Heather Chau on "War Dances" by Sherman Alexie

It's interesting seeing what Sherman Alexie chooses to write about in "War Dances". It's very deliberate, even though at first it seems like he just wrote anything relating to the men in his family. He seems to alternate timelines a lot and a main subject of this work is focused on the generations, his father, his grandfather, and his sons. He also mentions his wife a lot, especially for a character who's not physically around him during the scenes in the story. He also includes writing about a time when he was sick, and death seems to be also be a theme in this piece. But the main subject of the story seems to be his father who died.
He tends to draw a lot of parallels between him and his father in this piece His main mention of his father in this story is during a time when his dad is either sick or dying. Every moment Alexie writes about himself is with him either sick (or at least dealing with symptoms), afraid of dying, or talking about something dead. He also seems to feel a lot of guilt about his sons, like he's neglecting them the way his father did to himself (although not purposefully). His mention of his sons usually involve showing how neglectful he is with his children. A few examples:
"Mom would have fed us by now" on pg. 43, when he's taking care of them,
when he forgets to bring the toys for his sons on pg. 68,
and any other mention of them seems to be him leaving them with his step-brother.
Alexie's outlook on mothers also seems pretty similar to his father's, although his is shown and not said. One of Alexie's father's philosophies is: "Mothers are almost always better men than men are".
Given that Alexie mentions his wife often even when she's not there, saying things like how even if he died, his sons would be fine because of their graceful mother, or wishing that his wife would materialize at the doctor's office, it seems that Alexie's wife is a source of comfort and admiration for him, something that is conventionally attributed to men for women instead of vice versa.
They also seem to share the same kind of racial awareness, given that a lot of the content in his writing involves race and racial jokes-- like when his wife could be getting "revenge for every Indian"when she's visiting the Vatican-- and even at the end, what bonds him and his father most and with more than any one else is a joke about a white man calling his mind beautiful.
When I finished the piece, I wondered about why Alexie might have written it. Was it just to honor his father? I wonder if it could be that simple (Writers always seem to have complicated messages and hidden themes in their writing).  Could it be that Alexie is afraid, or guilty about how he treats his sons, that he might follow in his father's footsteps? That feels like pushing it a bit, though. Or maybe this was just for Alexie to write about what parts of his father Alexie sees in himself? Maybe it's just a way for him to let his feelings and thoughts about his father out? Is he low-key saying he disappoints himself? That seems like a stretch. Or, maybe writing this piece was just a way for him to feel closest to the man who had most disappointed him, as it's stated in the text (pg. 74).