What You Pawn I Will Redeem Analysis

After a loved one has passed, many try to find the piece of them that is missing. In the short story "What You Pawn I Will Redeem" by Sherman Alexie, Jackson Jackson attempts to earn over nine hundred dollars to "win" back the regalia from his grandmother at the pawn shop. Unfortunately the one day he has to earn the money for the regalia, he only comes back with five dollars, the amount he originally began with. Superficial readers would believe that Jackson goes on the journey to only win the regalia back; however, he tries to find a piece of his grandmother along with a piece of himself in his life. Similar to the story “Araby” by James Joyce, the thought of fulfilling oneself with a missing piece is apparent. Just as the boy attempts to win the heart of his crush, Jackson Jackson makes an …show more content…
This present was everything he could think about and ignores everything else around him- proving Jackson and the boy are not in reality but in their own world. He attempts to fill that missing piece of himself by winning over the Mangan 's girl. In “What You Pawn I Will Redeem,” Jackson might be consumed by the dangers around him but however always allows his mind to wander to his grandmother who seems to be a point of relief for him, “With two dollars and fifty cents in my hand. I sat beside Junior and thought about my grandmother and her stories” (Alexie 1439). When Jackson finds the regalia within the pawn shop and finds the fee that comes along with it, most of us would walk away and say it is impossible. Jackson Jackson, who had five dollars to start with had many motivations, especially the thought of his grandmother within himself. With the utmost amount of money Jackson would have to come up with he does not see the "long- shot" in the task he attempts to take on- including after possibly receiving this money