MOCKERY AS A METHOD FOR REVEALING INDIGENOUS IDENTITY IN THE WORKS OF SHERMAN ALEXIE

Abstract

It is considered that postmodern native writers in North America have payed attention to the most important problems for indigenous tribes in Indian reservations as maintaining their historical memory through saving Indian history and culture of each tribe, as a native uniqueness to save numerous small tribes in America. Sherman Alexie uncovers a number of historical, social, cultural, economic drawbacks for a harmonic growth of young Indian people in North America. He produces his special prescription how to enhance conscience of harmful entrapment and care of Indian tribe identity value. The author tries to appeal to the special memory mode as unique approach to keep their indigenous identity. The texts of Sherman Alexie novels comprise special literature tools with the help of which he brings a light to difference in conscious understanding of vital problems by indigenous and white men. Sherman Alexie charges his novels and dialogues with humor, irony, mockery and kitsch as offensive instruments in struggle with mainstream cultural policy. These ones have created an effect of cultural resistance aesthetics. Due to these approaches the Sherman Alexie’s heroes earn our attention involving readers into the game to be participants of their stories and make assessment of the fistfight in the heaven of the representatives as mainstream as indigenous America. The writer’s voice acquires offensive force with intensive irony used with a light shadow and tough, dark one. Such light and though irony can be defined as mockery which is used by young people to show up attitude to main values of indigenous population in North America. Mockery can be as literature tropes containing valuable irony, parody that have all quality ranks from light to aggressive. Because of such special features as camouflage it may be evaluated as kitsch in some sense according to text samples. With various forms of mockery and kitsch, Sherman Alexie envisages main objectives related to native identity. Because imagination and mockery can be only real tools to guard indigenous population status enlightened by the author, it may be concluded that usage of mockery serves as a marker for revealing of indigenous identity in the works of Sherman Alexie.