Analysis Of Sherman Alexie s On The Amtrak - 1049 Words

In the poem On the Amtrak from Boston to New York City by Sherman Alexie, the speaker is portrayed as a Native American Indian who wishes to retake and make known his ownership of Indian land, which the white people stole. However, his sympathy towards his rivals seems to keep him from accomplishing these goals. First, we can plainly see his Native American heritage in the language of the poem. For example, he refers to the elderly woman whom he converses with as white (line 1), which implies he is not; there would be no real reason of mentioning skin color unless it was significant to him. The negative outlook the speaker has on the white woman s definition of history is apparent in his rejection of her historical claim. The woman says, Look, / look at all the history, that house on the hill there is over two hundred years old, (lines 1-3). He frowns upon her words, explaining, I have learned / a little more about American history during my few days / back East than what I expect and far less / of what we should all know of the tribal stories / whose architecture is 15,000 years older / than the corners of the house that sits / museum on the hill. (lines 5-11). The way the speaker distances himself from American history (line 6) and how he claims all should know tribal stories (line 8) insinuating he is of tribal descent. Further, he announces, I know the Indians were living stories / around that pond before Walden s grandparents were born (linesShow MoreRelatedBusiness and Management2600 Words   |  11 Pagesat the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed modalities, read the policies governing your current class modality. Course Materials Barnet, S., Cain, W.E., Burto, W. (2011). Literature for composition: Essays, stories, poems, and plays (9th ed.). New York, NY: Longman. All electronic materials are available on the student website. |Week One: Elements of Literature—Stories