Introduction
The life of Indians living in the United States has never been easy due to racism that remained widespread several years after the country gained independence. In this story, the author brings out the kind of life that Indians led, the challenges they faced, their aspirations in life, and how they related with other members of this society. At the time when this book was released, racism was still widespread in United States, and the Indians are some of the people who were affected by it. The author brings out the concept of religion, the need to achieve success in life, interpersonal conflicts in the society, and other numerous issues that people face in their normal life. One of the main themes that come out in this story is racially-instigated suffering within the society of United States. The essay will focus on this theme.
Analysis of the Story
This story is largely based on the life experiences of author as a Native American living in a society that is dominated by Whites. The author uses his characters to bring out the normal life that an Indian in this country would lead, and the challenges he has to face to make ends meet. Through these characters, the author clearly brings out the theme of racial segregation and the suffering of the Indian Americans in a society dominated by Whites. “I wonder if the people on the other end of the line know that I’m Indian and if their voices would change if they did know” (Charters 19). This statement clearly demonstrates that the society is intolerant and Indians are the victims. The narrator is doing his best never to betray that he is an Indian when receiving phone calls at work. He likes the respect and the voice that the callers use and he knows that this is so because they believe he is a White. He suspects that if these callers were to know his real identity, then their voices might change. This clearly confirms that racism is common in this society. The Indians do not deserve the respect and love that Whites demonstrate when talking to people of their own race. The society classifies people based on their skin color, not their character or capacity.
The author uses a dream to bring out the hatred that existed between the minority Indians and the majority Whites and the suffering associated with this hatred. “Disembodied, I could see everything that was happening, Whites killing Indians and Indians killing Whites” (Charters 17). In this dream, the narrator was shot dead by the White missionaries. This caused a lot of pain to his tribe because they felt their lives were not valued by the Whites. It led to a revolution of Indians against the Whites. The result of this revolution was pain, suffering, and death on both sides of the warring group. The primary reason why they were killing each other was because they belonged to different races. Although it is brought out as a dream in this story, it helps in painting the kind of hatred between Indians and Whites, and the pain that the minorities had to endure simply because they belonged to a tribe of the minority.
The suffering of the Indians within this society is directly instigated by the Whites. The society believes that they do not belong in the same category as the Whites. They do not deserve the best that the country has to offer. They have to be confined to places where human dignity is an alien term that has no meaning. “There is an old Indian poet who said that Indians can reside in the city, but they cannot live there” (Charters 17). This statement clearly shows that the victims of racially-instigated injustice have conformed to their unfortunate condition. This character has internalized the misguided conception that there are members of the American society who are special because of the skin color. He appreciates that indeed as an Indian he cannot live in the city. The statement shows that most of the minority groups, especially the Indians, had come to appreciate that in this society one had to learn his place and stick to it.
The Styles Used in the Story
The scholar has used a number of styles to bring out various themes in this story. One of the major strategies that the author has used is symbolism. “He knew the power of his first but, more importantly, he knew the power of his words” (Charters 18). In this statement, the author equates the power of words to the power of first or a sword. Words can be like sword and they can hurt one just as much as a sword or a first. This was in reference to the war of words that he constantly had with his White girlfriend. The war of words was hurting him just as much as physical abuse would. The fight between the narrator and his girlfriend can also be considered a symbol of the war between the Whites and Indians. People who are in love and staying together are supposed to be understanding and caring towards each other. However, that was not the case between the narrator and his girlfriend. This closely relates to the constant war between Whites and Indians who shared the same country but did not show concern and love towards members of the other tribes.
The author also uses the black-and-white television as an imagery to portray a society that has rejected the need to integrate. In this society, you were either a White or Black. All the minorities, including Indians, were placed in the same class as Blacks. They shared the same painful fate in a land full of opportunities. The society deliberately rejected the importance of judging people by the content of their character and instead used skin color as the primary factor used to classify members of the American community.
The author also uses a story within a story to clearly bring out his theme. The dream is used to demonstrate the level of hatred and the sufferings it brought to the people, especially the minority. In this dream, the narrator is killed because he fell in love. His death brings revolution where both Whites and Indians end up suffering.
Conclusion
In this story, the author focuses on a number of themes related to the lives of the Indian minorities in a White-dominated American society. One of the central themes that come out from this story is racially-instigated suffering of the Indian Americans. The Indians lived in ghettos where they lack most of the amenities enjoyed by the Whites. They had to suffer to make ends meet, and the author demonstrates that their suffering was caused by the Whites who treated them as second-class citizens.
Work Cited
Charters, Ann. The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction. Boston: Bedford Bks St Martin’S, 2015. Print.