Urban Indian Blues
Relevant Link: http://www.utne.com/arts/history-of-the-blues-ze0z1306zpit.aspx
Summary
The chapter opens with Coyote Springs prepping
for their first studio recording in New York City, in the hopes of receiving a
contract with Calvary Records. While waiting for the CEO, Mr. Armstrong, to
arrive at the recording studio, George Wright and Phil Sheridan are debating
whether or not their boss would like Coyote Springs. Sheridan argued that the
music industry is no longer about finding musicians, but rather someone who can
make money. Later, the band plays, “Urban Indian Blues,” in front of Mr.
Armstrong while Sheridan and Wright nervously watch on.
Victor’s guitar suddenly causes him too much
pain for him to continue while Checkers forgets her lyrics, and the band fails
to perform. Armstrong loses patience and tells the Coyote Springs that they do
not have what it takes to be professional. After Armstrong leaves, Sheridan and
Wright tells Coyote Springs that they need to go home and maybe after a while
Armstrong will cool down and want to hear them again. Sheridan and Wright try
to smooth things over, but Victor is too prideful to hear their pleas and he
trashes the studio in a fit. Victor and Junior flee the scene to go get drunk
in the city while the rest of the band tries to look for them.
Back at the hotel Chess, Checkers and Thomas
are frantically thinking about what to do and how New York is extremely
dangerous for two Indian men. They started thinking about scenarios where
Victor and Junior get killed. Chess and Thomas decided to grab a phonebook and
search every bar they come across for Junior and Victor.
While Victor is getting trashed, Junior flashes
back to his time he had spent in college, where he met a white woman named
Lynn. It is revealed that the two of them had had a romantic relationship where
he impregnated her, but the pressure of raising a child, or even being with an
Indian man, was too much for Lynn, so they split.
Meanwhile, Checkers is waiting at the hotel
room in case Victor and Junior make their way back there. There she falls
asleep and has a nightmare where Sheridan berates her, tortures her, and
attempts to rape her. Wright, feeling guilty about the whole situation, goes to
the room to apologize to the band, but he finds Checkers having a nightmare
instead. He wakes her up as the rest of the band including Victor and Junior
make their way back to the room. Wright then explains that he feels guilty and
that he feels that he owes them. Implying that Wright is suffering from guilt
by all the wrongdoings the white men have done to the Native Americans.
Note: The possible
play on words between Cavalry and Calvary…
The Epigraph
The song at the chapter’s beginning, “Urban Indian Blues,”
describes a hardship an Indian man faces while living in an urban city. The
urban life characterized in the song seems worse than life on the reservation,
because not only is he discriminated against by his landlady and not getting as
much as he wants, he is also all alone in an unfamiliar environment. The
environment he is living in much better than the reservation, but he is alone
and has no one to talk to except his boss. We can conclude, therefore, that urban
life for an Indian seems worse than life on the reservation. It sounds like
living conditions are terrible as the speaker claims, “I trip on rats when I
climb the stairs” and “I’m working for minimum, I’m working the maximum.” The
Indians seem like they are going to big cities to find a better life, but they
find that they do not belong and life at home was better than off the
reservation. Then when they decide to go home, they say “I’m saving money for
the Greyhound ‘Cause I want to be homeward bound” but it is hard to save enough
money even to return home.
Sheridan, Wright, and
Armstrong
Sheridan: Sheridan serves as the white men who were evil that
took away and killed many Native Americans. He seems to only care about
himself. He starts berating Coyote Springs after they screw up in the recording
booth when he says, “I brought you little shits here. You screwed me over”
(228). He only sees them as a way for him to make money and he starts treating
them poorly when he realizes that they will not bring him success.
Wright: Wright serves as the white men who felt guilty for
killing and taking innocent Native Americans’ lives. He too wants success, but
he is much more aware that Coyote Springs also lost a lot when the recording
contract didn’t go through. He has much more of a conscience than Sheridan.
After the incident at the recording studio, “He couldn’t sleep at all. He had
tossed and turned, worrying about the band” (241). He has plenty to worry about
himself, but instead he worries about the well-being of the people that he
brought into this situation.
Armstrong: Armstrong, the greedy leader, serves as the generals
who commanded men like Sheridan and Wright to take away Native Americans’
beloved land and dreams. He only seems to be interested in what will bring him
success, and he seems indifferent to everything else. When he first sees Coyote
Springs, he immediately repeats himself by asking “Can they play?” (224). Then,
when sees that they screw up, he just says “They don’t have it” and leaves. He
probably got to his position of CEO by focusing only on business.
The Screaming Horses
The horses screaming serves as an ominous foreshadowing. For
example, in chapter 1 the horses never screamed in pain until the white men
came and took over the Native American’s home. The horses represent the pain and suffering of the past
generations of Indians. This happens at the most important part of the novel where
the characters are desperate to succeed. They have hopes that If their
recording goes well, they will be set for a better life.
The newspaper article
on 227-228
This article reinforces the personality traits we have seen
developed in each member of Coyote Springs.
Victor: The article reveals that he speaks what’s on his mind
and doesn't care about how anyone feels about his comments. In the interview he
very bluntly stated “We’re going to be rock stars. And we won’t have to come to
this reservation ever again. We’ll just leave all of you [jerks] to your
[awful] lives” (227). This showed how rude, inconsiderate, ignorant, and
childish he could be.
Thomas: He does not want to get his hopes up. In the interview
he was very choosing of his words, unlike Victor. He states that “They haven’t
promised us anything.” This shows that he will not get too excited for anything
until everything is a done deal. So he is treating the audition like an
audition and nothing more. He seems to be humble and practical.
Junior: He’s a person who is trying to find out what his purpose
is to be on Earth. In the interview he mentions “I just want to be good at
something.” He doesn't know what he’s good at and is struggling to find what he
can do well. That is his one and only goal. He also seems to seek approval.
Native American Men
and White Women
According to Junior's personal view on white women— he considers
white women to be trophies for Indian men and felt that having a white woman
"was like counting coup or stealing horses" (233). Junior believes
that Indian men were drawn toward white women because it was “the best kind of
revenge against white men” (233). To some extent this could be true. Junior was
turned down by Lynn because white society would reject their union. This type
of rejection is part of what causes Indians to be resentful of white people,
and Indian men know that they can anger white people in revenge through their
interactions with white women. As a Native American man who can identify
historically with his culture in terms of land being annexed by the white Anglo
Saxon, it understandable that being with a white woman would be the ultimate
revenge– some kind of retribution. This plays into white privilege and what
that means to a person whose cultural group has been a victim of white
privilege.
Men of color are attracted to women of another color if that
person is surrounded by them for years– and it is that result of being around
white, brown, black that they are attracted to them. Some might have that
agenda of viewing white women as high status and that having a white woman
signifies the norm of society. For some cases yes it is very possible. Junior believes that Indian men were drawn
toward white women because it was “the best kind of revenge against white men”
(233). To some extent this could be true. Junior was turned down by Lynn
because white society would reject their union. This type of rejection is part
of what causes Indians to be resentful of white people, and Indian men know
that they can anger white people in revenge through their interactions with
white women.
Checkers’ Dream
While Checkers was waiting for Chess and Thomas to return alone
or with Junior and Victor, Checkers had dozed off and started to dream about
Phil Sheridan. In her dream Sheridan first came to apologize to Checkers and
the band, and later he started sharing his feelings that how much the Coyote
Springs had blown the opportunity with Mr. Armstrong. Checkers quickly replied
back to him claiming that the band had done nothing wrong in the studio.
Sheridan got a little irritated and told Checkers “That’s what you Indians
always say” (page 236). Him saying something like that and later on talking
about how much he was annoyed by the Indians proves the fact that he isn’t a
big fan of them. He believed that the Indians were too stubborn and too smart.
Later on in the dream Sheridan mentioned the war between the Indians and the
whites, and how he pierced a saber through a pregnant Indian woman’s heart and
stomped her to death. After he had killed her he told Checkers that he had opened
the Indian woman’s stomach and pulled the fetus out and said “We couldn't have
that. Nits make lice, you know” (237)? Checkers got lost within her own dream
thinking that it was real for a while. She later on recognizes that it is a
dream and starts to tell him to go away and stop talking to her, claiming that
whatever that has happened on the 11th floor isn’t real. I think Checkers dream
was about the white man being a liar– it goes into that thought of being
manipulated or deceived. While Sheridan has her tied she states to him
"you ain't much at all. You're just another white guy telling lies. You
never tell a true story" (241). Sheridan in her dream tells Checkers that
he's killed an Indian woman before but she didn't die and fought–that Indians
were not as stupid as the white man thought. He then compared them to Einstein.
This dream seems to play into the American Native holocaust that occurred. The
whole white idealism theme that occurred then and how it manifested into
present day. White man trying to marginalize an Indian band by buying them is
very similar as how the gentleman buys the soul of the holder. Checker’s dream appears
to be a warning to stay away from that scene.
Inter-racial Marriage
in Howard County
According to the racial demographics of Howard County in 2008,
there is 3.5% inter racial and 61.4% of White. In the 1980s, when Junior was
most likely to be in college, inter racial was at 0.9% and 85.5% White. This
data shows us that there has been a decreasing of White population and an
increase of inter racial from the thirty-year gap. The acceptance of inter
racial marriage is definitely higher, but it is still not as common as to those
living in states such as California.
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