"Indian Killer" and "A House Made of Dawn"

Paper Summary:

The writer compares and contrasts the works of these two writers whose novels both focus on the issues of cultural ties in a sub-culture that is dominated and oppressed by the white majority. The paper looks first at Sherman Alexie's novel where the main character John is caught between the two cultures, his Indian background by birth and his adopted white family. The paper then continues with a review of N. Scott Momaday's book, set in post-war America and analyzes the characters development as he struggles between the world he once valued and the white world.

From the Paper:

"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 and some street violence, both white against Indian and Indian against white. The killer is John Smith, an Indian without a tribe, which alone sets him apart from both groups. His name is clearly an ironic reference to the white captain famous for the story of Pocahantas. John is caught between the two cultures, for while he is Indian by birth, he is Adopted by a white couple. He rapidly slips into a delusional fantasy life in which he is the Native American hero able to right all the wrongs inflicted on Native Americans by European settlers and all those who followed."

More papers on "Indian Killer" and "A House Made of Dawn":

• Analytical Essay # 9903 : "House Made of Dawn" and "Indian Killer"
• Analytical Essay # 7132 : "House Made of Dawn"

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