Critical Essay on What You Pawn I Will Redeem

Introduction

Sherman Alexie's short story "What You Pawn I Will Redeem" was published for the first time in 2003. Jackson Jackson is a homeless Spokane Indian who must search for $1,000 to buy his grandmother's regalia from a Pawnshop. All events take place in Seattle, and the story is told in one day. Jackson tells of his life, including poverty and the hardships he faced due to the injustices Indian natives suffered in America. Jackson spends his money on other things, like binging with his friends, when he tries to save enough money to purchase his grandmother's regalia. Although this story may be a tale of a homeless Spokane Indian living in Seattle and his trials, the truth is that it contains a lot of deeper meaning. It is a lamentation about lost culture, identity and land. This paper explains the meaning of the story "What You Pawn, I Will Redeem".

The title acts as a frame that informs the reader about the overall meaning and the agenda. The argot for a pawn shop usually includes the words "pawn" or "redeem". A pawn is an item of value that the owner gives to a Pawnshop in return for a loan. This item can be redeemed once the loan is paid back with the agreed interest. Some pawns cannot be redeemed, and they are kept in pawnshops. This is the case for Jackson's grandmother's regalia. This story is also important because the terms "pawn", "redeem" and "pawn" can have different meanings. A pawn can be used to refer to someone being used for selfish gain. A pawn can be described as someone who is manipulated and taken advantage of. This could mean that the individual is held hostage. Redeem could also be used to refer to atonement or correction for past mistakes. These definitions are the foundation of understanding the context of this story.

In the pawnshop, the grandmother's attire is used metaphorically to suggest the loss of culture and land that native Indians suffered in the US during colonization. In this context, the pawnshop is American culture. It is intentionally designed to marginalize Native Americans and reduce them to the lowest social levels. Jackson, for example, is homeless and poor, something that is quite common among Native Americans in the US despite his long-term residency (Daragmeh103). Jackson said, "...my family has lived within a 100-mile radius from Spokane for at least ten thousand year...flunked out after two semesters. He worked several blue- and white-collar jobs and had two or three children. Then he went insane" (Alexie). This sounds like the natural progression for many Native Americans. These communities are stuck in a vicious cycle of poverty due to historical injustices and marginalization.

This story reveals how Native Americans were used to be pawns by colonialists seeking power and land. Banner claims that the English colonialists arrived to North America to seek out ways to seize Native Americans' land. They did this by justifying their "conquest" of New England and refusing to grant Indians rights to their property (10). The imperialists created unfavorable laws and contracts and made treaties that allowed Native Americans to become occupants, instead of being landowners. This is why the majority of Native Americans in the US are affected by homelessness. Jackson states, "Homeless Indians can be found everywhere in Seattle." We are boring and common, and you just walk by us with maybe an expression of disgust, anger, or sadness at the horrible fate of the noble Savage." (Alexie 1). Native Indians were made to be pawns in this instance and were forced into hocking their culture and land with the hope of regaining their dignity.

The grandmother's regalia in the pawnshop symbolizes the identity, culture, land and culture of the Native Indians who have lost their homeland. Jackson states, "I didn’t break hearts into pieces overnight. They were broken slowly and carefully. I also didn't break any land speed records. I vanished piece by piece. I've been disappearing ever since" (Alexie 1). Although Jackson may be referring to himself, this claim is symbolic as it reflects the growing loss of Jackson's culture. This has been happening since colonization, and continues institutionalized marginalization in modern American society.

Despite the concerted efforts made by Native Americans to regain their position in modern society, the fundamental challenge remains, as illustrated in this story. Jackson realizes that he only has 24 hours to find $1,000 to redeem the regalia of his grandmother. Jackson declares that he is on a mission. Alexie 7: "I need to win it back myself." Instead of saving the money for the redemption of the regalia, he uses the money to buy alcohol with his friends. This is a typical example of the difficulties Native Americans face when trying to break the cycle that has led to them living on the streets like the character in the story. Jackson, while flawed on a personal level and representative of many of his people, is an accurate representation of the reality of most of his people. Jackson says that he is an alcoholic Indian with a bloated stomach and hopes to be able to keep enough food in him to live. (Alexie 8). He hopes to live long enough to see the next day and to redeem himself and his culture.

Jackson's story paints a grim picture, but he spreads hope despite it. Although he doesn't get the $1000 required to redeem the regalia, Jackson manages to pay $5 and get it. This is a testament to the strength of Native American culture and the ability of people to regain their rightful place in society. Jackson is optimistic despite all the difficulties. He says, "It's crazy. But I wondered if I could bring back my grandmother to life if i bought back her regalia." (Alexie 6). In this context, the dead grandmother represents American Natives' lost culture, land, identity, and land. Jackson is optimistic and hopeful that, even though he can't seem to find a way to redeem Native Indians and recover what was lost, they will eventually overcome the ingrained marginalization and regain all that was lost.

Jackson breaks into a dance to celebrate his grandmother's accomplishments at the end of the film, when he regains possession of the regalia. He said, "Outside I wrapped myself in my grandmother’s regalia, and breathed in her...Pedestrians stopped. The cars stopped. The city was stopped. They all saw me dancing with my grandmother. "I was my grandmother dancing." (Alexie 21). This story hopes that the long-term suffering of Native Indians will be over soon. The world will be amazed at this group's reclaim of their social status. The possibility of this dream not coming true in the next century is possible, but the author cannot help but remain optimistic and believe that a miracle will happen for the Native Indians. One possibility is that the Pawnshop owners might one day be kind and restore the land and culture to the Native Indians. Or, perhaps the Native Indians will rise up and claim what is theirs. The author of this story believes that no matter what the means to achieve the desired goal, his people will be restored.

Conclusion

This paper explains the message of the story "What You Pawn, I Will Redeem". Like most Native Americans in the US, the protagonist of the story is homeless and penniless. Although his culture and land were pawned by the US, he believes that he will one day be able to redeem what was lost. Jackson, even without the money needed, redeems the regalia of his grandmother, which is symbolic for the coming redemption of Native Americans.

References

Alexie, Sherman. "What You Pawn I Will Reply ." The New Yorker2003 Web.

Banner, Stuart. How the Indians lost their land: Law and power on the frontier. Harvard University Press, 2007.

Daragmeh, A. K. Tawfiq. "Messy Middles: Capitalist and non-Capitalist Encounters" in Sherman Alexie’s "What You Pawn, I Will Redeem" International Journal of Language and Literature.vol. 6, no. 2, 2018, pp. 103-111.