Perpetuating or Rejecting: The Use of Stereotypical Images in Sherman Alexie's Fiction

Abstract

This paper explores the use of four central stereotypes of Indigenous Peoples — the “classic warrior”, the “living anachronism”, the “innately spiritual”, and finally the “barfly” — throughout the fiction of Sherman Alexie, while maintaining that Alexie simultaneously perpetuates and rejects these stereotypical images and ideals throughout his work.