Analyzing Sherman Alexie's Good Hair

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While reading Sherman Alexie’s stories, I have come to like “Good Hair” and “Indian Education” the most. “Good Hair” was about an Indian boy who cut his hair, I think that it symbolizes him separating himself from his family and culture. “Indian Education” describes an Indian boy who grows up and tries his best to stick with his culture and family. These two stories appear to be very different, but by the same author, Sherman Alexie. But, what I think is most interesting is the connection between the Indians and the white people mentioned in the readings.
The poem, titled “Good Hair” was written in 1966 by Sherman Alexie. It is a poem about an Indian boy who cuts of his braids while someone else continues asks him why he did it. The character in the story continuously guesses why he cut his braids, while at the same time asking for the real explanation. The character in the story who questions the Indian boy does not do so in a respectful way. The repetition in the poem constantly reminds the reader about how the interaggator had disrespect for the Indian man. “Hey, Indian boy, why(why!) did you slice off your braids?”, it said. By the way that the question is stated and how the Indian boy is called an “Indian …show more content…

In the poem, the background of the Indian slowly comes into play the more that the story is told. As the story goes on, you slowly learn about how the Indian has family that passed away and has a girlfriend who left him. In the beginning I was indifferent and did not feel sided with either character, but by the end I had been roped into feeling sorry for the Indian. In the story however, it was written so that I felt bad for the Indian during the whole story. It constantly feeds the reader stories about the Indian’s past experiences in grade school and in a way it starts with the backstory instead of ending with it, as it did in the

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