did he would not have killed himself at the end of the book. I also believe that Marie and Reggie were also tryng to find themselves in the book but they didt not take it to the point of what John did. I believe life would have been better for him if he was able to find out where he came from and who he really was. It would have made life alot easier for him. It could have compleled him inside and out.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that it was a great story. It made you think alot. I think one of the best parts of the book was while fighting aghenst the steiro types of indians it also showed that not all indians are good people. They have their problems also. This is one of the keys in all of us getting along. When have to look at ourselves before we look at others. I think Mr. Alexie did a wonderful job with this book making it a good read and also putting issues out for us to think about.
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