Essay Questions

Do you think that the mysterious killing of the Native Americans is ironic?

Two ironies emerge from the mysterious serial killer. Firstly, the murderer hails from the white family background and he is killing fellow whites. The readers find it satirical that the Whites are being killed by one of their own. Under normal circumstances, the enmity exists between the natives and non-natives. Secondly, there is a spiral of racism because the primary reason why the killer is murdering the white people is simply because they are white. This shows that to a great extent the natives are not being treated well with the Whites. Perhaps, the reader concludes that there is an upside-down bigotry trend.

Discuss how the theme of identity crisis manifests itself in the Indian Killer by Sherman Alexie.

Sherman Alexie builds the theme of identity crisis around the character John Smith. Smith is the primary character in the Indian Killer who is delivered by a young Native American mother and then adopted to the White family. He is given the White name, John Smith. After growing up, he sees that his skin color is different from those of Whites. He starts to ask himself many questions regarding his real identity. Smith is eager to get more information about who he is and why his skin color is different from the whites. Similarly, he wants to know about his culture and his roots. In the process of discovering himself, he ends up being a serial killer. Therefore, the crisis of self-identity leads him to commit multiple killings.

How does Sherman Alexie depict the motif of bigotry in the novel Indian Killer?

John Smith is brought up by a white family that adopted him when he was born. He witnesses how the whites discriminate against the Native Americans because of their skin color. He does not like it because the natives look just like him. The difference is that he is brought up in a white family. After growing up, he hates the whites because of mistreating the Native Americans. Despite being from a white family's background, John turns against the Whites and starts murdering them.