Previous
Jackson Jackson
Agnes was Jackson’s grandmother. Although she died of breast cancer in 1979, years before the story takes place, she and her powwow regalia are in many ways the heart of the story. Each of Agnes’s family members have different theories as to where her cancer may have come from, but each of their theories are universally tied back to violence or heartbreak. She died when Jackson was only 14, but she is deeply important to him and his grief for her is a fresh as if she’d died only yesterday. Jackson views Agnes and the powwow regalia that was stolen from her as connections to his Spokane American Indian roots and culture. He mourns the fact that he never got to see her dance in a powwow, feeling that when she died, so did a piece of his cultural heritage. Jackson doesn’t have many memories of his grandmother, but one of her stories that remains with him is about the time that she met a Maori man when she was working abroad as a military nurse. The two of them discussed how indigenous people worldwide are oppressed by white society. At the end of the story, Jackson gets the regalia back and wears it while dancing in the street, a moment that he feels symbolically connects him with Agnes.
Agnes Quotes in What You Pawn I Will Redeem
The What You Pawn I Will Redeem quotes below are all either spoken by Agnes or refer to Agnes. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Noon
Quotes
I knew that the solitary yellow bead was a part of me. I knew that I was the yellow bead in part. Outside, I wrapped myself in my grandmother’s regalia and breathed her in. I stepped off the sidewalk and into the intersection. Pedestrians stopped. Cars stopped. The city stopped. They all watched me dance with my grandmother. I was my grandmother, dancing.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
3:00 P.M.
Quotes
I wondered if my grandmother’s cancer had started when somebody stole her powwow regalia. Maybe the cancer started in her broken heart and then leaked out into her breasts. I know it’s crazy, but I wondered if I could bring my grandmother back to life if I bought back her regalia.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
6:00 P.M.
Quotes
“It’s funny, isn’t it?” he asked.
“What’s funny?”
“How we brown people are killing other brown people so white people will remain free.”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way.”
“Well, sometimes I think of it that way. And other times, I think of it the way they want me to think of it. I get confused.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
8:00 A.M.
Quotes
The Aleuts sang their strange and beautiful songs. I listened. They sang about my grandmother and their grandmothers. They were lonely for the cold and snow. I was lonely for everybody.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire What You Pawn I Will Redeem LitChart as a printable PDF.
Agnes Quotes in What You Pawn I Will Redeem
The What You Pawn I Will Redeem quotes below are all either spoken by Agnes or refer to Agnes. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Noon
Quotes
I knew that the solitary yellow bead was a part of me. I knew that I was the yellow bead in part. Outside, I wrapped myself in my grandmother’s regalia and breathed her in. I stepped off the sidewalk and into the intersection. Pedestrians stopped. Cars stopped. The city stopped. They all watched me dance with my grandmother. I was my grandmother, dancing.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
3:00 P.M.
Quotes
I wondered if my grandmother’s cancer had started when somebody stole her powwow regalia. Maybe the cancer started in her broken heart and then leaked out into her breasts. I know it’s crazy, but I wondered if I could bring my grandmother back to life if I bought back her regalia.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
6:00 P.M.
Quotes
“It’s funny, isn’t it?” he asked.
“What’s funny?”
“How we brown people are killing other brown people so white people will remain free.”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way.”
“Well, sometimes I think of it that way. And other times, I think of it the way they want me to think of it. I get confused.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
8:00 A.M.
Quotes
The Aleuts sang their strange and beautiful songs. I listened. They sang about my grandmother and their grandmothers. They were lonely for the cold and snow. I was lonely for everybody.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
