Harvesting Native Americans: The Theme of Unwilling Sacrifice in “The Sin Eaters”
Sherman Alexie’s “The Sin Eaters”, a short story found within The Toughest Indian in the World, tells the story of a young boy named Jonah and his presentiment dreams about war that ultimately come true. In this short story, Native Americans from all parts of the country are stripped from their reservations, bused to prison-like camps, and utilized against their will by the government. When reflecting on this text, I find a theme of unwarranted sacrifice to be prevalent throughout many points of the story. This idea of forced sacrifice ties into the overall message of Alexie’s “The Sin Eaters”, and strengthens the image of loss and pain that indigenous cultures have faced due to colonialism and the American government.
The first part of the short story that I find the theme of sacrifice to clearly come into view is when Jonah and many other Native Americans are taken by military forces from their homes. In the last moments of the invasion, Jonah notices that both his mother and father are suffering greatly under the abusive actions …show more content…
While in this room, Johan is stripped, strapped to the table, and brutally examined/used by doctors. Not only is Jonah forced to surrender parts of his body, but he finds the doctor’s needles to remove pieces of his soul, his stories, and “pieces of [his] vocabulary” (115). At the end of this process, one of the doctors states that Johan is “doing a brave thing” (115) and “saving the world’ (115). When looking back at this portion of the text, the doctor’s claims that Jonah is “saving the world” (115) indicates that Jonah’s body is unwillingly being sacrificed for the betterment of the white people within the
Sherman Alexie’s “The Sin Eaters”, a short story found within The Toughest Indian in the World, tells the story of a young boy named Jonah and his presentiment dreams about war that ultimately come true. In this short story, Native Americans from all parts of the country are stripped from their reservations, bused to prison-like camps, and utilized against their will by the government. When reflecting on this text, I find a theme of unwarranted sacrifice to be prevalent throughout many points of the story. This idea of forced sacrifice ties into the overall message of Alexie’s “The Sin Eaters”, and strengthens the image of loss and pain that indigenous cultures have faced due to colonialism and the American government.
The first part of the short story that I find the theme of sacrifice to clearly come into view is when Jonah and many other Native Americans are taken by military forces from their homes. In the last moments of the invasion, Jonah notices that both his mother and father are suffering greatly under the abusive actions …show more content…
While in this room, Johan is stripped, strapped to the table, and brutally examined/used by doctors. Not only is Jonah forced to surrender parts of his body, but he finds the doctor’s needles to remove pieces of his soul, his stories, and “pieces of [his] vocabulary” (115). At the end of this process, one of the doctors states that Johan is “doing a brave thing” (115) and “saving the world’ (115). When looking back at this portion of the text, the doctor’s claims that Jonah is “saving the world” (115) indicates that Jonah’s body is unwillingly being sacrificed for the betterment of the white people within the