Jackson Jackson is a homeless Indian living in Seattle. He was given a chance to win back his grandmother’s powpow regalia. I believe that throughout the story all of Jackson’s intentions to try and get back the regalia were good, although it didn’t seem like it at first. What made me like Jackson was his continued effort. Also what made Jackson more likeable in the story was he used his humor to help him. Jackson is a very complex person with many different sides to him. Jackson wouldn’t say why he was homeless. He said it was his secret and that Indians had to work hard at keeping their secrets.
I think Jackson was proud to be homeless because he also said that “being homeless is probably the only thing I’ve ever been good at” (Alexie 266). I think Jackson’s humor and good nature also helped him make his life as a homeless alcoholic better. He knew most of the restaurant and shop keepers. He also had many friends that showed up in this story. And even though they abandoned him and just disappeared he never seemed to hold them accountable for their actions and he didn’t seem at all saddened about them leaving.
Jackson also had a cop friend who looked out for him and tried to help him. Throughout the story everywhere Jackson went he knew someone and they remembered him. He would joke and laugh with people. I think that humor helped Jackson throughout the story. But at the same time I feel like Jackson used his humor as a cover up for his own internal suffering. He wished he could have the money to buy his grandmother’s regalia back and he also suffered from missing her and maybe missing the rest of his family too. But he always seemed to find the bright side throughout it all though.
I am torn because I think that Jackson did his best at trying to get his grandmother’s regalia back but at the same time I am mad that he was given so many chances and money to help start him but every time he wasted it. First he spent money on bottles of booze and then got so drunk he passed out for a few hours. Then he bought a cigar and lottery tickets to try and win money, and when he did win some money he went to the bar and bought all of his “cousins” shots of whiskey. Then he decided to sell newspapers, so the newspaper guy gave him fifty papers for free.
Jackson then went out on the street and only sold five in an hour and gave up and threw the rest out. He then went to McDonalds and bought burgers for him-self to eat, only to throw everything up. Then at the end of the story Jackson had thirty dollars left, out of everything he had over the course of twenty-four hours, and he ended up buying three other Indians plus himself breakfast, only to have the Indians disappear right after. I feel like if Jackson had tried harder he would have at least come up with most of the money he needed to really prove that he had tried hard.
I think that throughout this story we are shown who Jackson really is. He is an endearing, compassionate, caring, and giving human being. He really truly cared about his grandmother too. I think he idolized her. Most memories Jackson had are about his grandmother. I think he misses her so much and she has helped sculpt him into the person he is today, despite the fact that he is homeless and an alcoholic. He said that “I’ve been killing myself ever since she died” (Alexie 276). His grandmother was the only one in his family to really make a significant impact on Jackson’s life.
I think that the pawn shop owner saw who Jackson was and that was why he decided to give him the regalia for free. I think he understood and could see what Jackson’s true intentions were. I am very happy that Jackson got his grandmother’s regalia back just by being himself and trying the best he could to get it back. I think that it finally made him feel like he belonged to something/someone when he danced in the street with grandmother’s regalia on. Alexie, Sherman. “What You Pawn I Will Redeem. ” The Tower and The Net. 265-82. Print.
