49 pages • 1 hour read
Sherman AlexieWhat You Pawn I Will Redeem
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 2003A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Essay Topics
“What You Pawn I Will Redeem” opens with Jackson declining to tell the story of how he became homeless. In what ways could the story nevertheless be considered a story about homelessness?
Discuss the ways Jackson acquires and spends money over the course of the story. In what sense could this process be considered “work”?
Jackson at one point tells Officer Williams that he “believe[s] in magic” (Part 15, Paragraph 81). What role does magic (or the possibility of magic) play in the story?
Jackson often references stereotypes or slurs associated with Native Americans. What point do you think he (or Alexie) is making about Native American identity?
“What You Pawn I Will Redeem” is often humorous in tone. What kinds of topics does Jackson (or Alexie) tend to approach with humor, and why?
Compare and contrast Jackson’s interactions with the pawnbroker and with Officer Williams. How do these interactions reflect Jackson’s relationship to the American economic and legal systems?
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