1. John is an Indian child adopted by an attractive white middle-class couple. As he grows up grows distant from his parents and struggles with his identity. His descent into insanity is depicted through several anecdotes of his own and his parents. He gets an urge to kill a white man, believing it will settle his troubles and he spends time thinking which white man will make the most difference. Meanwhile, there is a killer on the loose who is assumed to be Indian because he scalps his victims and leaves two owl feathers by their bodies. It is strongly hinted that John may be the Indian Killer, though never explicitly confirmed and remains a suspicion. As the murders continue, an inflammatory radio talk show host incites numerous hate crimes. There are numerous accounts of whites beating up Indians, Indians beating up whites, whites beating whites, and Indians beating Indians; all stemming from tension caused by the Indian Killer. In the midst of all this is Marie, a college student taking a Native American studies class. She battles the professor every step of the way, questioning his knowledge in front of the entire class. She also feeds sandwiches to the homeless Indians regularly. She meets John and is intrigued by him, as is Jack Wilson. Jack Wilson is a writer claiming Indian heritage who writes detective novels about an Indian detective, resenting by true Indians as a poser. The novel ends with John scarring Wilson and committing suicide, leaving the reader unsure if John truly was the Indian killer.
2. The theme of the novel is vengeance. John and other Indians are seeking revenge on the white man, while whites affected by the crimes of the Indian Killer attack random Indians to get revenge. The novel depicts the chaos that occurs with this mindset.
3. The author's tone is blunt an objective. The bluntness can be seen with lines like "politcally correct bullshit." There is little subtlety seen from many of the characters. Still the fact that he presents both sides makes his tone objective. He captures the bigoted and from the radio show host, Truck, him calling Indians "angry, bitter people." His bigotry only makes him look foolish to the reader. On the other hand, Reggies attack doesn't make Indians look like angels either, as he "dug into his eyes, searching for whatever existed behind them."
4. Duality of meaning is used in the title. Indian Killer could mean a killer that is native American, or a killer of Indians as Marie pointed out. The novel also uses many anecdotes, as seen on page 76. This is an anecdote of the flak John would receive from his classmates for having an attractive mom.
Irony is evident on page 65, where a man tells his son "this is our land... this land has been in our family for years," after they shoot at Indians to scare them away. The irony is missed by the child but clear to the reader. A metaphor is used during chapter 8 when John likens white people to flames who would tear "eveything down and rebuilt it in their image." Father Duncan serves as a symbol; a symbol of an Indian turning his back on violence and vengeance. His presence is foiled by Reggie, who is extremely combative and searches for retribution every chance he can get. Another technique is dialogue, used to describe Reggie's relationship with his mom for the entirety of chapter 14. Another technique employed is juxtaposition when a Robert de Niro and John Savage film is juxtaposed into a group of white men's conversation. This is contrasted later when John Wayne is Juxtaposed into a group of Indian's conversation. Another technique is an allusion to Hemingway. This allusion adds character to a victim and makes it more upsetting when he is murdered.
CHARACTERIZATION
1. Alexie indirectly characterizes many strangers through their dialogue. Their words reveal their prejudices and values. He also indirectly characterizes Truck Schultz. All of his bigotry is evident through the words he chooses to use on his talk show. At other times Alexie uses direct characterization. John is described as dark, handsome, and six foot six. His attitudes are presented to the reader through the author, his actions only confirms the narrators characterization. Marie is characterized directly initially as Alexie describes her appearance and her presence at a protest powwow.
2. The author switches to shorter, more direct sentences when focusing on character. For example, he list actions and attributes to define John as "a successfully integrated Indian boy."
3. The protagonist is dynamic and round. He start out as an innocent boy. But his self-identity is muddled through various experiences and as his confusion grows, so does his insanity. By the end, we are not sure if he is a killer or not, but he is certainly not an innocent child. His suicide is actually an enlightenment; he feels free to find his true identity in the afterlife.
4.I felt like I had met a sincerely troubled person at the end of the novel. Alexie used enough anecdotes to make John's descent into madness realistic and tangible. I was impressed with his ability to make characters capable of extreme actions seem realistic with realistic motives for acting that way.
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