As a quest, Jackson Jackson’s story in “What you Pawn I Shall Redeem” serves as a re-imagining of the archetypal quest for a sacred item. Sherman Alexie’s new take on the archetype transforms the quest from one for an object to one for a personal ideal. For in following Jackson’s path to its end, one finds not an old woman’s stolen regalia, but the self-worth of a broken man. Along the way, Jackson constructs a personal recognition of his Indian heritage, and the reader gleans an understanding of the Indian way of life in turn.
As Jackson Jackson works to acquire nine hundred ninety-nine dollars to purchase his grandmother’s stolen beadwork, he discovers the ways in which he fits in with his Spokane heritage. He realizes that, as he has aged, he has become “‘a romantic old man.’” He hopes for an ideal future, setting his sights beyond the dismal present. He will “always love” Mary and dreams that someday she will be his, much in the same way that the elders of an Indian tribe will always love the old ways, and dream that someday they will return. As he continues in his quest, he begins to recognize this connection, particularly as he sits on the bench with the Aleuts, who sit in silent anticipation of the return of the boat which they arrived in. He requests that they sing “The songs you sing back home when you’re wishing and hoping.” In other words, in the same way as his ancestors resigned themselves to living confined on reservations, he accepts his fate as one relegated from the pleasure of the successful to the hope of the downtrodden. Just as importantly, he recognizes the presence in his life of “Too many [good men] to count!” In discovering this aspect of his living condition, he happens upon an implicit facet of Indian life which he shares with his tribe, the personal importance of companionship. In his struggles as a beggar, Jackson could not survive without the support of the people around him. And, just as Jackson relies on the good will of others...