The Dangers of Liminality: Analyzing the Mentality of John Smith Leah Katz College

Sherman Alexie’s novel Indian Killer is remarkably focused on identity. One of his larger points seems to be that individual identity has a lot to do with feeling a part of a larger group. The central character, John Smith, is a Native American who was adopted by a white family, which effectively cut him off from his true identity. Due to John Smith’s inability to fully integrate into any one identity and his existence out of time, he is forced to lead a solitary and unfulfilling life, while imagining the life he could have lived.

The imagined version of John’s birth is an excellent example of his complete disconnect from his home. The location is described as “On this reservation or that reservation. Any reservation, a particular reservation,” which really emphasizes that John does not know where he comes from (Alexie 3). This description is purposefully vague to highlight that John’s past is equally nebulous. He does not know what reservation he came from, only that he came from a reservation. He has a broad idea of what he is supposed to be because he knows he is Native American, but still lacks the specifics. Then, when John imagines he is being taken from the reservation, “The helicopter gunman locks and loads, strafes the...