Native American Literary Characters

Paper Summary:

Discusses theme of alienation in two novels. The characters of John Smith in Sherman Alexie's INDIAN KILLER, and Abel in N. Scott Momoday's HOUSE MADE OF DAWN. Various levels of alienation experienced by the characters (from family, from self, from society). Problem of maintaining cultural ties in an oppressed subculture. Setting & plot of novels.

From the Paper:

"The characters of John Smith in Sherman Alexie's Indian Killer and Abel in N. Scott Momaday's House Made of Dawn are each alienated from their society, an alienation that actually takes place on several levels--alienation from family, alienation from Indian society, alienation from the larger society of America, and even alienation from the human race. The process of alienation for begins in childhood for John Smith and becomes acute for Abel when he returns from army service in World War II. In both cases, the difficulty of maintaining cultural ties in a subculture that is dominated and oppressed by the white majority.

In Alexie's murder story, a serial killer is operating in Seattle and leaving behind scalped corpses decorated with owl feathers. This leads to a good deal of anti.Indian rhetoric ..."

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