Essays on Pawn

Sherman Alexie’s poem “Evolution” is a scathing indictment of the white European settlement of the Americas, and the subsequent subjugation of the Native American people. By spinning the tale of white conquest over the Natives, and the economic dependence the Natives were forced to have on whites after that, into a fable involving famed Western icon Buffalo Bill, Alexie satirically points out the hypocrisy by which the white Western narrative makes a fable out of the removal of Native peoples and culture from their own hands. The poem begins with the establishment of Buffalo Bill, who “opens a ...

The narrator in the ‘What You Pawn I Will Redeem’, Jackson, tells the story of his life and the inability to complete school, his multiple marriages and several kids with different women. He explains how he ended up in the streets, how he uses his wits to win the trust of hotel managers for the use of hotel bathrooms and his close friendship with two friends, Junior and Rose of Sharon both homeless people of Indian-Americans. One day in their normal street adventures they come across a regalia that looked like his grandmother’s, and upon talking to the ...

A short synopsis: title, main characters, general plot

The Red-Headed League relates the case of the red-headed pawnbroker Wilson, who became a client of Sherlock Holmes after a chain of bizarre events occurred to him, leaving him baffled. The assistant of Mr. Wilson, Vincent Spaulding, who spends a lot of time in the cellar of his pawn shop, told him about the job advertisement that was hiring only males with red hair. The job was easy and well-paid and Mr. Wilson easily landed the job, as the color of hair satisfied the interviewer from the Red-Headed League. Mr. Wilson had to work only four hours a day ...

Requiem for a Dream (2000) Requiem for a Dream (2000) directed by Darren Aronofsky is a significant example of director’s skillful and subtle work. Due to the various techniques this film is not only visually beautiful but also magnificently tells story. Techniques that are used in this film are: Accelerated montage can be observed at the beginning of the film when Harry (Jared Leto) and Tyrone (Marlon Wayans) roll TV to the pawn-broker (0:04:56 – 00:05:00). The other example of this technique can be found in scene when Harry, Tyrone and Marion (Jennifer Connelly) have a party (00:15:39). Deep ...

“What You Pawn I Will Redeem” is a short story written by Sherman Alexie and it is about an Indian man, whose name is Jackson Jackson, who is in search of his identity in life. Jackson has friends and most of them are Indian and his faith in the humanity of people is great and amazing. He believes that the good he does will come back to him and he lives by this rule. Jackson never says that, but it is obvious from his actions. He is kind and considerate towards people and he is rewarded because of that ...