Sunday, July 4, 2010
Who is the Killer and What does he/she Represent??
As I have said many times I feel that the true killer of the book is not determined. Sherman Alexie wrote the book in a way that he could give supporting fact for many characters as the killer. I think Sherman Alexie did this to appeal to his audience because it allows his readers to finish the story and add to the story what or how he or she wants to. If I were to end the story the way I think it should end I would say that John is the killer. Many different reasons come to mind one being the open admittance to wanting to kill white men for all the wrong done. That is the motive of the killer and I just find it too much of a coincidence to have John openly admit to us that he wanted to do that. Another reason is John has mental health issues. A lot of skeptics say that john isn’t violent enough to commit those murders, but John also is a schizophrenic. “The Killer” could simply be one of John’s multiple personalities coming into play. I know many say if John was the killer then why didn’t he kill Wilson. I think that this was possible a statement John was making. Wilson was supposedly part Indian so maybe John’s cutting of Wilson’s face but leaving him alive was a representation of letting the Indian part live. Wilson was white and that was his main thing that kept him from being Indian because he wasn’t accepted outwardly but at heart Wilson tried to be true to Indians. In the End when John kills himself I definitely feel it was yet another statement. John wanted to tell people that one person can make a difference and as he stood over his body I feel that is when he started the dancing. In the book I feel that John is representing all the angry Indians that have been pushed around and been told to abandoned their heritage and live in the “American way” which was created by the “White” So even if the killings don’t stop I feel that it is still John driving other spirits and their anger along with his to kill the white man that is responsible for it all.
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This book has so many questions and logical answers. Mystery books always leaves who wondering something. I thought there were a lot of options on who the killer was. I thought it was John for a long time when i was reading the book. Then i started to wonder if he actually was the killer or was it someone else in the story. When i was going through the other characters like Mather,reggie, truck. With all of those suspects there was not really one that stuck out. I think the author wanted to leave the indain killer spot open to the reader. then the reader could make up their own ending to the story.
ReplyDeleteI also think that the most probably culprit for being the killer is John and the most obvious evidence can be made for the fact that he was the killer, but I simply dont think it was him. I dont think the killer has an identity. The boy says he was not man or woman and that he thought he could fly, and the way he moved through the house undetected to get the child, and the way he stalks his prey, he seems to be very much a supernatural force. He can do physical acts but I believe his is a spirit of the Indians in general and not one specific man.
ReplyDeletegoing of what Zach said. this boy was weak and almost safe to say he was delusional. he slept all the time because he had no strength. i believe he did see some bird like object but i think that object was john dressed up as an owl. we all can say with confidence that john had serious mental problems which led me to believe that he would be dressed up as some crazy creature parading around his victims. This was probably something he did with all of them, but only the boy lived to tell it. And maybe this is what led him to his signature of the two wings.
ReplyDeleteVery well stated Amanda. John was definately influenced in a great way by Father Duncan during his childhood. He seemed to be confused about his identity and kept his feelings inside. John would go into the bathroom stall and explode. This showed me signs that he was capable of great violence to come. As John was not taking his medicines,started acting strangely at work, would go for hours walking and not knowing where he was, prove that he was not stable. He was the one going through the different knives and he was in the area when Justin Summers was killed and carried off to the vacant house. The same individual that was taunting him on the streets, calling him chief and accusing him of being a drunk Indian. He also demonstrated violence in the doughnut shop. Alexis owl message of being a ruthless killer really stands out in this book and demonstrates what overwhelming misguided hatred can pursue.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that John was the killer, yes he was delusional; however he never showed any violence toward others until towards the end of the book. Yes he was influenced by Father Duncan, but I feel that influence was shown in the way he did not let his doubts show and kept his thoughts to himself. Most schizophrenics are not harmful to others, only to themselves. He did not show signs of multiple personalities, just of extreme isolation. I believe that John was just the one thing all the characters had in common. He talked to Maria who was Reggie's cousin and a student of Professor Mather, his father listened to Truck and his mother talked to Wilson, who thought of himself as an Indian. For these reasons I don't think John was the killer.
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