In Sherman Alexie’s “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” and “Dead Men’s Path”, the reader is given a glimpse into two different stories but share many similar characteristics of traditions. Tradition is the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information and cultures within a group of people from generation to generation. However, these two stories will reveal that the protagonists in these stories, Michael from “Dead Men’s Path” and Victor from “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona,” will ignore their own traditions that they face throughout the story. In other words, the protagonists are westernized and have forgotten their own culture, which reflects the theory of the melting pot. The ignorance of ancestry and traditions brings the worst fates into the lives of the protagonists in each story. 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... ... middle of paper ... ... Joyce Dorado. "Who Are We, But For The Stories We Tell: Family Stories And Healing." Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, And Policy 2.3 (2010): 243-249. PsycARTICLES. Web. 2 May 2014. Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia. Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, 2012. Print. Rothe, Eugenio M. "A Psychotherapy Model For Treating Refugee Children Caught In The Midst Of Catastrophic Situations." Journal Of The American Academy Of Psychoanalysis & Dynamic Psychiatry 36.4 (2008): 625-642. Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 May 2014. Breidlid, Anders. "Culture, Indigenous Knowledge Systems And Sustainable Development: A Critical View Of Education In An African Context." International Journal Of Educational Development 29.2 (2009): 140-148. Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 May 2014.”
Lee, Edward Bok El Santo Americano. Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing 4th Ed.
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.
“This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona” discusses the physical and mental journey of Victor, a Native American man in the state of Washington, as he goes to Phoenix, Arizona to claim his father’s remains and his savings account. While on this journey, Victor learns about himself, his father, and his Indian culture with the help of his estranged friend, Thomas Builds-the–Fire. The author, Sherman Alexie, plays on the stereotypes of Native Americans through the characters of Victor and Thomas. While Thomas is portrayed as the more traditional and “good” Native American, Victor comes across as the “bad” Native American. Through the use of this binary relationship, Alexie is able to illustrate the transformation of these characters as they reconcile with each other, and break out of these stereotypes in the process.
O'Brien, Tim. "The Things They Carried." X. J. Kennedy, Dana Gioia. Backpack Literature An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. Joe Terry. Pearson, 2012. Print. 10 Feb. 2014.
The theme in a story is the message or big idea that the author is trying to reveal in his or her narrative. If there was no underlining theme in Sherman Alexie’s short story, “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” then readers would have no interest in reading the fictional story. Understanding the message that Alexie is trying to display to his readers can vary in many ways and depends on the reader 's understanding of the story. Strong themes that are presented in the fictional tale are man versus self conflict, family, and tribal identity. Victor is a tribal member that has had a rough life and has to deal with his father passing away. Not only does he have to come to terms with his father 's death, but he also has to face his
Kennedy, X.J. and Dana Gioia, eds. Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 4th ed. NewJersey: Pearson, 2012. Print.
Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia. Backpack literature: an introduction to fiction, poetry, drama, and writing. Fourth ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2011. Print.
When faced with a life altering situation although Molly’s characteristics and personality aid her in courageously defying them, the effects of facing this traumatic event will lead to long term psychological repercussions. When severe harm is inflicted on a person’s psyche, it is viewed as an emotional trauma (Levers, 2012). The emotional harm inflicted on Molly’s psyche originates from different dimensions; like her upbringing, her trauma is multidimensional too. As a child of the Indigenous community, whose ancestors and elders were killed violently in inter-group conflicts, and whose children were forcefully removed from families, Molly is would experience intergenerational trauma (Atkinson, 2002). Intergenerational trauma is trauma passed down from one generation to another; as a close knitted community group, the grief experienced by family members of losing their loved ones, would have been transferred across generations (Atkinson,
Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia. Literature: an Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. Print.
Walsh, William M, Keenan, Robert (1997), ‘Narrative Family Therapy’, The Family Journal: Counselling and Therapy for Couples and Families, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 332-336.
The frequency of women who had been abused as children was much greater than we had thought. We soon had 4 groups and more than 50 names on a waiting list. I learned about the tremendous cost of keeping the family secret. I learned of the emotional pain that can result from feeling different. As an educator I was appalled at my previous lack of awareness of the consequences of abuse. I vowed to somehow assist in giving a voice to those survivors who can teach us what it was to live with abuse and how to help today's
The social problem we have chosen to address is the mental health status of refugees. Refugees are exposed to a significant amount of trauma due to fear, war, persecution, torture, and relocating. The mental health illnesses that can affect refugees due to exposure to traumas include post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety. Research indicated that refugees relocating from war-torn countries are particularly vulnerable to mental health concerns because many have experienced early traumas and face further post-traumas after relocation (Cummings, et al., 2011). However, despite the prevalence of mental health issues concerning refugees, mental health needs often go unrecognized and untreated.
Life is not always what we expect it to be. The way in which we address our circumstances and how we allow our circumstances to affect us can sometimes dictate our life. In the story” This is What It Means to say Phoenix, Arizona,” we are presented the opportunity to view the life of two vital characters, Victor and Thomas Builds-the-Fire. The author, Sherman Alexie has used for his advantage the elements of literature to bring the reader to relate to the story emotionally, for example, symbols, Character development, setting, and figurative speech. The author believes that Victor’s journey to Phoenix, Arizona, to retrieve his deceased father’s remains will guide him through his struggles
Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia. Literature: an introduction to fiction, poetry, drama, and writing. 7th compact ed. /Interactive ed. Boston, Mass.: Pearson, 2012.