Sunday, July 4, 2010
Who is the Indian Killer
Honestly, I think that the Indian killer was not an actual person, but a spirit or some other type of being that is not of this world. I think that the Indian killer could be the spirit of Father Duncan, come back for revenge against the white man. Father Duncan is described as a very large man, which fits the description of the Indian killer, and he is also very conflicted inside. In the book, Father Duncan talks to John about how the Indians killed the Jesuit priests, but couldn't kill all of the white men to push them out of their land. In return, many Indians were killed and they lost their land to the white men. This causes a great conflict in Father Duncan's mind, who is a Jesuit priest, when he thinks about how the white men murdered the Indians and took their land. Father Duncan then walks into the desert and disappears, where I believe he becomes the Indian killer, a spirit looking for revenge against the white men that took his land. I think that the Indian killer represents the Indian's overall hatred of the white man. Indians were forced onto reservations and treated badly on land that used to be theirs, and the white men expect them to like what they are doing and assimilate into their culture. However, the Indian spirit is captured in the Indian killer, who seeks to reclaim what was once theirs and eliminate the white man.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree with you that the killer was not a person but more of a spirit. It was a very mysterious being in the book, with few descriptions and less insight into who it could be. The idea that it could be the spirit of Father Duncan is a compelling argument. It is very possible that his spirit is seeking revenge on the white man. His soul was very conflicted throughout his life and probably couldn't rest in peace till it got its revenge and settled its complexity.
ReplyDeleteI think your take on the Indian Killer is very interesting. I never really thought of it not being a human form. I personally don't think that it was a spirit because I just do not see that being very realistic. When I read the book, everything seemed so real to me. It all seemed like it could happen today. That is really why I don't think Alexie made the killer a spirit. He might want us to think about that, but overall, I think one of the humans in the story was the one doing the killing. I guess the spirit could be inside of one of the characters that is making them do this. That is juts hard for me to believe.
ReplyDeleteThis possibility did cross my mind. For Father Duncan not being a living character in the book he was definitely mentioned a lot so it was a thought. The only issue I have with this is the fact that we know the killer has to be a physical being of some kind. I would say this is not a necessity but being that he was seen carrying the man he first killed by a person then he would have to be alive and breathing. I am not opposed to the idea that the killer was father Duncan possessing the body of John. John seems to be obsessed with father Duncan and has large amounts of respect for him so if John had a choice in whether he performed the killings Father Duncan wanted him to then I feel that John would trust in his judgment enough to do as Father Duncan asked. So even though I still think John is the killer it could very well in my opinion be Father Duncan that is the voice in Johns head telling him to kill.
ReplyDelete