Master of Arts in English, Youngstown State University, 2017, Department of Languages

This discussion contends that Sherman Alexie's work assembles an intricately woven class system in which white society and Indians are situated. Within his system, characters (Indian and white) move in and out of class groups looking for the “authentic Indian.” Conflict created by movement within this class structure reflects Alexie's perception of the turmoil over real “Indianness” or Indian identity. Alexie's Indians, identity elusive, drift in and out of class groups. Class groups Alexie builds resemble in part those of the United States with a focus on socio-economic factors—education, wealth, income, religion, ethnicity, gender and sexuality. These factors act as levers moving individuals in and out of status groups. Because several factors typically impact a person, class levers push Alexie's characters in different directions at the same time. What distinguishes Alexie's class system from the American one is the search for Indianness. Identity elusive, characters are unsure of where they belong. Often, Alexie's Indians seem to belong nowhere, not even to themselves. Chapter 1 of this discussion looks at Alexie's class system as a whole and its impact on Indian identity. Chapter 2 considers religion and spirituality as levers moving Alexie's characters toward Indianness, defined in this stratum by a shared feeling of hopelessness and damnation. Conversely Chapter 3 argues that sex and sexuality are the levers with the potential to move the Indian closer to his authentic self, an embattled identity, but a hopeful one nonetheless. This discussion attempts to deconstruct Alexie's class system, not just to expose the elusiveness of Native American identity, but also to find the author's real Indian--on and off the reservation.

Committee: Linda Strom PhD (Committee Chair); Tiffany Anderson PhD (Committee Member); Stephanie Tingley PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: American Literature; Modern Literature; Native American Studies