“Red Rage” in Sherman Alexie’s Indian Killer

Authors

  • Michaela Jirsová University of Pardubice

Keywords:

Native American literature, Native Americans, red rage, racism, violence, assimilation, Indian Killer, Sherman Alexie, identity

Abstract

This article provides a brief analysis of Sherman Alexie’s novel Indian Killer (1996). This work is unique in the way it reflects Native Americans. They are not portrayed as merely the victims of horrific crimes that remain unanswered. On the contrary, the decades of hardships that Indians suffered have resulted in a “red rage” – a bloodthirsty response by Native Americans to racism, violence and oppression. To highlight Alexie’s Indian Killer as a groundbreaking piece of literary work, this article also presents a brief history of Native American literature.

References

Alexie, Sherman. Indian Killer. New York: Atlantic Inc., 1996.

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Cooper, Lydia. “The Critique of Violent Atonement in Sherman Alexie’s Indian Killer and David Treuter’s The Hiawatha.” Studies in American Indian Literatures (Winter 2010): 32–57.

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Nygren, Ase. “A World of Story-Smoke: A Conversation with Sherman Alexie.” Melus (Winter 2005): 149–169.

Reihner, Jon. “Creating Sacred Places for Children.” 2010. <http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jar/AIE/IETplaces.htm>

Ruland, Richard, and Malcolm Bradbury. Od Puritanismu k Postmodernismu. Praha: Mladá fronta, 1997 (přel. M. Arbeit, A. Hubáčková, J. Jařab, S. Obenausová, M. Peprník, V. Prágerová).

Scott, Amber. “Indian Killer taps into battle for identity that still rages.” Austin American Statesman. 1996.

Velie, Alan R. Native American Perspectives on Literature and History. University of Oklahoma Press, 1994.

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Published

2012-12-10

How to Cite

Jirsová, M. . (2012). “Red Rage” in Sherman Alexie’s Indian Killer. American & British Studies Annual, 5, 139–147. Retrieved from https://absa.upce.cz/index.php/absa/article/view/2216

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Section

Student Contributions