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Lauren Sakamoto

Dr. Malashewski

IB ENGLISH

04 December 2023

Core Concept- Perspective

Orange's construction of Jackie Red Feather is an outlet representing the daily struggles many

Native Americans face in an urban society. Jackie Red Feather gives readers insight into the

struggle of being Native American through embodying disbelonging, addiction, and regret.

Jackie Red Feather was sexually assaulted as a young girl as seen when she said “I told him not

to. Then he did. I told him to stop.” “It doesn’t fucking matter”(Orange 56). Rather than talk it

out with her sister and allow her sister to fully understand the situation Jackie brushed it off.

Jackies ability to brush off sexual assault fully ties into the interlude. The speaker in the interlude

said “The tragedy of it all will be unspeakable, the fact we’ve been fighting for decades to be

recognized as a present-tense people, modern and relevant, alive, only to die in the grass wearing

feathers' '(Orange 141). The Interlude establishes a deeper understanding on Jackie's ability to

stay silent through her sexual assault encounter. Due to the lack of importance her identity holds

in society she felt as though nobody would care to know or help her through traumatic

encounters like sexual assault. Jackie’s resulting actions create a bigger picture because as

readers we’re able to understand the circumstances Native Americans have had to tolerate.

Readers gain awareness on Native Americans' instincts as their environment influences them to

hide away their truths because their atmosphere has shaped them into feeling invaluable.
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Often enough as readers and individuals we believe addiction is a choice. However a new

perspective is conveyed through Jackie Red feathers addiction. Unplanned pregnancy cannot be

controlled especially if it occurred through sexual assault. Unfortunately this was in the cards for

Jackie as she was pregnant with Harry’s child. Ultimately Jackie regretted giving her daughter

up. Jackie’s regret is shown as she confronts her truth in a circle of alcoholics saying “The girl I

birthed came from that island. From what happened there. When I gave her up, I was seventeen.

I was stupid”(Orange 110). Jackie beats herself up every time she thinks about giving her

daughter up. Orange's literary choices reveal bigger interpretations as Jackie's addiction to

alcohol may physically be her choice. But internally trauma has led Jackie into feeling the need

to numb herself from her past. Orange is creating different perspectives of ideas that are

commonly associated with words like addiction and alcoholism. This literary choice of Orange’s

was fully intentional as this idea can be traced back to history. For most individuals only one side

of history was taught for decades. This side of history is the only history individuals have ever

known. But once another perspective of history is surfaced into society people are so quick to

shut it down. This ties into the evolution and longevity of stereotypes.Through a non biased

perspective like Jackie's story. Readers are able to see two perspectives of alcoholism at once.

First begin self sabotage and secondly environmental influence. Orange created more than one

interpretation of Jackie's addiction in order for readers to understand there is more than one

perspective and way of thinking. Orange has tied closed mindedness to stereotypes because like

James Baldwin once said “People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them”. In order

to move past history and live in the moment we must open our minds to new ways of thinking.
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