The Reality of Life in What You Pawn I Will Redeem - Book Report/Review Example

 The Reality of Life in What You Pawn I Will Redeem Introduction Life in general is full of mystery. A lot of good or bad events could happen to us when we least expect it to happen. As we grow older, we either witness a successfully rich family losing their wealth including their own home and all other properties within a short span of time or hear a similar story from our friends. In contrast to this tragic event, the opposite could also happen to anyone such that a poor and homeless individual could instantly become a millionaire. As we go through a critical response on Alexie’s “What You Pawn I Will Redeem”, the author will carefully examine and discuss about the truth behind life in general. Thesis Statement: The Battle of Life does not stop with our deepest sorrow but a start of a new tomorrow. Critical Response on Alexie’s “What You Pawn I Will Redeem” Strength of the Story The strength of the story lies behind the events that occurred in Jackson-to-the-second- power’s life when he was able to regain back her grandmother’s regalia that has been priced at nine hundred and ninety-nine dollars in exchange of five dollars. The statement of the pawnbroker “I don’t want your money. But I wanted you to win.” (Alexie, 2003) Is a sign that Jackson-to-the-second-power was able to win the pawnbroker’s emotional sympathy with regards to his love for his grandmother despite Jackson’s addiction with alcoholic drink. Life in reality is the same. Regardless of the situation, a person could use psychological approaches or emotional empathy to win the desires of our heart. I strongly agree with Alexie’s purpose of writing the story “What You Pawn I Will Redeem” in the sense that the story line gives us a good insight of the possibility that nothing in this world is impossible with a strong perseverance. Jackson’s eagerness and determination to earn money and search for the pawnshop despite the fact that he had to walk twenty or thirty block made him able to win the battle. In case Jackson did not show any sign of emotional attachment for his grandmother’s regalia, it would have been impossible for a jobless and homeless person like him to regain it back at the price of five dollars. Another strength in the story is seen with the positive effect or impact of being friendly to other people. He makes friend with anyone regardless of people’s financial status in life. This has been evident when Jackson went to see the Big Boss of Real Change – an organization that publishes newspaper. When Jackson asked the Big Boss to lend him some money, the Big Boss told him that if he lends him money, he will have to lend everybody some money. Instead, Big Boss told him “I will give you fifty papers for free but don’t tell anybody about it.” (Alexie, 2003) The fact that the Big Boss told him not to tell anyone about the free papers is a sign that Jackson has just been given a special treatment to help him with his current situation. Another evidence of Jackson’s friendliness is shown with his encounter with the white cop that woke him up from the railroad tracks. Instead of putting Jackson to the detox center, the cop ended up giving him thirty bucks to help him come up with the nine hundred ninety-nine dollars. In fact, when Jackson asked the cop to give him a thousand dollars, the cop told him “You bet I’d give you a thousand dollars if I knew you’d straighten up your life.” (Alexie, 2003) The statement of the cop indirectly shows his personal concern in Jackson’s life. His generous attitude also makes him able to win the sympathy of other people despite his socio-economic status in life. When Jackson won a hundred dollars from a scratch card, he gave one-fifth of the money to Mary despite his tight financial needs to buy back his grandmother’s regalia. He told Mary “No, it’s an Indian thing. When you win, you are supposed to share it with your family.” (Alexie, 2003) His statement gives the reader an idea that he treats everyone in general as a part of his own family. Weakness of the Story Jackson-to-the-second-power is an alcoholic person. I am not so sure why Alexie would use such an example in the story. Perhaps Jackson’s being homeless, lack of consistency in terms of career or job, belonging to a broken family, and alcohol addiction is the author’s way of expressing the worst possibilities in life. The fact that Jackson is an irresponsible person for being having been married twice or thrice and have two or three children and not being able to support any of them is already a sign of an unaccepted person within the society. His happy-go-lucky type of personality simply makes him unable to change his entire life positively with a good direction. The weakness of the story lies behind the fact that Alexie, as the author of “What You Pawn I Will Redeem” did not make a clear connection between Jackson’s negative attitudes in life and its effect on real life. Perhaps a good conclusion at the end of the fiction story would give the reader the author’s idea and concept behind the whole story. For example: the author did not give a clear statement about the truth behind the negative effect of being too generous with strangers. Too much of anything does not create a good effect on a person’s life in reality. It could even lead to a serious problem when emergency happens in one’s life. The fact that Jackson spends the remaining eighty bucks he won from the scratch card treating every single Indian inside the bar for free drinks is not a good idea at all because he could have face another problem searching for food to eat the next day. Conclusion The fiction story “What You Pawn I Will Redeem” gives us the idea that nothing is impossible in this world. Even the most impossible things we think about could happen in real life. In line with this statement, the story significantly shows that the battle in Jackson’s life does not stop with his deepest sorrow to regain back his grandmother’s regalia but a start for new opportunity to come as he starts the day right. Life in reality should never be fully or directly be based on a fiction story. In return, the reader should carefully think about the extremities presented in the story. From this point, the reader should compare and contrast the story with life in reality and eventually learn something more beneficial from the outcome of the findings. References: 1 Alexie, S. (2003) ‘What You Pawn I Will Redeem’ The New Yorker. April 21, 2003 Retrieved: June 18, 2007 < http://www.newyorker.com/ > Read More