Theme Of Alcoholism In The Lone Ranger And Tonto Fistfight In Heaven

Have you ever lost someone dear to you because of alcohol, well for Native Americans it happens regularly. In Sherman Alexie’s book The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven the main character Victor a Native American child and his struggles with being native America. Alcoholism can make you feel alone in social situations because it might make you sensitive to sound while you're drunk and make you possibly more aggressive which can lead to people keeping their distance from you
because it can make people feel alone in social setting
Alexie uses Victor’s character to display how alcoholism causes isolation and causes individuals to leave their community. Alexie then shows how responsibility for another being can break the cycle.
---Mental isolation
Victor’s parents during the party were isolated by their drinking. Victor searches for his parents and he finds them in a bedroom asleep and alone. “Victor lay between his parents, his alcoholic and dreamless parents, his mother and father… The people outside seemed so far away, so strange and imaginary.” The quote shows when he lies with his parents who were drinking are now alone and when he is with them in that room everyone feels nonexistent and miles away. Although his parents are still present, in a sense they left Victor and their community.
Victor’s father

would soon leave Victor and his mother.

--Physical Isolation (Alcohol causing Victor’s father to physically isolate himself)

Victor’s dad's addiction to alcohol eventually drives him away from his family his own son and wife.

Victor is remembering his father leading up to him leaving and the time of him leaving. “He stopped talking as much, stopped drinking as much. He didn’t do much of anything except ride that bike and listen to music… it was my father who climbed on his motorcycle, waved to me as I stood in the window, and rode away.” These quotes display that while his father starts to drink less he also talks less and is home less which eventually causes fighting between Victor's parents and victor's dad leaving. Although there is all this sadness some have overcome

it.

Victor eventually overcomes his alcoholism because of his responsibility over James. Victor needed to be sober in order to keep James and he overcame alcoholism because of it. “Been in A.A. for a month because that was the only way to keep James with me and my auntie and Suzy Song both moved into the house with me to make sure I don’t drink and to help take care of James… Been sober so long it’s like a dream but I feel better somehow.” These quotes show how when Victor is threatened with the loss of James and the responsibility he has to take care of James or stay an alcoholic he chooses James which in a way means James helped him beat his alcoholism. After when Victor is sober he admits he feels better which means he knows that his sober life is better than the alcoholic life he previously had. In the next paragraph you will get a basic summary of the book.

Alexie shows how alcoholism can cause isolation, leaving one's dear ones behind and how one can overcome it with responsibility. In body paragraph one you learned about how Victor's parents alcoholism caused them to isolate themselves from the guests. In the second body paragraph you learned about how Victor’s dad's alcoholism led to fighting amongst the family, more and more time away from Victor and his mom which eventually turned into his dad leaving. Finally in the 3rd and final body paragraph you learned about how Victor Victor overcame his alcoholism by his responsibilities for Thomas. After reading this essay I hope you realized how much these people's lives are affected by alcohol and who caused this and in what ways did those certain people do to push these people to this.