Sherman Alexie, “Vision (2)” UA 66.

Reader: Sara Curtis

Respondent: Terri St. John            Recorder: Megan Yeates

Objectives –

3b) Defy myth of the vanishing Indian.

1a) Forced participation

1b) Voiceless

Sherman Alexie-

          Sherman Alexie was born in October 1966. From birth his determination was evident. The doctors told his parents he had to have surgery due to hydrocephalus. If he survived, they said he would be severely handicapped. Alexie overcame those odds though he lived with seizures throughout the first part of his life. In college, his professor said he “had ten students with more talent than Alexie, but he had a dedication that other students didn’t have”. He writes at 3a.m. in his local IHOP and is quoted as saying, “I’m a thirty-one year old American, as well. I always tell people that the five primary influences in my life are my father, for his non-traditional Indian stories, my grandmother for her traditional Indian stories, Stephen King, John Steinbeck, and The Brady Bunch… A lot of Indian Artists like to pretend that they’re not influenced by pop culture or Western Culture, but I am, and I’m happy to admit it.” 

Interpretation:

          I saw this poem as reflecting Alexie’s opinion towards the nation. I believe he is saying that he feels like his tribe was expendable to the white man. The poem almost seems contradictory to me. He loves the small things about America yet he holds a grudge, though a valid one.

Questions for Discussion-

1.     Can you identify some ways that this poem is “influenced by pop-culture”?

2.     Vision (2), the title of the poem, what does it mean?

 In Sonya Deal’s presentation she stated that maybe it was a duality or a second voice not heard because it is not the voice of the dominant culture. Do you agree?

Questions: 

What does the title mean in reference to “2”?

What can be said about Alexie’s pop culture influence in the poem?

Discussion:

1.     Was there a “Vision (1)?  Or perhaps this poem is a Revision of something?

Maybe it means a second, deeper look – an underlying vision.

It’s an opposite vision from the dominant culture.

2.McDonald’s reference:  indicates America’s pride in commercialism.

DISCUSSION-Cotton Mather and Andrew Jackson issue:

o       Andrew Jackson himself might be represented as walking on the Trail of Tears (which he was responsible for)

o       Cotton Mather (during the Salem witch hunts):  Jackson called him the “Devil’s Incarnate.”

o       Dr. White:  Mather said, “America is Devil’s territory.”

o       Both Jackson and Mather persecuted innocent people and they are now seeking forgiveness.

·        Smallpox blanket reference:

o       Infected blankets were said to have been given to the Indians as a form of genocide; this was the first case of biological warfare.

o       Dr. White:  Is the story a myth, a legend, or is it historical?  It’s told in different situations, so it isn’t clear exactly what the story is.

o       Comparable to the Eskimo legend in Alexie’s other poem “Crazy Horse Speaks” (237-238)

·        Terri:  It’s interesting that Alexie asks, “Who am I to talk?,” as if he doesn’t even give himself the credibility for his own culture.  Maybe he is too much a product of both cultures to give a fair view of either.

·        It’s never really clear how Alexie feels.  He has a happy attitude, but at the same time, it lacks pep; it’s hard to read what he’s thinking.

Dr. White:  Alexie is part of the 90s style of writing and art.  He’s so ironical all the time, so you’re never sure what his attitude really is.