[Racial] Melancholia in Sherman Alexie's Indian Killer: An Interdisciplinary Approach

The psychological condition of John Smith, the Native American adoptee who is the protagonist of Alexie's novel, has been a subject of study by various critics. John has been read as a schizophrenic subject or a character who embodies a collective, intergenerational trauma. Adding to these critical conversations, I contend that he is represented as suffering from a very specific psychological condition: melancholia.