Searching For Oneself Not all wounds heal- some cut deeper than just what you see on the surface. Whether in fiction or real life, this remains strikingly accurate. Sherman Alexie’s novel, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven showcases a consistent theme of inner struggle while on a constant search to find one's identity and purpose. The presence of this theme prevails in each accompanied chapter and remains a strong force in guiding each character on their own personal journey. Tradition counteracts perseverance and in the end, takes an extreme toll on the warrior himself. The main protagonist, Victor, in Alexie’s detailed novel faces unforeseen dilemmas within his own self and identity. We voyage through Victor’s life and major …show more content…
All three scenarios carry a heavy influence over Victor and his upbringings and the formation of lost individuality. As with many younger Native American generations, the burden of being fearless, confident, and intense like their ancestors before them often weighs down their own personal growth and transformation. Unlike Sherman Alexie’s previous literary works, The Lone Ranger and the Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, can be interpreted as somewhat biological and still all the more conflicting. From the time Victor was a young boy, his self awareness to being a full Native American came with problematic consequences. “And of course, Victor dreamed of whiskey, vodka, tequila, those fluids swallowing him just as easily as he swallowed them” (Alexie 7). The last thing Victor wanted to become in this world was an alcoholic like some many before him and still around him. But fate, eventually always gets what he wants. Try as he might- Victor found himself consumed by booze and began to only identify himself by that specific and lonesome characteristic. Unchanged by his desire to drink his problems away, Victor goes through his life as an exoskeleton of his younger, more determined and resilient self. …show more content…
Idolization is a powerful mind game that makes it’s own rule. “And, just like everyone else, Indians need heroes to help them learn to survive. But what happens when our heroes don’t even know how to pay their bills?” (Alexie 49). When you finally reach the conclusion that you are nothing like your role model, and in fact you are worse, it’s more than easy to bow down to your demons and let them take ahold of who you are. Victor fell victim to the soul snatching crime that is life’s biggest let down- demoralization. In his eyes, a Native American man is one that doesn’t take “no” for an answer. He is one that takes charge of life’s greatest pitfalls. He is a warrior, bold, commanding, compelling, and introspective on life. Crazy Horse was this exact man. But unfortunately- Victor is none of those things. As expressed in Alexie’s novel countless times, Victor’s dream in life is to be an all mighty Native American man. But, try as he might, the error in his ways is his own identity crisis which is unavoidable. His ideology proves to be just another recipe for disaster and destruction. “He wished he was Crazy Horse” (Alexie 42). A lost sense of self is one of the biggest side effects to living a lackluster life. Victor doesn’t know who he is. The only thing he does come to terms with is that he will never live up to be who he first set out to become.
He made the decision because education was limited at the Reservation and he wanted more for himself. It was in seventh grade where he leaned out the window and he first kissed a white girl for the first time and the rest of the Indian kids who stayed on the reservation gave him a hard time for being with a white girl. It is not until he goes to the eighth grade at the small town junior high school where he experiences a moment of culture shock when he sees most white girls are anorexic and bulimic. At a school dance after a basketball game Victor passes out during a slow song and the teachers assume he has been drinking because he is an Indian, when then later diagnosed to have diabetes. Victor plays basketball on the high school team and even though they are called the Indians he figures he is the only Indian to ever step foot in the gym. In tenth grade Victor passed the writing test for his driver’s license with flying colors but barely squeezed by on the driving section. He graduates as the valedictorian of the high school and watches as his former Indian classmates from the reservation high school cannot read, some are getting attendance diplomas and Victor realizes that he made the right choice and bettering himself for the future. When talked about having a class reunion Victor states, “Why should we organize a reservation high school reunion? My graduating class has a reunion every weekend at the Powwow Tavern.” (Alexie
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.
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).
One of the hardest realities of being a minority is that the majority has a thousand ways to hurt anyone who is part of a minority, and they have but two or three ways to defend themselves. In Sherman Alexie’s short story The Toughest Indian in the World, Roman Gabriel Fury is a member of the Native American minority that makes up less than two percent of the total United States population (1.2 percent to be exact). This inherent disadvantage of being a minority, along with various cultural factors, influences the conflicted character of Roman Gabriel Fury and his attitudes toward the white majority. Through his use of strong language, demanding tone, and vibrant colors, Roman Gabriel Fury is able to reveal his complex feelings about growing up Indian in a predominately white world.
Culture has the power and ability to give someone spiritual and emotional distinction which shapes one's identity. Without culture society would be less and less diverse. Culture is what gives this earth warmth and color that expands across miles and miles. The author of “The School Days of an Indian Girl”, Zitkala Sa, incorporates the ideals of her Native American culture into her writing. Similarly, Sherman Alexie sheds light onto the hardships he struggled through growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in his book The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven in a chapter titled “Indian Education”. While both Zitkala Sa and Sherman Alexie were Native Americans, and take on a similar persona showcasing their native culture in their text, the two diverge in the situations that they face. Zitkala Sa’s writing takes on a more timid shade as she is incorporated into the “white” culture, whereas Alexie more boldly and willingly immerses himself into the culture of the white man. One must leave something in order to realize how
The story chronicles situations that illustrate the common stereotypes about Natives. Through Jackson’s humble personality, the reader can grasp his true feelings towards White people, which is based off of the oppression of Native Americans. I need to win it back myself” (14). Jackson also mentions to the cop, “I’m on a mission here. I want to be a hero” (24).
Growing up on a reservation where failing was welcomed and even somewhat encouraged, Alexie was pressured to conform to the stereotype and be just another average Indian. Instead, he refused to listen to anyone telling him how to act, and pursued his own interests in reading and writing at a young age. He looks back on his childhood, explaining about himself, “If he'd been anything but an Indian boy living on the reservation, he might have been called a prodigy. But he is an Indian boy living on the reservation and is simply an oddity” (17). Alexie compares the life and treatment of an Indian to life as a more privileged child. This side-by-side comparison furthers his point that
Distinct manifestations of narrow-mindedness give rise to conflict in Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” and in Sherman Alexie’s “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.” In the former, conflict arises because the narrator is blinded by his own limited understanding of the world. He struggles to reconcile his ill-informed assumptions with the reality that he finds himself experiencing, but ultimately finds hope and resolution. In the latter, constraints imposed by racial stereotypes leave the narrator lacking a sense of truly belonging as a member of either of the cultures in which he has lived. Isolation results from his conflict, which is not fully resolved within the story. Narrow-minded thinking, whether on the part of an individual or in the broader form of cultural prejudice, can be a powerful catalyst for conflict.
In Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, the main character Arnold, also known as Junior, has many health issues, and notably stands out in the crowd. It does not help that he is a poor Indian boy that lives on a reservation, and that he decides to go to an all-white high school. Many of his experiences at school, and on the Reservation, impact his identity. Experience is the most influential factor in shaping a person’s identity because it helps gain confidence, it teaches new things, and it changes one’s outlook on the world.
In “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven”, Sherman Alexie presents a short story collection that centers on the Indian reservation. As Coulombe (94) depicts, most of Alexie's short stories in the collection frequently relate to scenes in the other stories, and this makes the collection seem like a novel. In a bid to analyze the works of the author the paper is going to focus on one of the stories in the collection, which is “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven”. The story has the same title as the book itself something surprising and confusing to the readers. While an individual’s skin color or origin does not portray their character, the Whites in this story viewed themselves superior over the Indians; thus, racism and
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
Overall, Alexie clearly faced much difficulty adjusting to the white culture as a Native American growing up, and expresses this through Victor in his essay, “Indian Education.” He goes through all of the stages of his childhood in comparison with his white counterparts. Racism and bullying are both evident throughout the whole essay. The frustration Alexie got from this is clear through the negativity and humor presented in the experiences he had to face, both on and off of the American Indian reservation. It is evident that 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 ...
Alexie Sherman’s, “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” displays the complications and occasional distress in the relationship between Native-American people and the United States. Despite being aboriginal inhabitants of America, even in present day United States there is still tension between the rest of the country, specifically mainstream white America, and the Native-American population. Several issues regarding the treatment of Native-Americans are major problems presently. Throughout the narrative, several important symbols are mentioned. The title itself represents the struggles between mainstream America and Native-Americans. The theme of racism, violence, and prejudice is apparent throughout the story. Although the author
Tayo faced a struggle of recognizing his essence: the true definition of himself outside and most especially inside. Being a half Native American and half-Caucasian in an environment of a Native American tribe in Laguna, he was constantly reminded of being an outcast. Externally, whenever he would try to fit in any of his race, both sides would reject him with ridicules. As Emo stated against Tayo, “There he is. He thinks he’s something all right. Because he’s part white. Don’t you, half-breed?” It presented hatred from a full-blooded Native American because, “the only reason for this hate was that Tayo was part white.” In fact the shame of being a “half-breed” continued down to his relatives. Auntie’s, “shame for what his mother (Tayo’s) had done, and Auntie’s shame for him (Tayo),” was surprising even though she was one of the closest blood relative of Tayo. On his Caucasian side, encounters were similar with the Native Americans. He was not truthfully acknowledged by the Caucasians he encountered under the shadows of his military uniform, which symbolizes “his service and loyalty” for the United States because, “they had the uniform and they didn’t look different no more. They got respect” . He was automatically disregarded as “the different o...