While the bulk of the poem Capital Punishment by Sherman Alexie concentrates on an Indian facing capital punishment through the eyes of the prison cook, the last few lines take the focus off of the man about to be executed and places it upon the reader themselves. In these few lines the prison cook basically points out every one of us is guilty of something in life, saying, “,,,if any of us/ stood for days on top of a barren hill/ during an electrical storm/ then lightning would eventually strike us/ and we'd have no idea for which of our sins/ we were reduced to headlines and ash” (Alexie, n.p.). It may not be a stretch to say that the cook believes either all of us could deserve the death penalty or none of us do, or not to judge each other, and the rest of the poem would support this idea.
One reason it would be easy to believe that the cook takes the position to not judge others is the repeated phrase throughout the poem, “(I am not a witness)” (Alexie, n.p.). He says this a total of five times, although he I obviously witnessing the events before him. Although he is saying he is not witnessing these events, what he means is he is not judging the events. Although he offers honest opinions, he is not judging. The sixth time this phrase is used in the poem is right before the ending and the phrase is changed ever so slightly. At this point the meal has been prepared, and we can assume that the Indian has been executed. At this point the cook says “(I am a witness)” (Alexie, n.p.). While he has withheld judgement on the Indian and many others, he does not withhold judgement on the choice to take “1 death + 1 death= 2 deaths” and find satisfaction with this (Alexie, n.p.). It is obvious the cook feels the death penalty is either over used or never should be used.
One of the sins which the cook speaks of that could reduce us to “headlines and ash” is institutional racism (Alexie, n.p.). This is probably also where the author of the poem is shown the most. It is an Indian sentenced to death, and the author himself is an Indian (Frasier, n.p.). When the cook says, “You know, it's mostly the dark ones/ who are made to sit in the chair/ especially when white people get dead” he is speaking from the prejudice experienced by the author. The cook’s race is never shared, and perhaps is purposefully left ambiguous so as to not deter from the messages this poem embodies. Nonetheless, this line pointing out the institutional racism clearly shown in our justice system is powerful. It points to a truth few of us want to acknowledge. The cook, on the other hand, notices it as part of many things that we do societally that are sinful, or bad.
As we read further, we realize that though the cook is fairly open minded and judges little, he does have contempt for those working within the corrupt prison. He says that if he, ‘add too much/ salt or pepper to the warden's stew./ He can eat what I put in front of him” (Alexie, n.p.). While he could care less about the warden’s food, he prepares the Indians last meal with tenderness and care (Alexie, n.p.). His compassion for the Indian is also shown when he explains why the Indian is being executed as, “this Indian killer pushed/ his fists all the way down/ a white man’s throat, just to win a bet/ about the size of their hearts/ Those Indians are always gambling” (Alexie, n.p.). It is as if he is explaining away the actions of the Indian in two ways. First of all, the white man was just as involved in the bet as the Indian was. Secondly, he explains that Indians always gamble.
The ultimate point of the poem, and what leads us into the ending, is when the cooks says, “I heard a story once about some reporters/ at a hanging who wanted the hood removed/ from the condemned’s head, so they could look / into his eyes and tell their readers/ what they saw there. What did they expect?/ All the stories should be simple./ 1 death + 1 death = 2 deaths” (Alexie, n.p.). The cook clearly sees both deaths as equal, sine he adds them up to two deaths. It could be assumed that he views the execution as a state sanctioned murder, and therefore no more righteous than the murder committed by the Indian. This also speaks to his disgust with how people view executions. The reporters desire to see the eyes of the condemned while they hung is clearly just as sick as looking into the eyes of someone dying at one’s own hand. Both provide a rush to the observers. Not only that, both are murder. One is more accepted by society than the other because it is considered retribution, versus just being seen as a murder.
This poem brings up real issues with the use of the death penalty, racism and man’s innate needs. It also points out similar we all are, and that each of us has at some point done something bad and regrettable. While the Indian received the death penalty in this poem perhaps the cook is right; either we all should get the death penalty or no one should.
Works Cited
Alexie, Sherman. "Capital Punishment". Inlander. N.p., 1994. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.
Frasier, Joelle. "Sherman Alexie's Iowa Review Interview". English.illinois.edu. N.p., 2016. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.
