Ten Little Indians by Sherman Alexie is a reminder that globalization is not that painless process as some people like to think. This collection of short stories is so variable that readers are bound to wonder, cry, shudder with laughter, agree or disagree with the words the characters say, but, what is more important, they are going to get a lot to think about. Prepare to reconsider and revaluate some aspects of your life.
What do we know about other people around us? Do we really know what our neighbors or coworkers think or dream about? No! It would be next to impossible to keep that amount of information in mind. But it doesn’t mean that we should not ask questions or get a little bit curious from time to time. This time it is all about Native Americans, in an unvarnished fashion. The way the country was colonized is a barbaric one. It is still a painful question to discuss, though no matter how unpleasant this topic is, it simply shouldn’t be ignored. That is the past we can’t change, but how the future is going to look like is 100% up to us. To build the harmonious world, mankind has to learn how to build a multifaceted one.
Sherman Alexie’s work helps us to learn more about the ingenious folks and save lots of embarrassment, for it raises the questions people are usually afraid of asking. For instance, what do young Indians think about the slaughter of their ancestors? What do they think about positive discrimination? How is it to be a modern Indian? Shocking as it is, lots of them are still haunted by the past. They live in the country that used to be only theirs, but not anymore. Their children learn how to sing the anthem and love the country, but history classes and legends that live in every family can easily destroy that love or – even worse – make them feel guilty.
The issues with self-identification are so common that one’s heart is going to ache for them. The author does investigate other topics, less painful, too. Here we can see how smart and practical young girls use positive discrimination for their own benefits, how young parents perform magical rituals in the hospital to help their son and other ill children to recover, how love blooms and fades, how dreams are followed, and how the boundaries are getting broken.
