Cockroaches And Death In “War Dances”

Many factors contribute to the stigma surrounding death, including fear of dying and anticipation of pain. Sherman Alexie also feels the stress of not knowing much about death, despite it being a natural thing. Alexie starts his story collection War Dances by telling about an experience he had when he found a cockroach dead in his suitcase. He wonders about the cockroach’s death: “Did it make him feel afraid?” Isolation? Alexie’s 29th question is “What do you feel?” He doesn’t know that, later on, he will have the opportunity to ask himself those same questions while he believes he has died. Sherman Alexie represents death and its fear through the lifeless, dead cockroach in his suitcase.

Sherman Alexie shows increasing fear when he discovers that he is dying or could be. Alexie repeatedly mentions the cockroach in his suitcase at several points throughout this story. He is distressed when he speaks about health or medicine. This story is immediately followed by “My Kafka Baggage”, in which an elderly man, who had lost most of his hearing, was admitted to a hospital’s emergency room. Alexie’s fear is evident, whether this is a true story or a fictional one. He sings songs and prays to the Lord as he tries to examine his ear using a mirror. The cockroach symbolizes the fear of not understanding what’s going on, and his story only adds to that fear. Alexie declares at the beginning that he feels “invaded” (29). In this quote, Alexie is referring not only to cockroaches that have invaded his luggage, but also his property. He compares this invasion with the one he feels from the tumor on his head. Alexie is directly affected by the roaches.

Alexie asks a second time about the cockroach in War Dances. The cockroach isn’t really dead, as Alexie fears. But this is another question he can later ask himself. Alexie is agitated by his steroid use and fears that his tumor will become malignant. He spends his night before his wife returns feeling uncomfortable. The cockroach may not be directly involved in this scene, but this quote is related to his questions about the roach that he poses at the beginning. The cockroach dies alone, so he asks himself whether it feels that way. The cockroach is a symbol of the feelings that come with death.

Alexie’s story, although he doesn’t pose typical existentialist queries such as “What does life mean?” or “What are the final thoughts of a cockroach?”, shows the existential anxiety that he describes as he is questioning the cockroach. Alexie begins to shop for items he thinks might be useful as a relic in the future, displaying signs that he’s wondering about what happens at death. Alexie also questions his existence and the consequences of his absence. It also applies to the exit interview for his father.

Death is a prominent theme in many of his dark works. This theme is portrayed in many different ways in the “War Dances” story. For instance, the death cockroach found at the beginning of this text is a great metaphor. The insect was asked “did he experience fear?” Isolation? Alexie asks himself questions that would be possible to answer later, when he is told about the brain tumor. The roach Alexie discovers in his suitcase as War Dances begins, and the analysis that follows, represents the fear of death throughout the collection.

Bibliography

Alexie, Sherman. War Dances. New York’s Grove Press published the work in 2009. Print.