Sanders Reflection

Ruth Owusu

Dr. Ellis 

Postcolonial Literature 

September 27, 2023 

                                                                    Sanders Reflection 

    In the article entitled, "Going after Old Alabama" and "Looking for Rhonda Honda," William Sanders addresses the tension of looking back at America's past, while simultaneously progressing towards the future through the lens of the indigenous context and American government context. In "Going After Old Alabama," Old Alabama goes back in time to make extinct the event of the arrival of Christopher Columbus on Native American soil does not seem like a bad idea. However, the idea was given to a man who did not fully process the depths of this idea. As stated by Charlie Baldwater, "You know the worst part? It was a hell of a great idea he had. Too bad it had to occur to an idiot." "Nasgiduh nusdi," Thomas Cornstalk said. "That's how it is." (Sanders, 60). 

    In contrast, in "Looking for Rhonda Honda," the storyline shows the tension of progressing toward the future. Specifically, at the governmental level of the President, Rhonda Honda broke away from heteronormativity and accepted gender morphing from a man to a woman. Rhonda Honda was happy to be a woman and accepted that; however, the possible scrutiny from the public as a President with a new identity was daunting. So, the best way was to escape. Noir challenges her that it does not have to be that way. As noted by Noir, "Getting away with it," I said, "is the American way" (Sanders, 260). 

    In both these articles, Sanders is proposing yet breaking grounds of the tension of acknowledging the desire to escape the brutal reality of American history and come to an understanding of progressing towards the future where the fluidness of gender is normalized. The question of the past does not end with a fairytale ending, but rather the acceptance of the indigenous men of the events that transpired in American history and moving along in living their lives, as they continue to do.  In the same way, as the question of the future, of acknowledging the normality of gender morphing as it is, and so doing, just moving along with life.  




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