What You Pawn I Will Redeem

by

Sherman Alexie

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Jackson Jackson Character Analysis

Jackson is a homeless Spokane American Indian man living on the streets of Seattle. He is an alcoholic with an unspecified mental illness, and before he ended up homeless, he dropped out of college, was married a few times, and had a couple of kids. Jackson believes that being homeless is the one thing he’s been most successful at in life. The story revolves around his 24-hour journey to earn the $1,000 he needs in order to buy his grandmother’s powwow regalia (which was stolen from her 50 years prior) back from a pawnbroker. Jackson belongs to the sizeable community of homeless American Indians who live on the streets of Seattle, and it’s with them that Jackson maintains a sense of belonging and family—although by the end of the story, each American Indian that he’s met along the way has disappeared. While Jackson is often highly suspicious of white society, he repeatedly praises the white people he encounters throughout the day and believes that they are both fair and genuine in their attempts to help him buy the regalia. Jackson comes to view the task of earning the regalia back as quest that he must complete for himself—to him, the regalia is a way of connecting with his late grandmother and, by extension, the cultural traditions that died with her. While he manages to come into some money in a variety of different ways, each time he has money he can’t help but spend it (usually on food or alcohol) or give it away to others. At the end of his 24-hour quest, Jackson has five dollars in his pocket, which is exactly how much he had when his quest began. The pawnbroker ends up giving Jackson the regalia for free, which Jackson views as a grand and generous offer, even though the regalia rightfully belonged to him all along. At the end of the story, Jackson wears the regalia and, in front of stunned onlookers, dances in the middle of the street, feeling that he has become his grandmother.

Jackson Jackson Quotes in What You Pawn I Will Redeem

The What You Pawn I Will Redeem quotes below are all either spoken by Jackson Jackson or refer to Jackson Jackson. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Native American Culture and Identity Theme Icon
).
Noon Quotes

One day you have a home and the next you don’t, but I’m not going to tell you my particular reasons for being homeless, because it’s my secret story, and Indians have to work hard to keep secrets from hungry white folks.

Related Characters: Jackson Jackson (speaker)
Page Number: 169
Explanation and Analysis:

Probably none of this interests you. I probably don’t interest you much. Homeless Indians are everywhere in Seattle. We’re common and boring, and you walk right on by us, with maybe a look of anger or disgust or even sadness at the terrible fate of the noble savage.

Related Characters: Jackson Jackson (speaker)
Page Number: 170
Explanation and Analysis:

If you put Junior and me next to each other, he’s the Before Columbus Arrived Indian, and I’m the After Columbus Arrived Indian. I am living proof of the horrible damage that colonialism has done to us Skins. But I’m not going to let you know how scared I sometimes get of history and its ways. I’m a strong man, and I know that silence is the best way of dealing with white folks.

Related Characters: Jackson Jackson (speaker), Junior
Related Symbols: The Powwow Regalia
Page Number: 171
Explanation and Analysis:

I set the crumpled Lincoln on the countertop. The pawnbroker studied it.

“Is that the same five dollars from yesterday?”

“No, it’s different.”

He thought about the possibilities.

“Did you work hard for this money?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said.

Related Characters: Jackson Jackson (speaker), The Pawnbroker (speaker)
Related Symbols: The Five-Dollar Bills
Page Number: 193-194
Explanation and Analysis:

I knew that the solitary yellow bead was a part of me. I knew that I was the yellow bead in part. Outside, I wrapped myself in my grandmother’s regalia and breathed her in. I stepped off the sidewalk and into the intersection. Pedestrians stopped. Cars stopped. The city stopped. They all watched me dance with my grandmother. I was my grandmother, dancing.

Related Characters: Jackson Jackson (speaker), Agnes
Related Symbols: The Powwow Regalia
Page Number: 194
Explanation and Analysis:
3:00 P.M. Quotes

I wondered if my grandmother’s cancer had started when somebody stole her powwow regalia. Maybe the cancer started in her broken heart and then leaked out into her breasts. I know it’s crazy, but I wondered if I could bring my grandmother back to life if I bought back her regalia.

Related Characters: Jackson Jackson (speaker), Agnes
Related Symbols: The Powwow Regalia
Page Number: 175-176
Explanation and Analysis:
7:00 P.M. Quotes

“Thank you,” I said and gave her one of the bills.

“I can’t take that,” she said. “It’s your money.”

“No, it’s tribal. It’s an Indian thing. When you win, you’re supposed to share with your family.”

“I’m not your family.”

“Yes, you are.”

She smiled. She kept the money.

Related Characters: Jackson Jackson (speaker), Kay (speaker)
Page Number: 181
Explanation and Analysis:
6:00 A.M. Quotes

“And somebody beat the hell out of you,” he said. “You remember who?”

“Mr. Grief and I went a few rounds.”

“It looks like Mr. Grief knocked you out.”

“Mr. Grief always wins.”

Related Characters: Jackson Jackson (speaker), Officer Williams (speaker)
Page Number: 186
Explanation and Analysis:

“You Indians. How the hell do you laugh so much? I just picked your ass off the railroad tracks, and you’re making jokes. Why the hell do you do that?”

“The two funniest tribes I’ve ever been around are Indians and Jews, so I guess that says something about the inherent humor of genocide.”

Related Characters: Jackson Jackson (speaker), Officer Williams (speaker)
Page Number: 186-187
Explanation and Analysis:
8:00 A.M. Quotes

The Aleuts sang their strange and beautiful songs. I listened. They sang about my grandmother and their grandmothers. They were lonely for the cold and snow. I was lonely for everybody.

Related Characters: Jackson Jackson (speaker), Agnes, The Aleut Cousins
Page Number: 191
Explanation and Analysis:
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Jackson Jackson Quotes in What You Pawn I Will Redeem

The What You Pawn I Will Redeem quotes below are all either spoken by Jackson Jackson or refer to Jackson Jackson. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Native American Culture and Identity Theme Icon
).
Noon Quotes

One day you have a home and the next you don’t, but I’m not going to tell you my particular reasons for being homeless, because it’s my secret story, and Indians have to work hard to keep secrets from hungry white folks.

Related Characters: Jackson Jackson (speaker)
Page Number: 169
Explanation and Analysis:

Probably none of this interests you. I probably don’t interest you much. Homeless Indians are everywhere in Seattle. We’re common and boring, and you walk right on by us, with maybe a look of anger or disgust or even sadness at the terrible fate of the noble savage.

Related Characters: Jackson Jackson (speaker)
Page Number: 170
Explanation and Analysis:

If you put Junior and me next to each other, he’s the Before Columbus Arrived Indian, and I’m the After Columbus Arrived Indian. I am living proof of the horrible damage that colonialism has done to us Skins. But I’m not going to let you know how scared I sometimes get of history and its ways. I’m a strong man, and I know that silence is the best way of dealing with white folks.

Related Characters: Jackson Jackson (speaker), Junior
Related Symbols: The Powwow Regalia
Page Number: 171
Explanation and Analysis:

I set the crumpled Lincoln on the countertop. The pawnbroker studied it.

“Is that the same five dollars from yesterday?”

“No, it’s different.”

He thought about the possibilities.

“Did you work hard for this money?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said.

Related Characters: Jackson Jackson (speaker), The Pawnbroker (speaker)
Related Symbols: The Five-Dollar Bills
Page Number: 193-194
Explanation and Analysis:

I knew that the solitary yellow bead was a part of me. I knew that I was the yellow bead in part. Outside, I wrapped myself in my grandmother’s regalia and breathed her in. I stepped off the sidewalk and into the intersection. Pedestrians stopped. Cars stopped. The city stopped. They all watched me dance with my grandmother. I was my grandmother, dancing.

Related Characters: Jackson Jackson (speaker), Agnes
Related Symbols: The Powwow Regalia
Page Number: 194
Explanation and Analysis:
3:00 P.M. Quotes

I wondered if my grandmother’s cancer had started when somebody stole her powwow regalia. Maybe the cancer started in her broken heart and then leaked out into her breasts. I know it’s crazy, but I wondered if I could bring my grandmother back to life if I bought back her regalia.

Related Characters: Jackson Jackson (speaker), Agnes
Related Symbols: The Powwow Regalia
Page Number: 175-176
Explanation and Analysis:
7:00 P.M. Quotes

“Thank you,” I said and gave her one of the bills.

“I can’t take that,” she said. “It’s your money.”

“No, it’s tribal. It’s an Indian thing. When you win, you’re supposed to share with your family.”

“I’m not your family.”

“Yes, you are.”

She smiled. She kept the money.

Related Characters: Jackson Jackson (speaker), Kay (speaker)
Page Number: 181
Explanation and Analysis:
6:00 A.M. Quotes

“And somebody beat the hell out of you,” he said. “You remember who?”

“Mr. Grief and I went a few rounds.”

“It looks like Mr. Grief knocked you out.”

“Mr. Grief always wins.”

Related Characters: Jackson Jackson (speaker), Officer Williams (speaker)
Page Number: 186
Explanation and Analysis:

“You Indians. How the hell do you laugh so much? I just picked your ass off the railroad tracks, and you’re making jokes. Why the hell do you do that?”

“The two funniest tribes I’ve ever been around are Indians and Jews, so I guess that says something about the inherent humor of genocide.”

Related Characters: Jackson Jackson (speaker), Officer Williams (speaker)
Page Number: 186-187
Explanation and Analysis:
8:00 A.M. Quotes

The Aleuts sang their strange and beautiful songs. I listened. They sang about my grandmother and their grandmothers. They were lonely for the cold and snow. I was lonely for everybody.

Related Characters: Jackson Jackson (speaker), Agnes, The Aleut Cousins
Page Number: 191
Explanation and Analysis: