Textual Analysis of Alexie’s “Because my Father Always Said...”
Textual Analysis Essay
Textual Analysis of Alexie’s
“Because my Father Always Said...”
America truly is the salad bowl of cultures from around the whole world. However, there is often times a dominating cultural structure that makes it difficult to attain peace among the diverse cultural groups of America. Sherman Alexie’s short story, Because my Father Always Said He Was the Only Indian Who Saw Jimi Hendrix Play ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ at Woodstock, displays the difficulty of the Native American people having to cope with the dominating culture that they are inevitably being shoved into. The main character Victor, a young boy who reflects much of Alexie’s personal traits, tells the story and struggle of his people through the life of his father. His father was a Native American man, troubled by the hardships of life on the reservation, who sought to escape his troubles by immersing himself into drinking, music and riding his motor cycle. The story is centered on one event in which Victor’s Father, after being released from prison for beating a National Guard Private, hitchhikes to Woodstock where he sees Jimi Hendrix play the Star Spangled Banner. Jimi Hendrix’s rendition of the Star Spangled Banner becomes a key reference in the short story, addressing the relationship of Victor and his father, the hardship of living in a society hostile to the Native American heritage, and war. In his short story, Alexie utilizes comparison and contrast between the young and old generations displayed in the relationship between Victor and his father in order to show the lack of understanding and relatablility between the different generations. Alexie also uses personification of music and alcoholism as generators of freedom, in order to communicate to the American and Native American people, the lingering damage of Native American people assimilating into a hostile and foreign, dominant culture, and how to cope with the clashing of two cultures. It is important to
Textual Analysis of Alexie’s
“Because my Father Always Said...”
America truly is the salad bowl of cultures from around the whole world. However, there is often times a dominating cultural structure that makes it difficult to attain peace among the diverse cultural groups of America. Sherman Alexie’s short story, Because my Father Always Said He Was the Only Indian Who Saw Jimi Hendrix Play ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ at Woodstock, displays the difficulty of the Native American people having to cope with the dominating culture that they are inevitably being shoved into. The main character Victor, a young boy who reflects much of Alexie’s personal traits, tells the story and struggle of his people through the life of his father. His father was a Native American man, troubled by the hardships of life on the reservation, who sought to escape his troubles by immersing himself into drinking, music and riding his motor cycle. The story is centered on one event in which Victor’s Father, after being released from prison for beating a National Guard Private, hitchhikes to Woodstock where he sees Jimi Hendrix play the Star Spangled Banner. Jimi Hendrix’s rendition of the Star Spangled Banner becomes a key reference in the short story, addressing the relationship of Victor and his father, the hardship of living in a society hostile to the Native American heritage, and war. In his short story, Alexie utilizes comparison and contrast between the young and old generations displayed in the relationship between Victor and his father in order to show the lack of understanding and relatablility between the different generations. Alexie also uses personification of music and alcoholism as generators of freedom, in order to communicate to the American and Native American people, the lingering damage of Native American people assimilating into a hostile and foreign, dominant culture, and how to cope with the clashing of two cultures. It is important to