What You Pawn I Will Redeem Summary

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Response – What You Pawn I Will Redeem In the story What You Pawn I Will Redeem by Sherman Alexie we learn about a character name Jackson Jackson. Jackson and the author share some similarities. In the story they mention that Jackson was a “Spokane Indian boy” (Alexie 8). Sherman Alexie is Spokane Indian and is from Washington just like his character. A part of the author’s life reflected in the character of Jackson is their alcoholism. According to www.poetryfoundation.org “he had a successful academic career but began to abuse alcohol”. In the story Jackson states “But you have to stay sober to sell it, and I’m not always good at staying sober” (Alexie 14). Here Jackson is explaining how he was unable to keep a job because of the difficulty…show more content…
Every time Jackson comes across money he should be saving it but instead he spends it carelessly. This is an internal conflict he faces repeatedly throughout the story, whether to spend the money he needs or save it. After winning one hundred dollars Jackson gives away twenty dollars and then goes to the bar to spend the rest of the eighty dollars on shots. When at the bar Jackson gets so drunk that next he is dealing with Man Vs. Man conflict. Jackson refuses to leave during closing time and the bartender warns him, “You don’t leave right now, I’m going to kick your ass” (Alexie 21). Jackson then knocks out. Jackson is a round character he is very conflicted and shows shades of being a good and bad character. He often makes poor choices of spending his money yet when he spends it he is being generous. Like giving Mary twenty dollars, buying cousins shots and taking the Aleuts to the diner. Then he makes poor choices like spending his money on liquor or stealing money from Junior. Throughout the story it’s easy to predict that Jackson will not save the money he needs for the regalia. He falls under a certain stereotype that lets us know he is an irresponsible alcoholic homeless
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  • What You Pawn I Will Redeem Summary

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    Sherman Alexie’s “What you pawn I will Redeem,” delves into a man’s journey to reclaim his culture, tradition and identity. The story is told through a character Jackson Jackson, a homeless alcoholic who descends from a Spokane tribe of Native Americans who stumbles upon his grandmother’s regalia at a pawn shop. Sherman’s use of obstacles and wry humor as a survival mechanism is superb. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, “in January 2014, there were 578,424 people experiencing

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