Sherman Alexie And Native American Stereotypes

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Sherman Alexie uses the stereotypes that have been cast upon Native Americans in his poem, “How to Write the Great American Indian Novel,” to show his audience how these stereotypes can completely shape the way certain races or cultures are viewed by people on the outside. He uses an overt tone of sarcasm to make the readers aware that these stereotypes are not always the truth. One of the ways he communicates his sarcasm is through the calculated and repetitive use of the word “must”. I will use Alexie’s own words to illustrate my points. “All of the Indians must have tragic features: tragic noses, eyes, and arms. Their hands and fingers must be tragic when they reach for tragic food.” From the very first verse of the poem, Alexie uses must two times and paints a very strong portrait of things that need to happen for anyone to write about Indians. Alexie carefully choose the word must because with that word, the reader is put in a position where they are not allowed to have any other thought about how an Indian is supposed to be portrayed. The ironic part of this is the word must also make the reader pause and question why it has to be this way. It serves dual purposes and he was aware of what that word would do. It is very sarcastic and pointed. The word tragic acts as an adjective that further expands his use of must. It is a very descriptive word that jumps off of the page and hits the reader in the face. If he were to put the word sad in its place for example, the reader would not get the same effect even though the words are synonymous. He also uses the stereotype that everything defining an Indian must be accompanied with some sort of sorrow or pain. This stereotype is interesting because it is not normally one that many readers would think of. Alexie uses deliberate words like must and tragic to describe a stereotype that is more masked.

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