More handpicked essays just for you.
Native american stereotypes research paper
Discrimination and oppression of Native Americans
Summary of american literature on based on american indian storytelling
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Sherman Alexi is a Native American short story author and in this story “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona,” his protagonist is portrayed in many of the stereotypical ways of being an Indian who lives on a reservation, some of these ways are is he is shown as being very spiritual by seeing the future and having special dreams as well as living up to the idea that most Indians are story tellers. The stereotype that Thomas Builds-the-Fire first lives up to is that he believes he is spiritual and receives messages from the earth. When Victor ran into Thomas at the post office, Thomas seemed to already know that victors father has passed away and when victor questions him on how he already knew Thomas replies with “I heard …show more content…
He was right.” (8). Even though the stereotypes of being an Indian on a reservation are usually false or bad Thomas’s dream ended up becoming a reality, these two instances show one of many thing Native Americans are believed to go do. In addition to being spiritual and having dream Thomas also fits into the stereotype that most Native Americans are story tellers. Thomas is known on the reservation as a crazy story teller that no one likes to talk to anymore though this can relate to the real Indians back in the day who would always tell stories to their tribes. One story Thomas told Victor was when they went to see fireworks together and Victor asked for a story and Thomas said “there were these two Indian boys who wanted to be warriors but it was too late to be warriors in the old ways (…) (3). The story Thomas told Victor helped show their dreams as Indian boys wishing to still be able to be warriors. Thomas would also mention stories of how his father died in World War II and his mother giving birth to him and he copes with life more by being able to tell his stories even if no one really listens. After Thomas and Victor returned from their trip getting Victors fathers items Thomas said “I know you ain’t going to treat me any better than you did before.
Sherman Alexie was a man who is telling us about his life. As an author he uses a lot of repetition, understatement, analogy, and antithesis. Alexie was a man of greater words and was a little Indian boy at the beginning of the story and later became a role model for other boys like him who were shy and alone. Alexie was someone who used his writing to inspire others such as other Indian kids like himself to keep learning and become the best that they can be.
In this essay, McFarland discusses Native American poetry and Sherman Alexie’s works. He provides an overview of Alexie’s writing in both his poems and short stories. A brief analysis of Alexie’s use of humor is also included.
Sherman Alexie grew up in Wellpinit, Washington as a Spokane/Coeur d’Alene tribal member (Sherman Alexie). He began his personal battle with substance abuse in 1985 during his freshman year at Jesuit Gonzaga University. The success of his first published work in 1990 incentivized Alexie to overcome his alcohol abuse. “In his short-story and poetry collections, Alexie illuminates the despair, poverty, and alcoholism that often shape the lives of Native Americans living on reservations” (Sherman Alexie). When developing his characters, Alexie often gives them characteristics of substance abuse, poverty and criminal behaviors in an effort to evoke sadness with his readers. Alexie utilizes other art forms, such as film, music, cartoons, and the print media, to bombard mainstream distortion of Indian culture and to redefine Indianness. “Both the term Indian and the stereotypical image are created through histories of misrepresentation—one is a simulated word without a tribal real and the other an i...
Thomas has many characteristics but one trait that really makes him stand out is always being determined. When Thomas’s friends were sent into the maze he was very intent on getting them out and saving them. “What if he saved them? He thought. What if I saved my friends?” (Dashner 300). When Thomas finally realized the true evils of WICKED he knew that he had to stop them. “Wicked was never going to stop. They were never, never going to stop” (Dashner 296). Thomas knew that he had to do whatever he could to save his friends and to stop
The conflicting personalities of Thomas and Victor portrayed the duality of Native Americans struggling to keep their culture alive in the midst of the modern technological world.
Victor remembers a time when he was fifteen and had gotten into a drunken brawl with Thomas. Victor would not have stopped the beating if not confronted by Norma Many Horses. Out of respect and fear for Norma, who is like the warriors of old, the warriors Victor holds in such regard and aspires to himself, so Victor ceased his assault of Thomas (4). Norma’s presence is a reminder to Victor that the old way is not completely dead and Victor may still be powerful as he dreamed so many years earlier. No other character effects Victor's personality more so than Thomas. However, unlike Norma, Thomas parallels Victor revealing to Victor that he has strayed so far from his cultural heritage. Thomas is the modern embodiment of their Indian ancestors. A storyteller, but with no one to tells his stories to (2). Victor and the rest of the community treat Thomas as an outsider, even though Thomas is more like the prideful Indians from years past. In days past the community would have gathered around to hear these grand tales, but those weighed down by the burdens of reality have no time for tales. Traveling to Phoenix and back together Thomas’ influence creates feelings of guilt in Victor, that the sense of community does not exist (11). Thomas helps Victor realize that any sense of Indian pride has died on his reservation and the only thing he really shares with these people is “a bottle and broken dreams” (11). Hope, great dreams, and aspirations were once held by Victor as a child, but over the years those were destroyed by poverty, abandonment, and a trip to Phoenix,
In Sherman Alexie’s narrative, “The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian,” the struggles of race Arnold, the main character, endured lead him to have a sense of clarity on his position in this world, being a Native American. Arnold Junior experiences many a loss and torment of his peers. He also goes through may hardships because of the color of his skin. Hardship clarify someone’s position in this world, leading one to become wiser in their choices and actions. The theme is developed throughout the narrative by Arnold experiencing struggles of racism and poverty which is explained by what he learned and felt.
When he shares his stories, he closes his eyes and crosses his hands as if praying; there is something spiritual about his prophecies, an old wisdom shared through tales. However, his Native identity seems to be belittled by how he dresses and how he chooses to wear his hair back in braids. It may be an allusion to how Indians were forced to assimilate to the ways of the Europeans in boarding schools. Victor even gives Thomas a lesson on “how to be a real Indian” which includes acting stoic and looking as if they just came back from battle as warriors. The roles of Thomas and Victor demonstrate how some generations of Indians embraced its history and others rejected
Adjusting to another culture is a difficult concept, especially for children in their school classrooms. In Sherman Alexie’s, “Indian Education,” he discusses the different stages of a Native Americans childhood compared to his white counterparts. He is describing the schooling of a child, Victor, in an American Indian reservation, grade by grade. He uses a few different examples of satire and irony, in which could be viewed in completely different ways, expressing different feelings to the reader. Racism and bullying are both present throughout this essay between Indians and Americans. The Indian Americans have the stereotype of being unsuccessful and always being those that are left behind. Through Alexie’s negativity and humor in his essay, it is evident that he faces many issues and is very frustrated growing up as an American Indian. Growing up, Alexie faces discrimination from white people, who he portrays as evil in every way, to show that his childhood was filled with anger, fear, and sorrow.
Firstly, the poem, “I’m not the Indian you had in mind,” is oozing with stereotypes and irony. Talking about how people assume “Indians” are the figure found in history books wearing hides and a headdress is a common stereotype and misconception. The quote, “With wolf and eagle by his side,” as well as “the boys who sing around the drum” make the truth in the statement genuinely visible. Thomas also speaks that “He may well have a secret song, a dance he’ll share, a long lost chant,” supporting the stereotypes that Indians are perceived to be like.
In conclusion, Sherman Alexie created a story to demonstrate the stereotypes people have created for Native Americans. The author is able to do this by creating characters that present both the negative and positive stereotypes that have been given to Native Americans. Alexie has a Native American background. By writing a short story that depicts the life of an Indian, the reader also gets a glimpse of the stereotypes encountered by Alexie. From this short story readers are able to learn the importance of having an identity while also seeing how stereotypes are used by many people. In the end of the story, both Victor and Thomas are able to have an understanding of each other as the can finally relate with each other through Victor's father.
Victor, a reservation Indian, needs to go to collect the body of his father in Phoenix, Arizona. He was unemployed and with no money to make that trip. The reservation tribal council only could afford to give him only one hundred bucks, not enough for a round trip. He found Thomas Builds-the-Fire, who offers his saving with on the condition that he accompany Victor to Phoenix. Thomas has always been a storyteller that no one wants to listen. Nobody talk to Thomas because he says the same stories over and over again. Victor decides to take Thomas offer because there was no other
In life, everyone experiences a time of hardship, and for the most part, those affected find methods of overcoming the adversity. The idea of getting through hardship is best reflected in; Sherman J. Alexie’s story “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” (274). In the story, victor whose father had recently died from a heart attack has to travel to phoenix Arizona to reclaim his father’s ashes and his truck. Victor is joined by his former childhood friend “Thomas Builds-the-fire”, who finances the trip to phoenix since Victor did not have the means. They drove back truck from phoenix to the reservation. Throughout the trip, Thomas is always telling stories mostly reminiscing about their childhood. It is through Thomas stories that we learn much about Victor’s father. Through the use of symbolism, and character development, Alexie conveys the idea that, when someone is experiencing an adversity, reconnecting and embracing the past may lead to a discovery of a brighter future.
The other characters are mere set pieces there to follow orders and occasionally provide fodder (not on the same scale as red shirts in Star Trek but it’s the same idea). There are a few times that Thomas’ followers question his leadership, but those moments are token at best and there’s no actual exploration of that dynamic. And while Thomas is filled with doubt about what he’s told by authority figures, his doubt never extends to himself, a missed story opportunity given that the theme of self-discovery is central to these
Sherman Alexie, an Indian boy who was born and raised on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington, grew up in a world where he was expected to be stupid due to his ethnic background. Alexie was different than all of the other Indian kids in his class at school; he had a willingness to learn and he didn’t want to be like the other kids who sat back, quiet as could be, with the thought that putting in any effort was pointless. Making something of yourself during that time and with that background was unheard of; instead, ‘those who failed were ceremonially accepted by other Indians and appropriately pitied by non-Indians’ (Alexie, 17). The Indians wanted to appear as weak and stupid because that is what they grew accustomed to and because a “smart Indian” was considered a dangerous person (Alexie, 17). Alexie did not want to live that way; he did not want...