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Native american stereotypes research paper
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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.
In an interview with Sherman Alexie, Alexie states that, "The smoke that originates from the first fire in the movie is what causes these events, and the smoke from the second fire brings about the beginning of resolution." The first fire is the tragic house fire and the second fire is a fire that the healing figure of the movie starts in order to burn down the trailer Arnold Joseph lived in. The trailer's fire symbolizes letting go of all the pain Arnold Joseph caused in the world. It helps show that Victor is slowly letting go of the pain his father caused which in turn means the fire that burns within him is starting to smolder as
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 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.
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...
In “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix Arizona”, Victor has become psychologically troubled because he has put his own traditions behind. Throughout the story, the readers find out that Victor has an internal conflict due to the unhealthy relationships in his life. His father abandons him at a very young age, which causes Victor’s loss of guidance and self-identity. The day that Victor’s father abandons his family, Victor gets “really drunk and beat[s] Thomas up for no apparent reason at all”(276). If no one would have stopped Victor, Thomas-build-the-fire would have died which clearly shows the readers that Victor is mentally troubled. Not only does he lose his father but, Victor also loses his best friend on that same day. In other words, Victor is mentally traumatized after the abandonment. In fact, Rothe Eugenio, a professor in the department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Health at Florida Inter...
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.
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.
In “This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona,” Alexie creates a story that captures the common stereotypes of Native Americans. For instance, in the story the narrator states, “Who does have money on a reservation, except the cigarette and fireworks salespeople?” (Alexie). This quotation shows that the narrator addresses the idea that all Native Americans must own businesses that sell fireworks and/ or cigarettes in order to be successful. In this example, Victor is shown to not identify with the Native Americans because he does not pursue the same job opportunities as many Native Americans do. Victor's character is used as a contrast to the stereotypes that , there he represents reality. Another instance in which the author incorporates a stereotype about Native Americans is when Thomas-Builds-the-Fire first makes conversation with Victor. Thomas-Builds-the-Fire informs Victor about the news of Victor's ...
Victor knew he was a Native American that lived on the reservation. However, as he has grown up, it seems he has forgotten the tribal ties of the Native Americans. The people of that culture consider everyone in the tribe to be family and they are not ashamed of who they are and where they come from. Towards the end of the fictional narrative it is said, “Victor was ashamed of himself. Whatever happened to the tribal ties, the sense of community? The only real thing he shared with anybody was a bottle and broken dreams. He owed Thomas something, anything” (519). At the end of the story, Victor has finally realize that he is acting self absorbed. He realizes that this is not who he wants to be and he should not be ashamed to talk to Thomas Builds-a-Fire. Remembering his tribal ties, Victor gives half of his father 's ashes to Thomas. By doing that, Victor is thanking Thomas in his own way. Victor said, “listen, and handed Thomas the cardboard box which contained half of his father. “I want you to have this” (519). Individuals on the reservation thought Thomas was just a madman with weird stories. But in reality he was always true to his tribal identity and has even taught Victor how to get back to that. For example Thomas says, “I’m going to travel to Spokane Falls one last time and toss these ashes into the water. And your father will rise like a salmon, leap over the bridge, over me, and find his way
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
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
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.
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
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.