Understanding Theme and Moral

“What You Pawn I Will Redeem” explores the theme that Native Americans have difficulty running a modern life. In Seattle, Jackson Jackson interacts with numerous other homeless Native Americans from many regions of North America. All of them have the common problem of busting whatever money they earn on alcohol.“Rose of Sharon, Junior, and I carried our twenty-dollar bill and our five dollars in loose change over to the 7-Eleven and bought three bottles of imagination" (Alexie 31). Even though the three friends have a difficult goal, and need all the money they can get, they spend their initial money on alcohol. The moral of the story, however, states to feel as though one has succeeded, one must work to achieve a goal. “‘I’m on a mission here. I want to be a hero, you know? I want to win it back, like a knight’” (Alexie 42). Jackson Jackson explains this thinking to the “good” cop, Officer Williams. Even if Williams had the money to give, Jackson wouldn't take it.