In a typical hero's journey, the protagonist accepts a call to adventure, meets trials and tribulations, experiences a revelation, and then atones and makes a return. In Alexie's "What You Pawn I Will Redeem," the protagonist Jackson Jackson embarks on a hero's journey and "returns" as a proud member of his tribal community. As Jackson attempts to get his grandmother's stolen regalia back from a pawn broker, he meets several situations in which money alludes him. Even when he comes into luck and gets money, he ends up spending it either on drinking or food for himself and others. But Jackson is determined to get the money for his grandmother's regalia purely by his own efforts, and his pride and resolve carry him through his journey. Jackson ends up atoning for the poor life choices that he has made, but he maintains that his tribe and his family should not suffer loss simply because he himself is a broken man. When in the end Jackson does regain his grandmother's regalia from the pawn broker, he dances the dance that she would have if she were alive. In a sense, this is a second chance for Jackson, an opportunity to live a more honorable life--and to teach others to live honorably as well.
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