Thoughts on the Novel Indian Killer

In Indian Killer Alexie uses a pulp-fiction form, the serial killer mystery, to frame the social issues facing American Indians. He populates the book with stock characters such as a grizzled ex-cop, a left-wing professor, a right-wing talk radio personality, drunken bums, thuggish teenagers and a schizophrenic main character who serves as the most obvious suspect in a mystery that never quite resolves itself.

John Smith, the troubled Indian adopted by whites appears at first to be the main character, but in some respects he is what Alfred Hitchcock called a McGuffin. The story is built around him, but he is not truly the main character and he is not the heart of the story. His struggle, while pointing out one aspect of the American Indian experience, is not the central point. John Smith’s experiences as an Indian adopted by whites have left him too addled and sad, from the first moment to the last, to serve as the story’s true focus.

The damage that had been done to John Smith was irreparable from the moment the story began. His death, while a gloomy ending for his character, is in many ways a release from his torment, as demonstrated by his rising from the point of impact and leaving his body behind. The value of John Smith is to serve as an extreme example of the damage being done to Indian society.

The heart of the story is the experience of Marie Polatkin. Unlike the somewhat stock characters that make up much of the mystery element of the novel, Marie is a fully realized and nuanced character. While her views are as passionate as any character in the book, her views are backed by her actions. It is Marie who faithfully drives the sandwich van, feeding the homeless. It is she who faces down the three thugs who mean to attack the homeless Indians. It is she alone who believes that John Smith is not capable of murder.

Marie, first with Dr. Mather, then with the university president and finally with the police restates the central argument of the novel, that white involvement with American Indians is destroying their culture. Marie does not see a difference between the left-wing sympathizers and the right-wing antagonists. She makes the argument quite clearly that, if the ghost dance had worked, all the whites would have been slaughtered. The dance does not make exceptions for the well meaning. To Marie, any interference is damaging, and the thought of whites co-opting her culture is especially galling.

The book points out many different attacks on Indian culture. John’s adoption, legal or not, by his kind but misguided parents demonstrates the tragedy that can come from cross-cultural adoption. The experiences of Marie’s cousin Reggie, who has the tapes of his family’s stories stolen and co-opted by Dr. Mather (who has convinced himself that he is doing the right thing because the find is anthropologically valuable) demonstrates the wrongs done by intellectuals who only view other cultures in terms of what they can learn from them. Truck Schultz and the three enraged college students demonstrate how quickly the underlying distrust of Indian culture can turn to outright bigotry and violence. Truck Schultz fans the flames with his statements, such as, “The only good Indian Killer is a dead Indian Killer.” The college students serve as the freehand instrument of his attacks. The police and the university board demonstrate the damage of well-meaning but ill-advised authority figures. The police do not oppose the Indians, but they do view them with a sort of hesitant confusion. The police officer who encounters John Smith and the vagrant knows that schizophrenics are not dangerous, but the stories of the Indian Killer keep him from aiding John. When he has a chance to bring him in, he is afraid to chase after him. The university board shows the biases of education. When Marie tries to make them understand that a white professor of Indian culture isn’t just misguided, it is an affront to their culture, they cannot see her side for even a moment. The fact that Dr. Mather had studied Indians and written extensively about them qualified him for the position — end of thought.

For me, the character of Jack Wilson hit closest to home. Jack Wilson is the retired police officer who has turned to writing Indian-themed crime novels, which he justifies by pointing to a tenuous Indian ancestry through a distant, unobserved relative. Jack Wilson longs to be an Indian so much that he has convinced himself that he is one, and that he has a right to write from their perspective, despite a total lack of cultural education in their society.

This character interests me because I have a somewhat similar background. My biological grandfather is half Oklahoma Cherokee Indian. He spent part of his time as a child as a member of their culture but spent most of his time in white culture and considers himself white. Because he and my grandmother divorced many years before I was born, I did not even meet him until about the time I graduated from high school in the mid-eighties. We have never discussed his experiences in Indian culture and I doubt we ever will. Biologically I am one eighth Cherokee Indian, but I have only cursory, second-hand knowledge of their culture. I have a greater claim to Indian ancestry than Jack Wilson, and even I think it would be absurd for me to declare I was an Indian.

Despite this, I have always had an interest in Indian cultures and especially in the oral traditions of those cultures. I took classes in this from N. Scott Momaday, a Kiowa Indian and Pulitzer Prize winning author, when I attended the University or Arizona. At the time, I tried to incorporate some of the Indian poetic style into my own poetry, but it felt false and I eventually abandoned it. I simply do not have the background to justify such writing, and I felt it without being told. I did not need a Marie Palotkin to tell me that I have no business meddling in their culture.

Still, I could not help but feel sorry about Jack Wilson and the damage eventually done to him by John Smith. Jack Wilson wanted to believe in something so badly that he eventually convinced himself it was true. His experience mirrors John Smith’s experience. John Smith had a legitimate claim to Indian culture but could not regain what was lost when he was separated by adoption. Jack Wilson’s claims were far less legitimate, but he essentially had the same desire, to belong to a culture that would forever be denied to him. For both of them, the results of that desire were disastrous.

For me, the novel drove home a point that I had already come to. I will never be a part of Indian culture. It is something that is beyond my experience even if it is not beyond my biology. Sherman Alexie obviously believes that Indian culture, especially literature, should be left up to Indians and I agree. While I will continue to take an interest in native cultures all over the world, I understand that these are not my cultures and I should not try to have an undue influence on them.

Visit Sheman Alexie’s Web Site
Sherman Alexie–Library and Internet Sources
Salon Review of Indian Killer
BookBytes review of Indian Killer
Booklist Review of Indian Killer
Crime Time review of Indian Killer

Dear John: Unwanted Resumes

(names held to protect the guilty)
Kindly go through my resume which follows.

Please do not send me your resumes (I’m looking in your direction India!). I have a jobs page, but I neither employ people nor find jobs for people. Nowhere on this site do I ever request a resume. I know people are looking for work all over the globe, and I want everyone to succeed, but sending me your resume is a waste of time and you won’t get a reply from me (except this one).

Dear John: Avoiding Rewrites

Alex Writes:

Thank you for your wealth of information on writing. I’m an aspiring copywriter, and on top of my day job, dabble in freelance writing for brochures and corporate websites. The thing is, I occasionally encounter clients who change my copy so much (admittedly, for the better) that it makes me doubt my writing talent and potential. My numerous job applications have also been rejected by ad agencies - both big and small.

How do I know if I have what it takes to be a good copywriter? I know I have the passion for advertising copy, but when do I draw the line between passion and reality - that I should just stick to my 9-6 job and leave the writing to the pros?

Appreciate your time and advice, John.

First off, lets dispose of this, “do I have what it takes?” question. If you’re still in there trying, you have what it takes. Once you decide that it isn’t worth your time, then you don’t. I’m sure there are many better copywriters than you, and I’ll also assure you that there are worse ones than you who are making a great living. Whether you want to keep at it is up to you.

Don’t let the rejections get you down. The market is flooded with writers right now. It won’t always be. The main concern is if you’ll be in a position to take advantage when the job market opens up again.

Now, your main concern seems to be that people are rewriting your copy. You need to understand that rewriting is part of the process. Your clients, because they are usually much closer to their product than you, will often have input into whether your copy will work for them. Often, their decisions will be best, but sometimes they don’t know what they’re talking about. Either way, they are the clients and your first job is to make them happy.

Here are a few ways to improve your chances of getting through the editing process unscathed:

1. Make sure you are clear on what the client wants.
   Don’t be afraid to ask questions as part of the process. Get the job requirements down in writing and if you are unsure of something, check. The more work you do at the front end of the process, the less work you’ll have to do at the back end.
2. Write carefully and edit carefully.
   I could recommend a dozen books to you, especially those by Robert W. Bly, but I don’t want to overload you so start with Line by Line: How to Edit Your Own Writing. This is a great resource for learning to fix your errors, and I don’t just mean bad grammar or spelling. This book covers the whole process of getting your documents right.
3. Test!
   Take the time to have others, not just your client, review what you have written. You can use other writers, or just friends who have any perspective on the product. Have them look over what you’ve written and ask them questions. Test to see if you have gotten the response you are looking for. Is the document persuasive? Does the document leave them with unanticipated questions? Are any instructions easy to follow? Do they understand what the desired result is? Your questions may vary depending on the document. The most important requirement is to listen to what your testers have to say.
4. Study and Practice.
   If you want to be a better copywriter, then dedicate yourself to improving. Study other advertising copy. Create a library of quality copywriting, both to study and to give you ideas when you set out to make a new document. Rewrite other copywriter’s materials in your own style. Study books on copywriting AND visual design. Take classes. In other words, make an effort to get better.

Copywriting is a learnable skill. Some people have more to learn than others, but if you are already getting clients, then I think your chances are pretty good. The question is whether you feel the career is worth the work.

Good luck.

Dear John: Are guest columnists for newspapers paid?

Paula Writes:

Are guest columnists for newspapers paid? If so, how much?

Newspapers rarely pay guest columnists. The term guest columnist applies to someone who has written an op-ed piece for the newspaper. These pieces express the writer’s view on a topic, usually social or political and appear in the editorials/opinion section of the newspaper. By denoting that the person is a guest columnist, the newspaper gives more weight to that person’s opinion than to those whose writing appears in the letters-to-the-editor space, but they rarely compensate the writer.

If you write a feature’s article for a newspaper, however, the newspaper usually pays for the effort. A feature’s story often discusses cultural issues, but appears in the features (lifestyle, living, accent, arts) section of the newspaper. These articles are usually written at the request of the newspaper of after a submissions process.

Dear John: Age and Technical Writing Education

John’s note: After my initial answer to Carton’s question (below this post) he wrote back to tell me how unhelpful I was, so here goes my second try.

Carlton Writes:

If you took the time to read my letter, (looks like you didn’t) you would have seen that I was not employed at present, and that I thought my age was a mitigating factor. I was hoping for a comprehensive answer and not one geared to push your column or some expensive university.

Besides, $1200 for a three-credit course is just doesn’t make sense to someone who is not working!

I did read your whole letter. I did not answer the portions about your individual circumstances because my column answers questions about writing; it is not for personal advice. I do not have the skills to give personal advice. I can only advise about writing. Anything else is purely an uneducated opinion, and I have found that those do more harm than good in most cases.

Your letter begins with concerns about classes and ends with a discussion of technical education, so I discussed writing education in my answer. If age was your real question, then you should have asked something like, “Will my age prevent me from having a career as a technical writer?” You never asked me that. You presented me with your concerns about the education needed for technical writing, followed by your personal background, then more about technical skills and then asked what I thought. I, naturally, answered the part about writing and education.

Because you are worried about your age, I will tell you this. I currently work in a technical writing department in which every other writer is above the age of forty and many are in their fifties. Almost all of them are single parents and most transitioned into this career after the age of 35. I cannot address the issue of being an American in Germany or the job market there because I do not have access to anyone else in those circumstances. Nobody here has your specific circumstances, but everyone here has overcome their own obstacles to get where they are.

As for ‘pushing’ an expensive option, I believe you misinterpreted my answer. I told you that the course you were taking had merit and I told you that the benefit of the course is that it would give you valuable samples to use in your job search. I also advised the more comprehensive university courses because the course you are considering is not graded (making it difficult to measure your progress) and cannot be applied toward a degree should you decide to pursue one later. I presented you with a different option than the one you were considering but I never tried to dissuade you from the original course. Which option you choose is your choice. I get no financial or other consideration from the university I recommended; I just know that it is a very good distance-learning program because I have used it myself. I did recommend programming and technical education in general. I do not believe you must have an additional degree, but that does not mean it would not be valuable. A class in XML will not turn you into a good technical writer. It can, however, add a technical skill to your arsenal as a writer.

John’s Note: (Here is the original question and response. I had trimmed the question to the parts I answered, but it now appears in its entirety.)

Should I take an online technical writing course?

Carlton Writes:

I am considering a 12-week online technical wrting course sponsored by Online-Learning.com out of Canada. In this course, you are taught XML and get to produce a resume, a manual and a few other documents using an XML editor. Now some background: I had three technical and public relations writing internships through graduate school (got an MPA) some ten years ago. At the time, I didn’t consider following through with my writing career because I was half way through my program, jobs in that field were hard to come by, and, I would have had to start over. Now, I’m unemployed and living in Germany with my child, and government jobs are hard to come by, or I would return to the U.S. I’m 47 yrs. old and am already afraid of facing age discrimination. So, I thought, even though I haven’t very much technical background if any, that I would try to resuscitate my career in this field. I’m hoping if I can learn some programming languages, for example, that I could find a writing job without having to get another degree. What do you think, please help?

The course does sound like it has merit, though I have some reservations. Online-learning.com is affiliated with a legitimate university but the courses do not count toward any degree and as far as I can tell, are not graded. The benefit of the particular class you are considering is that it will help you develop some samples of your work, which can come in handy down the line. I would still recommend that you consider a for-credit university program such as the one through Northern Arizona University. Their program uses full-scale, graded classes and leads to a graduate-level certificate. More importantly, the class work can count toward a Master’s Degree.

I do recommend programming and other technical classes for prospective technical writers. The better your technical background, the greater your opportunities will be.

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