A review of Indian Killer
The Indian Killer was a spiritual incarnation developed due to years of abuse and mistreatment of Native Americans, and created through a ritualistic dance known as the ghost dance. There are many reasons I believe the killer is not a human and actually some supernatural entity, and after reading the book, I feel Sherman Alexie wants the reader to be left with this feeling. One reason is that the killer is never identifiable, no one notices it, and the description of its appearance is very inconsistent. Another reason that I find it hard to believe the killer is human is the way it attacks and encounters it's victims. My final reason that I think the killer is a supernatural force is because no one in the book really fits into the mold of the killer, yet everyone has similarities as well. Throughout the entire book, the killer assumes no one true identity, making the book difficult to predict and leaving the reader puzzled when the book is finished. I myself thought I missed some key feature in the book when I came to the last page and still had no solid answer for who the killer was. Trying to find other points of view on the book, I researched different reviews and they all identified John as the k
Mather: "If the Ghost Dance had worked, you wouldn't be here. Army, it is happening now, and working. Although it seems that the killer could be a supernatural being, there are some things that still seem human. This is what the police had to work with; a drunken woman described it as a shadow, a drunken man who was with her said it had long hair, Mark Jones said it wasn't a man or a woman, but it was a bird with feathers. Several people in the book were encountered by the killer, yet the method behind each one's interaction was different. Also, Reggie was very civil when leaving Seattle and heading towards a new city with the stranger who picked him up, and the book never indicated that he would harm or kill him. Based on this information, the killer seems almost like a Dracula type creature, which instead of transforming from a bat to vampire, can transform from an owl to the killer. These little inconsistencies may also be the work or a supernatural creature, after all who's to say if it could switch Mark Jones and itself between the realm of earth an a cosmic plain, or could have a dream which meant it slept. However, after hearing the interview conducted with Alexie, I believe he never meant for the killer to be a human, and more of an angel of death that came to be due to the ghost dance. Also the drunk man makes the remark: "I think I don't remember anything about that night because somebody wants me not to remember"(72). With Mark Jones, the killer was silent enough to come into his house and take him from his bed without being noticed, and was able to creep up on his mother. Mark Jones also says after the officer asks if the kidnapper had a bird: "No, it was a bird"(324). This is probably the strongest evidence that John was the killer, but he contrasts this role during many encounters with other members of the book. Reggie's story seems closest to the killers, but there is still reason to believe it wasn't him either.
Common topics in this essay:
Sherman Alexie,
Mark Jones,
Aaron Barry,
Hearts Reggie,
Edward Letterman,
Native Americans,
Father Duncan,
Justin Summers,
Ghost Dance,
Dance Indian,
ghost dance,
mark jones,
killer human,
john killer,
mentioned book,
believe killer,
killer supernatural,
native americans,
father duncan,
indian messiah,
dance indian messiah,
ghost dance indian,
dance ghost dance,
believe killer human,
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Acceptance Essays
