How to Write the Great American Indian Novel

Title: How to Write the Great American Indian Novel
Author: Sherman Alexie
From: The Summer of Black Widows
Date: 1996
Characters: Indian Men, Indian Women, and White people.

Sherman Alexie wrote this poem making a contrast between the Indians and white people. He used negative vocabulary in the poem, for example, he used the word "tragic" at the beginning of the poem. this referring to the Indians. Also, he described Indians' life as a tragic one:
"There must be one murder, one suicide, one attempted rape.
Alcohol should be consumed. Cars must be driven at high speeds." Additionally, this part of the poem is a reference to one of the short stories he published "Indian Education," where he mentioned all those tragedies. For me, this poem is very stereotyped, he said that for example, Indian men should not cry in public and he should be a warrior, and they are described as savages.
I really enjoy reading this poem. I think that in this poem he is describing how characters should be in the Great American Indian Novel, that it is not written yet.

Comments

"Mexican" Is Not a Noun

"Mexican" Is Not a Noun By Francisco X. Alarcón I liked this poem, from my perception it presents to the reader how it is to be Mexican, their reality. In the poem, the writer says that being Mexican is not a noun nor an adjective, it is a verb. Verbs are actions, the author is saying to the reader that being a Mexican is about actions; however, for them, their actions are seen with a negative perspective because of people opinion, normally a negative one. Francisco X. Alarcón presents a part of the reality of Mexicans in terms of jobs. He says that a Mexican life is a long low-paying job. This gives the reader the idea that they cannot get good jobs, jobs that can give them more opportunities, more incomes. They cannot have this opportunity probably because of discrimination, lack of opportunities. Also, in many parts of the poem, he uses negative words. He gives a negative connotation of being Mexican; for example, it is possible to see this when he...

Dothead

T.S.A By Amit Majmudar Setting: The setting for this poem is not one in particular; however, readers can infer it is based on different situations Asian people face in airports. Event: I consider this poem presents a reality a young brown male with Asian descendant faces when he goes through the T.S.A. Or in more general terms the reality that people from Southern Asia may face in this situation in the T.S.A. The Transportation Security Administration (T.S.A.) was an organization founded after the 9/11 attacks, was especially chary with people coming from the southern part of Asia. Characters: From my perspective, the character of this poem is the speaker. His experience in airports, and in life after the 9/11 How did it make me feel? Can I make any connection to my life? I really enjoy reading this poem, I consider it pictures how the fact that you come from another culture, or even how you look is going to create others perspe...

Every Little Hurricane

Every Little Hurricane By Sherman Alexie Setting: 1976, New Year's Eve, Spokane Indian Reservation Every Little Hurricane takes place in Spokane Indian Reservation, in a New Year's Eve party. It is about little Victor's family and how a "hurricane" passed through his house and his family. Characters: 1) Victor: It is the main character of the story. Victor is nine years old, for him, his family is important, despite all the problems they may have. 2) Victor's Parents: They were hosting a New Year's Eve party. They were so drunk that they passed out on their bed. Victor loves them and feels safe with them no matter what. 3) Victor's Uncles: Adolph and Arnold are Victor's uncles, they started a fight, they used to fight all the time; however, when the fight stopped they continued with the party. Every Little Hurricane is a story that reflects many of the social problems Indians have in reservations. From this story, I ...

Reflection Journal

Search This Blog