The Powwow at the End of the World

I am told by many of you that I must forgive and so I shall- Tone: sarcasm is used to say how difficult it is to forgive

I am told by many of you that I must forgive and so I shall after an Indian woman puts her shoulder to the Grand Coulee Dam and topples it.

I am told by many of you that I must forgive and so I shall after the floodwaters burst each successive dam downriver from the Grand Coulee.

I am told by many of you that I must forgive and so I shall after the floodwaters find their way to the mouth of the Columbia River as it enters the Pacific and causes all of it to rise.

I am told by many of you that I must forgive and so I shall after the first drop of floodwater is swallowed by that salmon waiting in the Pacific.

I am told by many of you that I must forgive and so I shall after that salmon swims upstream, through the mouth of the Columbia and then past the flooded cities, broken dams and abandoned reactors of Hanford.

I am told by many of you that I must forgive and so I shall after that salmon swims through the mouth of the Spokane River as it meets the Columbia, then upstream, until it arrives in the shallows of a secret bay on the reservation where I wait alone.

I am told by many of you that I must forgive and so I shall after that salmon leaps into the night air above the water, throws a lightning bolt at the brush near my feet, and starts the fire which will lead all of the lost Indians home.

I am told by many of you that I must forgive and so I shall after we Indians have gathered around the fire with that salmon who has three stories it must tell before sunrise: one story will teach us how to pray; another story will make us laugh for hours; the third story will give us reason to dance.

The Powwow at the End of the World

By: Sherman Alexie

Tonal Analysis

I am told by many of you that I must forgive and so I shall after that salmon swims upstream, through the mouth of the Columbia and then past the flooded cities, broken dams and abandoned reactors of Hanford.

- The salmon carries the souls of the Native Americans and swims upstream; represents the hardships of the Native American Nation.

- The breaking the dams would mean a revitalization of the tribes customs and traditions.

- This represents the struggles of the Spokane people against the white man’s change of their area in Washington.

- This is a metaphor for how the speaker shall go upstream and not conform like the other Native Americans who readily forgave those

who damaged their lives and cultures.

I am told by many of you that I must forgive and so I shall after that salmon swims through the mouth of the Spokane River as it meets the Columbia, then upstream, until it arrives in the shallows of a secret bay on the reservation where I wait alone.

- Here, some of the theme of isolation is shown. Not only does “alone” describe how the speaker may feel about his

stand on forgiveness, but also how the Spokane people feel.

- Alone and deserted by the rest of the world since no one will take their side and here their plea of the conservation of

their ancient customs due to their isolation on reservations.

I am told by many of you that I must forgive and so I shall after that salmon leaps into the night air above the water, throws a lightning bolt at the brush near my feet, and starts the fire which will lead all of the lost Indians home.

- Imagery of leaping fish and lighting fires is an impression of anger and fury for what has been done to his people.

- The people who were once driven off their land. It also goes along with his unforgiving theme. He basically suggests that

he will forgive once pigs fly.

- Indians have lost their way in their anger and need to feel at peace to be able to forgive.

Tonal Analysis

Tone: Sarcasm is used to explain the author's unwillingness to forgive and his desire for revenge

CONSISTENT TONE: ACCEPTANCE- I am told by many of you that I must forgive and so I shall

SHIFT IN TONE: SARCASM- after...

I am told by many of you that I must forgive and so I shall after an Indian woman puts her shoulder to the Grand Coulee Dam and topples it.

- Grand Coulee Dam is in Washington state

- it's the largest dam in the Columbia River Basin and one of the largest in the world.

- it's also the largest concrete structure ever built.

- It would be physically impossible for any person to destroy the Coulee Dam. This is how Alexie uses his sarcasm.

I am told by many of you that I must forgive and so I shall after the floodwaters burst each successive dam downriver from the Grand Coulee.

- Floodwaters burst: for thousands of years the Spokanes lived near the Spokane River, living by fishing, hunting and gathering.

- It would be impossible for the flood waters to burst ever dam downriver from the Grand Coulee

I am told by many of you that I must forgive and so I shall after the floodwaters find their way to the mouth of the Columbia River as it enters the Pacific and causes all of it to rise.

- Floodwater represents the Native American nation and how it has to fight through many obstacles

- It's impossible for all of the Pacific to rise

I am told by many of you that I must forgive and so I shall after the first drop of floodwater is swallowed by that salmon waiting in the Pacific.

- When the salmon swallows the floodwater, it carries on the souls of the Native Americans, continuing their journey

TONAL ANALYSIS

I am told by many of you that I must forgive and so I shall after we Indians have gathered around the fire with that salmon who has three stories it must tell before sunrise: one story will teach us how to pray; another story will make us laugh for hours; the third story will give us reason to dance.

- They will be reunited and the dancing of the tribe could symbolize their happiness.

- The end of the world can be interpreted in 2 ways:

1) Speaker will forgive the white people and their encroachment upon his people’s land the day the Earth ends.

Since no one will know the end of the world, and more than likely it will not happen during the speaker’s

lifetime, the probability of the speaker's forgiveness is highly unlikely.

2) The Spokane people will dance on the vengeful occasion/day that is full of chaos and earthquakes that reflect Mother Earth’s contempt for what has been done to her.

I am told by many of you that I must forgive and so I shall when I am dancing with my tribe during the powwow at the end of the world.

Thematic Connection

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

The author shifts tone in every sentence to express his sarcasm about forgiveness.

At first, his tone is positive and sounds accepting of what everyone else tells him to do. Later in the line, he sets up unreasonably impossible conditions to express the extent of his forgiveness.

Artistic Connection

"Complicated"

- by Avril Lavigne

Parallels:

District 13 - Author/Salmon

Other Districts - His Tribe

Capital - White People

Connection:

• District 13 tries to rebel against the Capital for their freedom like the salmon tries to swim against the current and the author wants to fight against the white people.
• The other districts are accepting of the power the capital has on them like the white people had power over the tribe .
• The Capital is the power that is controlling all the districts like the white men control the tribes of Native Americans.

NOTE:

I like you the way you are

When we're drivin' in your car

And you're talking to me one on one

But you've become...

Somebody else 'round everyone else

You're watching your back like you can't relax

You're tryin' to be cool

You look like a fool to me

Tell me

Why do you have to go and make things so complicated?

I see the way you're acting like you're somebody else

Gets me frustrated

Life's like this

You, you fall and you crawl and you break

And you take what you get and you turn it into honesty

You promised me I'm never gonna find you fake it

No, no, no

You come over unannounced

Dressed up like you're somethin' else

Where you are ain't where it's at

You see you're making me laugh out

When you strike your pose

Take off all your preppy clothes

You know you're not fooling anyone

When you've become...

NOTE:

Sonic Analysis

The lyrics correspond to the author's feeling towards his own tribe. In the poem, he not only feels anger against the whites' wrongdoings, but also against his own tribe because he is disheartened by the number of changes that had to be undergone by his people. He feels like they are being controlled and restricted on reservations compared to the times before the whites' arrived, when Native Americans were free to roam around and hunt wherever they wanted.

Repetition

• Strong feelings

- Native American people should have fought harder to keep their land and culture

- How his people were treated

- Hatred for the white race

- Sarcasm

- Used to express unforgiveness and revenge for the race that took his tribe's homeland and forced them unto to reservations.

This repetition helps the reader understand how important the topic was to the author and how he feels about it.

However, after hearing the repeated phrase over and over, there is a sense that the author is being pulled by conflicted ideas because he wants to forgive those who wronged his tribe, but it is hard for him to do.

"I am told by many of you that I must forgive and I shall...." The phrase is so long as if the author dreaded even thinking about the idea of forgiveness.

Works Cited:

Alexie, Sherman. "The Powwow at the End of the World." The Poetry Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Jan. 2013.

Avril Lavigne - Complicated Lyrics. Perf. Avril Lavigne - Complicated Lyrics. YouTube. YouTube, 31 May 2009. Web. 09 Jan. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FynZChaDqQs>.

"“The Powwow at the End of the World” by Sherman Alexie." Conscious Based Literary Criticism. Word Press, 2 Aug. 2012. Web. 09 Jan. 2013.

Presented by: Ayushi C., and Lisha J.