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The lone ranger and tonto fistfight analysis
The lone ranger and tonto fistfight analysis
The lone ranger and tonto fistfight in heaven analysius
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Sherman Alexie could possibly be the most realistic man on the planet. In his book, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven, Alexie uses short stories to paint a picture of his childhood growing up on an Indian reservation. Through a web of characters a saddening image is created with overriding themes of alcoholism, racism, distrust and failure. This image has become greatly controversial because of the stereotypical way it portrays the Spokane Indian tribe. Even though Alexie is himself a Spokane some may say that he was out of line in the depiction of his people; however, Alexie is simply a realist relaying information from his upbringing to the world. He tells not only of the bad but also of the good times on the reservation, …show more content…
and his realism should not be checked simply because people find it upsetting. Alexie spends much of the book focusing in on the little things, the little joys that one could find in daily life on the reservation.
These moments of pure happiness inspire hope in the hearts of his characters. The Indians are able to find peace for just an instant holding onto it in a beautiful way that allows them to forget the strains of their lives. This psychological phenomenon is exhibited constantly throughout the collection of stories but Victor best embodies it when he remembers his father. He changes “[T]he memories. Instead of remembering the bad things, remember what happened immediately before. That’s what I learned from my father.” (page 34). Instead of remembering how his dad left him when he was young he savors the memory of him when he was there. By being able to be thankful for the days with his father Victor can make life without him less painful. Alexie shows through Victor’s use of this coping mechanism of thankfulness that Reservation Indians are happier with the little they have than the spoiled people of the rest of our country. This idea is clearly a positive and shows that Alexie’s realism is not all just the racist, stereotypical garbage that many claim it is. Instead it has actual meaning behind it; it is simply an examination of the Native American’s lifestyle and world-view
today. Unfortunately though, Alexie does often affirm the beliefs that he has racist views towards his own people through his interpretation of the Indian world-view. He is realistic about not only the small shimmers of hope on the reservation but also the terrible oppression and depression felt by his people. The most potent of his proofs of depression is the effect of alcoholism on reservations. Often alcoholism is the first stereotype that is associated with the modern Indian and therefore, many readers feel offended by the way he describes Indian alcoholism. The first story in the book jumps out with these supposedly offensive statements verbally assaulting the peoples of reservations with an anecdote that says, “When he was five years old, an old Indian man drowned in a mud puddle at the powwow. Just passed out and fell facedown…Even at five, Victor understood what that meant, how it defined nearly everything.” (page 7). Victor can see how this man and his drinking, which led to his untimely death, are an embodiment of everything he knows. Even at a young age. As a near autobiographical character, Victor is seeing things the way Alexie saw them at a young age. Though his view of the world may have been offensive it was only because his life, his existence was offensive. His people were offensive to the country they lived in. Victor and Alexie felt they were merely dark blemishes in the white world they live in. With this realization of Alexie’s feelings towards his life, towards what everyone on an Indian Reservation feels and knows, one cannot help but to feel sympathy for him. Though it seems like his unforgiving view would only hurt his downtrodden people, he must be allowed to express himself, because in actuality he gives them a long deserved voice.
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 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.
How White people assumed they were better than Indians and tried to bully a young boy under the US Reservation. Alexie was bullied by his classmates, teammates, and teachers since he was young because he was an Indian. Even though Alexie didn’t come from a good background, he found the right path and didn’t let his hands down. He had two ways to go to, either become a better, educated and strong person, either be like his brother Steven that was following a bad path, where Alexie chose to become a better and educated person. I believe that Alexie learned how to get stronger, and stand up for himself in the hard moments of his life by many struggles that he passed through. He overcame all his struggles and rose above them
Biographical Information about the Author: Sherman Alexie is a poet, an author, and filmmaker who was born October 7th, 1966 on the Native American Spokane Reservation, which is where he pull most of his stories from. He currently resides in Seattle, Washington with his wife, Diane Tomhave.
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.
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
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 sees the Indians continuously drink alcohol to mask the emotions and the hard ships they have to endure. Victors’ father would drink vodka on a daily basis. The alcohol is like “a wall of water, a reservation tsunami. Maybe it was like Hiroshima or Nagasaki” (Alexie 6). Victor watched as the alcoholism descend over the Natives at their New Year’s Eve party. While Victor laid in bed restless, he felt as though he was being smothered by the depression as everyone continued drinking. He crawled out of his bed on a search to find his parents. He cried while asking people where his parents were until he found them passed out in their bedroom. Kissing them goodnight he could taste the alcohol and cigarettes on their skin and wondered if he laid there long enough, would he get drunk as well and be able to fall asleep.
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 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.
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
Sherman Alexie’s piece “One stick song” should be presented as an authentic Native American text in a high school classroom. Debbie Reese believes in a fair portrayal of Native Americans in modern day literature. In many stories, native Americans are portrayed as “primitive savages who merely grunt or speak in broken English” (Jeffer, 1991). Reese believes that they should be “portrayed as members of contemporary society who engage in the same activities mainstream Americans do, such as riding bikes, and playing video games.” (Reese 254). In Alexie’s story, he includes multiple instances that exemplify this requirement. It is a common stereotype that Native American’s culture does not coincide with modern day times however Alexie’s story proves
Throughout the book the Reservation Blues there are many descriptions of how each character demonstrates faith and strength. Hence the fact that Sherman Alexie shows how each character goes through the struggle in their lives. Most of the characters from the Reservation Blues are Native Americans and go through many trials which they overcome shows how strong they are. Generally speaking, Native Americans have a rough way of living throughout the novel.
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” is a short story by Sherman Alexie to presents a series of deep questions about modern Native American life in the form of a prose poem. Narrator shows in his dialogue form suggesting that he believes he doesn’t belong anywhere. The conflicts with his white girlfriend gets worse every day, eventually, narrator moves back to Indian reservation. Leaving our narrator with depression and loneliness at the end. In order to convey the central idea of the story, Alexie uses setting, characterization, and conflict to point out racial difficulty from the perspective of narrator’s daily life.
Sherman Alexi identifies as an Indigenous American that trails back from several tribes, he grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. His book is based off of his own experiences when he lived on the reservation. Sherman wanted to show the reader what it was like through his childhood as he grew up. Where he was an Indian in a place most people didn’t want them. This story was written to show the advancement in his life, to move forward and live a life his parents and himself wanted.