Jackson jackson what you pawn i will redeem character analysis

LITERARY ANALYSIS 2

Literary Analysis

Masai Dafar

Ashford University

Literary Analysis

A society is made up of different elements such as religions, spoken languages, ethnicities, traditions, and cultures, but all of these are linked by the need for connection. People in the community desire to have connections with others who are within or outside their circle. However, there is some other side of humanity that individuals seek in society. In the short story, "What You Pawn, I Will Redeem" by Sherman Alexie, the main character, Jackson, who is an Indian, is in search of something. While in Spokane, Jackson referred himself as an Indian boy as he led his homeless and drunkard way of life. In the story, Jackson lost his past, and he is struggling to understand the family heirloom, discover his cultural identity, and reconnect with history. Jackson conflicts with his own self; for sure, the self can be your great enemy or friend. This literary analysis will examine how the author depicts internal conflict, identity loss, and how the environment influenced his decisions throughout the story.

The story demonstrates an individual who has internal conflicts and who feels like there is an inalienable void inside him that he needs to feel. Jackson is an exact example of individuals playing in human instincts when he fights for his best interests. He became homeless due to his current unworthy situation and past hardships and unhealthy relationships. Jackson states, "Piece by piece, I disappeared. I've been disappearing ever since. If there's such a thing as an effective homeless man, then I suppose I'm effective." From this quote, it is evident that Jackson is unhappy about his current situation. Throughout the story, Jackson is looking for money so that he can buy back regalia that belonged to his mother, but he struggles due to alcoholism. His quest for $999 to get back his grandmother's regalia, which was hanging on a pawn shop's window, shows his attempt to reconnect with the culture he had abandoned. The regalia was the only thing he had left, and it reminded him of the ones that his grandmother had.

Some events in life can totally transform a person or define who they are. As Jackson was heading to the store to have his normal drinks, he had no idea that he will encounter something which was going to change his life completely. On his way, he spotted regalia, an item used by Native people at rituals and dances. The author explained that the regalia was recognized by Jackson as the one that was stolen from his grandmother fifty years ago (Alexie, 2003). The regalia is a symbol of identity because, in Jackson's culture, the item was used to enact communal rituals, visions, and dreams (Glatzmaier et al., 2000). At that point, Jackson realized that he needs to "redeem" what has been taken from him and get a piece of himself back. The storyline focuses on Jackson's humorous character, who, in his journey, collects money in twenty-four hours to help him attain his goals of reclaiming his grandmother's regalia. The author utilized foreshadowing to give a hint of the outcome of the significant conflicts and situations in the story.

Family items, such as the regalia, help in creating connections between the past and the present, and they are used to pass a family's culture and traditions. Thus, Jackson tried to get the item back because he wanted to reconnect with his Native culture. Though he had no confidence that the regalia was indeed their family property because he saw it only in photographs, Jackson went on to the pawnshop to have it back. Jackson could not get back the regalia from the pawnbroker for free despite having evidence that their family item was unique in that it had a yellow bead sewed on its side. Because the pawnbroker had paid for money to obtain the item, he promised Jackson to give it to him if he gets the money by the following day at noon. This was his turning point because he realized that to have a connection with his identity, then he must look for money to buy the regalia.

Jackson, who is the main character, is battling with internal conflicts, and he becomes dynamic as a result of the complexity of the situation. His first conflict is how to collect the money in twenty-four hours to take it to the pawnshop so that he can get back the regalia. Secondly, he was afraid that he might spend all the money he collects with his Indian friends on occasional food and alcohol (Alexie, 2003). His internal conflicts deterred him from easily attaining connection with the native culture. An instance explained in the story if where he used some of the money, he had to purchase lottery tickets. Despite winning$100, he did not buy the regalia but rather spent all of them in alcohol. Besides, conflict is in Jackson's mind is demonstrated where he approached a police officer to help him file a report on the stolen item. However, he did not use the police to retrieve the item back because he states that he was taught to rely on himself, and he believed in magic.

Like any other person, Jackson also has his own problems. It sometimes happens that something stands a stumbling block on the path to achieve the set target or goals. Jackson is a real depiction of an individual who has a fully developed plan and goal in mind but is prevented by an obstacle from attaining success. Jackson's intent was clear after identifying the regalia that he wanted to have it back, and thus he had to obtain money. It sounds normal that Jackson behaved responsibly after spotting his family's heirloom, and it is imaginable how fulfilling it is to meet his objective after being given some cash by the pawnbroker to begin. However, the situation turned contrary to expectations when the author reveals the character flaws of the character. Jackson's addiction to alcohol was his great obstacle to buying back the regalia because every time he obtained money, he spent them on foods and alcohol (Alexie, 2003).

In this short story by Sherman Alexie (2003), Jackson, the main character, is on a path to discover his lost identity by trying to get back his grandmother's regalia. The two words of the title of the article, "pawn" and "redeem," is applicable in the whole story. Jackson found his family heirloom in a pawnshop, and he wanted to redeem it. The regalia was not only a family heirloom but also represented Jackson's Native culture. Though faced with various obstacles such as internal conflicts while trying to recover his lost identity, Jackson finally managed to obtain his desires. The environment he was in greatly influenced his decisions throughout the story.

References

Alexie, S. (2003). "What You Pawn, I Will Redeem" Retrieved from https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/04/21/what-you-pawn-i-will-redeem

Glatzmaier, L., Myers, M., Bordogna, M. A. (2000). American Indians: Construction of Cultural Identity.