Poverty and homelessness are often intertwined with the idea of ​​serious mental illness and innate evil. In urban areas across the United States, just as in Seattle, in Sherman Alexie's New York piece, What You Pawn I Will Redeem, the oppressed are stereotyped as vicious drug addicts who would rob a child of his last dime if it meant a bottle of whiskey. Ironically, the narrator doesn't try to hide the fact that yes, he is a self-destructive alcoholic living a miserable existence. Yet Jackson Jackson is more than a homeless drunk. He is first and foremost a Native American, an InteriorSalish to be exact, born to a mistreated and misfortune-stricken people in the land of the free. Jackson is proud of his heritage and throughout the story references the Indian way of life, as he befriends and converses with a number of other tribal relatives. Jackson even admits, "Being homeless is probably the only thing I've ever been good at." Despite his failure, he is still an Indian, seeking a proclamation of his heritage in his grandmother's regalia. What You Pawn I Will Redeem by Sherman Alexie is a brutally honest exploration of an honest, homeless Native American's connection to his ancestors, using metaphors and symbolism to convey the message of unity with one's heritage and escape from the tortures of past. The first thing Jackson, who attributes the matching of first and last names to his family's humor, tells us is that he will not tell us about his downfall, because this is his Indian secret. Saying that he has to "work hard to keep secrets from hungry white people", immediately giving the impression that his nationality will affect the person...middle of the card...exactly what he started with. , no more, no less. Taking pity on him, the owner gives him the insignia anyway, seeing his desire and guessing the challenges he must have faced just to return to the shop the next day with some money. Jackson proudly walks out of the store dancing, saying, “I took my grandmother's signs and walked out. I knew that lonely yellow pearl was part of me. I knew I was that yellow part." To finally relive the memory of his grandmother, Jackson, during her depressing yet strangely fantastic journey to end up just where she started is a marvel. She was in touch with her people, united in poverty and in injustice, purely Indian. Metaphors and symbols are prevalent in Sherman Alexie's What You Pawn I Will Redeem, being extremely effective in exposing the plight of Native Americans in their home country...