Ten Little Indians
The book, “Ten Little Indians”, by author Sherman Alexie, is a collection of fictional short stories that are all fascinating and enthralling. All the characters in this book are full of depth, but there are two that stand out to me. One of those characters is William from the story, “Flight Patterns”, and the other is the character David from the story, “Do You Know Where I Am”. I find both these characters as very 3-dimensional and interesting. They both have their good and bad traits, they both have reasons that make them particularly undesirable, and they both have something that deeply troubles them that shapes the story.
William is a businessman who, despite the pleas of his family, has to go on a business trip. It turns out he does this a lot, but despite this seems to still loves his family very much. He tells the reader how he does fifty push-ups and sit-ups every single morning. That shows that he also cares about his health. He also states how he sleeps on the couch every night for his alarm doesn’t wake his wife and child in the mornings. He also takes his showers in the basement and kisses them both goodbye whilst trying to let them sleep. This is another example of how much he cares for his family. Later on in the story he confesses that he is very wary of people of color. This is due to the bombings of 9/11 which was a year before the time setting of the story. At the same time he is quick to profile people including himself. At first he makes his cabbie out to be from Africa due to his accent, and he describes himself as a long-haired Mexican even though he is Indian. Later on in the story, he seems to get put on a guilt trip by the cabbie and his story. The fact that he got conned like that shows that he is gullible, but at the same time it shows the love that he still has for his family. David is the second character that stood out. He was a student at a university and would quote various poems along with his girlfriend. This shows that he is
William is a businessman who, despite the pleas of his family, has to go on a business trip. It turns out he does this a lot, but despite this seems to still loves his family very much. He tells the reader how he does fifty push-ups and sit-ups every single morning. That shows that he also cares about his health. He also states how he sleeps on the couch every night for his alarm doesn’t wake his wife and child in the mornings. He also takes his showers in the basement and kisses them both goodbye whilst trying to let them sleep. This is another example of how much he cares for his family. Later on in the story he confesses that he is very wary of people of color. This is due to the bombings of 9/11 which was a year before the time setting of the story. At the same time he is quick to profile people including himself. At first he makes his cabbie out to be from Africa due to his accent, and he describes himself as a long-haired Mexican even though he is Indian. Later on in the story, he seems to get put on a guilt trip by the cabbie and his story. The fact that he got conned like that shows that he is gullible, but at the same time it shows the love that he still has for his family. David is the second character that stood out. He was a student at a university and would quote various poems along with his girlfriend. This shows that he is