Sherman Alexie, Indian Killer

Martin Kich (Wright State University)
Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

In his second novel,

Indian Killer

, Alexie exploits elements of the mystery genre to show how easily the frontier stereotypes of the Native American as a savage, or as a ruthless killer, can be resurrected from their supposed resting places in the museum vaults of the national memory. Playing off the 19th-century conception of the frontier hero as an Indian killer, the title refers to a serial killer who terrorizes Seattle by scalping his victims and thereby threatens to undermine the civil order of the city. Critics have observed that in this novel Alexie seems not only to be searching for a middle ground between serious and popular fiction, but also to be consciously trying to appeal to both Anglo-American and Native American readers. On both levels, this split in intention may haveā€¦

807 words

Citation: Kich, Martin. "Indian Killer". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 December 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=4445, accessed 28 March 2024.]

4445 Indian Killer 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.