“Carrying the woman, he walked among these sinners, the obese and the vain, the intolerant and the selfish, the liars and thieves, the wasteful and the avaricious. And wasn’t he the greatest sinner? Wasn’t he more dangerous to the people who loved him than any terrorist could ever be?”(Alexie 95). Sherman Alexie uses many references to spirituality and religion throughout his Ten Little Indians novel, whether implied or directly. Alexie uses these references to make his reader think about questions involving spirituality or religion that readers rarely, if ever, bring up on their own. Sometimes, these topics are not brought up because they are taboo, other times it’s because they’re controversial or entirely based in opinion. In Can I
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The definition and qualifications vary from person to person. Many argue that we’re sinners from the moment we are born, and others may argue a sinner is only someone who doesn’t believe in their God. Alexie does leave a lot of things open for interpretation however, so the reader is allowed to bring their own experiences and opinions into the reading. In Can I Get A Witness? Alexie does imply a stance of his own by having the woman think “She was closer to God when her vocabulary was 75 percent smaller. But she’d give away all of her five-, four-, and three syllable words if God would return to her”(Alexie 70). Here Alexie implies that modern practices removes us from God. When the woman moved from the reservation to the city and adopted more modern practices she was “removed from God”. Sherman Alexie imply we are all sinners, but does not give a clear answer one way or another if there’s a way to overcome our sins or if it makes us not innocent. In Can I Get A Witness? the man observes people around him as he is carrying the woman while listing their sins. He then thinks “Failures...We’re all failures”(Alexie 95). Alexie implies that no one is perfect and we all have committed terrible sins. In Do You Know Where I Am? when the narrator lies to the lost cat’s owner he remarks “But it was Orwell who wrote that “saints should be always judged guilty until they …show more content…
It’s also a topic that is extremely debated and Alexie plays off this by having whether the reader believes in fate and karma to shape their understanding of some of the stories. Stories such as Flight Patterns, Can I Get A Witness?, and Do You Know Where I Am? can have their meanings changed based on whether the reader believes in fate and karma. Flight Patterns tells the story of a man meeting an Ethiopian man named Fekadu who escaped from a dictator and moved to the United States to become a taxi driver. Fekadu tells the man how he hasn’t seen his family in years and has rare contact with them. This rattles the man and leads him to making a greater appreciation for being there with his family. This story could have its meaning changed if the reader believes in fate. It’s possible it was fate that brought Fekadu to pick up the man to change his views. Flight Patterns has many parallels to common fate stories, such as a random passerby shows up to tell the main character a story about their life that changes the main character’s viewpoint on an issue. Do You Know Where I Am? also shares many parallels to fate stories, however it’s more focused on the lovers meet under impossible circumstances and have a small dispute that separates them for awhile before their fated love reunites them. Sharon and the narrator are “the only confirmed Native American Roman Catholics
The definition and qualifications vary from person to person. Many argue that we’re sinners from the moment we are born, and others may argue a sinner is only someone who doesn’t believe in their God. Alexie does leave a lot of things open for interpretation however, so the reader is allowed to bring their own experiences and opinions into the reading. In Can I Get A Witness? Alexie does imply a stance of his own by having the woman think “She was closer to God when her vocabulary was 75 percent smaller. But she’d give away all of her five-, four-, and three syllable words if God would return to her”(Alexie 70). Here Alexie implies that modern practices removes us from God. When the woman moved from the reservation to the city and adopted more modern practices she was “removed from God”. Sherman Alexie imply we are all sinners, but does not give a clear answer one way or another if there’s a way to overcome our sins or if it makes us not innocent. In Can I Get A Witness? the man observes people around him as he is carrying the woman while listing their sins. He then thinks “Failures...We’re all failures”(Alexie 95). Alexie implies that no one is perfect and we all have committed terrible sins. In Do You Know Where I Am? when the narrator lies to the lost cat’s owner he remarks “But it was Orwell who wrote that “saints should be always judged guilty until they …show more content…
It’s also a topic that is extremely debated and Alexie plays off this by having whether the reader believes in fate and karma to shape their understanding of some of the stories. Stories such as Flight Patterns, Can I Get A Witness?, and Do You Know Where I Am? can have their meanings changed based on whether the reader believes in fate and karma. Flight Patterns tells the story of a man meeting an Ethiopian man named Fekadu who escaped from a dictator and moved to the United States to become a taxi driver. Fekadu tells the man how he hasn’t seen his family in years and has rare contact with them. This rattles the man and leads him to making a greater appreciation for being there with his family. This story could have its meaning changed if the reader believes in fate. It’s possible it was fate that brought Fekadu to pick up the man to change his views. Flight Patterns has many parallels to common fate stories, such as a random passerby shows up to tell the main character a story about their life that changes the main character’s viewpoint on an issue. Do You Know Where I Am? also shares many parallels to fate stories, however it’s more focused on the lovers meet under impossible circumstances and have a small dispute that separates them for awhile before their fated love reunites them. Sharon and the narrator are “the only confirmed Native American Roman Catholics