Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.
Sherman Alexies short stories War Dances and What You Pawn I Will Redeem describe the life of Native Americans who have to deal with vices and vulnerabilities in everyday life. Their values and suffering have different causes, but they are similar due to the degree of pain projected onto daily actions. The first storys character is concerned about memories and references to the days when his father was alive, rather than his fatal personal diagnosis. On the other hand, the second novels hero struggles with individual addictions and social inequality, which do not allow for success. The author of both works provided emotional imagery that symbolizes the vulnerability of minorities to stereotypes, discriminatory behavior, and common human weaknesses that generate everyday experiences. The characters are similar in how family problems and death have permeated their daily lives, but differ in how alcohol played a role in the loss of loved ones or themselves.
The family is an integral part of any individuals life, expressed in mutual support and love. These concepts link both characters but in different ways. The protagonist of What You Pawn I Will Redeem has an emotional connection with his deceased grandmother, Agnes, who accompanies the person every day. The man makes decisions and mentally consults with the relative, although it is a psychological desire to return to the past. On the other hand, the character from the second story struggles with personal health problems, but their impact pales when compared to the deceased father. In other words, even a severe diagnosis does not distract him from the connection with his parent, with whom he sometimes wants to share everyday facts and jokes (Alexie, War Dances ). Thus, family relationships are those anchors that prevent both characters from starting a new round of life.
A derivative of the similarity from family difficulties is the theme of death and illness. The character of War Dances suffers from a painful diagnosis and loses his hearing, which causes fear of death. It happens in parallel with persistent memories of the father, which further exacerbates the psychological imbalance (Alexie, War Dances ). On the other hand, the homeless man from the second story purchases family regalia in a pawnshop, although the financial situation does not allow this. At the same time, the death of the grandmother starts a chain of irreversible processes that make the character declare that Ive been killing myself ever since she died (Alexie, What You Pawn I Will Redeem ). Thus, both characters are afraid of death, which once took their relatives. However, the irony is that the characters unknowingly moved towards that end.
Alcoholism prevents people from self-development and escaping from the past, which is noticeable when analyzing both characters. The homeless man from What You Pawn I Will Redeem suffers from addiction, which further exacerbates the longing for the deceased grandmother and the situation of a stray. The man asks spirits for survival advice, namely associates bottles with imagination (Alexie, What You Pawn I Will Redeem ). A similar scenario is seen in the second novels character, whose father died of alcohol abuse. The idea behind this theme in both books is that addiction keeps people in one place or pulls them into a psychological abyss, preventing healthy development and promotion of individual values.
Both heroes are fettered by past chains, which do not allow living in the present. The character from War Dances suffers from a severe illness, but even this news does not let him distract from the fathers memories. On the other hand, the homeless person from the second story experiences alcoholism and a destructive emotional bond with the deceased grandmother, keeping the man in psychological disharmony. The themes of death, family relationships, and addiction to psychoactive substances haunt the heroes and impose the knowledge that this will kill them one day. However, Alexies portrayal also reveals itself as a sympathetic and sincere people mired in personal problems.
Works Cited
Alexie, Sherman. What You Pawn I Will Redeem. The New Yorker, 2003, Web.
War Dances. The New Yorker, 2009, Web.
Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.