Who is the Indian Killer? This is a fantastic question. All through the novel, I kept asking myself, who is the Indian Killer. At times I would become frustrated that I didn't know who exactly the killer was. I thought it could have been a few different people, but I was not really sure. By the time I got to the end of the book, I decided that Alexie wrote the book so that the identity of the Indian Killer is up in the air. I think he wanted to second guess themselves about who the Indian Killer actually is. He knows that different people will make different determinations on who the killer is. I think he did this because he wanted it to be opened ended. Alexie wanted his novel to be even more of a mystery than it already was. Tiffany said in class that Indian Killer was Alexie's least favorite book that he wrote. So maybe he said fuck it, I am done writing this, my audience can decide for themselves who the actual killer is.
Personally, I think John was the killer. I know that it does not say that anywhere in the book, but it also does not say that he was not the killer. I think Alexie set John's character up from the beginning to be the assumed killer. John was adopted, he didn't live on the reservation, he was a social outcast, and was just not happy with his life. In addition, he also seemed to suffer from some sort of mental illness. All of this leads me to believe that he was the Indian Killer. He had seen how hard life was for Native American's so along with all his hardships growing up, I think he decided to take matters into his own hands. This is just what I personally thought when I read the book, so feel free to argue with me!
When thinking about what he represented, I think the Indian Killer wanted peace in the end. I know killing isn't exactly taking it the right way, but I think he wanted everyone to be happy. The Indian Killer has seen how Native American's were treated and how they were outcasts to society. I think he or she wanted to make people realize that Native American's are just like any other humans and should be treated the same way.
Eric
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Yeah, I agree that it is set up to lead you to think John is the killer, then to slowly start to wonder. I agree that the Indian Killer wanted everyone to wake up and see how Indians are treated and that collections of any, white storeis or Indian scalps are dangerous to everyone. I thinkt he killer was more likely to be Reggie as he was the most violent, took taped recordings of the victems (role reversal for all the white man's collections) this is the same as the Indian Killer. He show Such violence around people that I know he is not far from what hte Indian Killer doews. John actually seems less violent.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the question of who the Indian Killer is frustrating. Like you I thought it could be several people. I wondered if it was John; however he showed no real signs of violence. There were others that showed more potential to be the killer, such as Reggie or the professor. There was also the possibility of it being the spirits of the Indian ancestors raised by the ghost dance. I believe that Alexi wanted each reader to decide for himself who the killer was. I feel that this was a interesting, if aggravating, way to write a book.
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