Sherman Alexie is an American novelist, poet and filmmaker. Much of Alexie’s writing alludes to his experiences as an Indigenous American. One of Alexie’s most famous piece of writing is his short story “This is What it Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona” from his 1993 book The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, which interconnects short stories with recurring characters. The previously listed story, “This is What it Means To Say Phoenix”, follows the journey of Victor Joseph and Thomas Builds-the-Fire as they travel to Phoenix, Arizona to collect Victors recently deceased father’s ashes. The two characters are polar of each other, which causes a conflict between the two. Victor is a more modern Indigenous American whilst Thomas is more …show more content…
traditional Indigenous American, who embraces his ancestors culture. Thomas’s role as a constant storyteller and easy forgiveness emphasizes his traditional persona. One the surface, Sherman's’ short story is about a pair of former friends on a road trip.
However, when taking an indepth look, this fictional story depicts two contrary personalities overcoming their dissimilarities in order to work together. With the help of the Point of view of the story, 3rd person omniscient one can observe what Victor and Thomas think of each other. While Victor chooses to shy away from his ancestors culture, Thomas on the other hand, as previously stated, embraces his culture. For example, when Thomas sees Victor at the trading post, it states, “Thomas looked at Victor, smiled, and walked over to him”. Thomas, generally speaking, shouldn’t be speaking to Victor as we soon come to find out that the two had previously had an altercation, with Victor jumping Thomas; with the latter sustaining massive injuries and never receiving an apology. This small act of kindness exhibits the forgiving nature of Thomas in the way that, despite being nearly beaten to death by Victor, Thomas took it upon himself to take the highroad and show he is not holding a grudge. This ties back into THomas being a forgiving person, as a common Native belief is to forgive hate and anger. Native’s forgive because they believe it gives them the ability to bare peace of mind, and it can clearly be seen throughout the story that Thomas has a clear conscience. The only thing on Thomas’ mind, is the deal he made with Victor’s father; to take care of Victor. While it can be said Thomas
may just be a forgiving person in general, not many will willingly talk to the man who brutally beat them to the brink of death. Thomas’ traditionality can also be seen through his words, more specifically, his stories. Throughout the story, Thomas will periodically tell small stories, for instance, when Victor asks Thomas to tell him one, Thomas starts off with, “ There were these two Indian boys…”. These stories follow the formula of traditional Native American stories, by connecting past and future. What makes these storytellings so significant and a key factor in Thomas’ traditional person, is the fact he is the only one at his reserve, that we know of, to still tell stories. This is heavily implied when Victor describes Thomas as, “[a] storyteller nobody wanted to listen to”, insinuating Thomas has no other person to share stories with. This goes back to Thomas being a traditional Indigenous American by revealing that despite having little to no support, he will unquestionably carry on a Native American tradition. For these reasons, one can draw the conclusion of Thomas Builds-the-Fire is a traditional person. Throughout the story “This is What it Means to say Phoenix, Arizona”, the character Thomas makes many questionable decisions. All driven by his traditional persona. This causes Thomas to stick out like a sore thumb and be an outcast with no emotional support. By the end of story, Thomas manages to win back the support of his former friend Victor. Thomas will, without a doubt, continue on being a man shrouded in traditionality, through his actions and words.
When he shares his stories, he closes his eyes and crosses his hands as if praying; there is something spiritual about his prophecies, an old wisdom shared through tales. However, his Native identity seems to be belittled by how he dresses and how he chooses to wear his hair back in braids. It may be an allusion to how Indians were forced to assimilate to the ways of the Europeans in boarding schools. Victor even gives Thomas a lesson on “how to be a real Indian” which includes acting stoic and looking as if they just came back from battle as warriors. The roles of Thomas and Victor demonstrate how some generations of Indians embraced its history and others rejected
Victor uses specific details of a hurricane to describe the rising tension during his parents’ party. “The two Indian raged across the room at each other. One was tall and heavy, the other was short, muscular. High-pressure and low-pressure fronts.” (2) Victor then goes on to compare curses to wood breaking and describes his father’s voice “…coming quickly and with force. It shook the walls of the house.” (2) As the storm escalated Victor depicts everyone who had begun to watch as simply as bystanders. “”They’re going to kill each other,” somebody yelled from an upstairs window. Nobody disagreed and nobody moved to change the situation. Witnesses. They were all witnesses and nothing more. For hundreds of years, Indians were witnesses to crimes of an epic scale.” (3) With this quote, he demonstrates a comparison between Native American experiences now and their painful history. “Victor’s uncles were in the midst of a misdemeanor that would remain one even if somebody was to die. One Indian killing another did not create a special kind of storm. This little kind of hurricane was generic. It didn’t even deserve a name.” (3) Here Alexie gives insight into how Victor
Sherman Alexie's literature often uses symbolic features relating to Native American culture. His characters tell their stories while Alexie tells his own story simultaneously. His 1993 short story, This is What It Means to Say Pheonix Arizona and later film adaption Smoke Signals focuses on two young native American men, Victor and Thomas on a journey to collect Victor's father's ashes. Throughout the journey, Victor reflects on previous events that relate to the death of his abusive father. Fire and Ash continually show up throughout the story; it can be seen through Victor's anger, actual fires and even symbolic fires. Although different,
Thomas had thrown a party with the money he gets from allowing an electric company to have poles on his land, he ends up leaving the party, and is seen walking on the side of the rode by his boy Victor, and Victor’s friend Junior who had snuck out the party to take magic mushrooms at Benjamin Lake, and Thomas joins them. Thomas sees Victor taking a horse. This is followed by an interlude, described in the first person, in which the storyteller portrays taking a horse from an encampment that belongs to "The Others". Junior takes the mushrooms while driving, and describes Thomas as dancing naked. This is trailed by yet another intermission in which the Junior depicts Thomas is dancing out of sadness after his whole tribe has been exposed to and therefore killed by smallpox. The dancing has magical powers and sends all the white people back to Europe. At the end, Victor takes the mushrooms and sees Junior is singing. In a parallel history in which Native Americans have seized control over the United States. Alexie explores what it implies for his characters to be "real Indians" (20). The characters in this piece have a weird association with their way of life. Victor, Thomas, Junior feel profound ties to their Spokane custom, but the way they live life and the encounters they have are different from that
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...
Alexie, Sherman. "This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona" The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. New York: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1993. Print.
Victor grows up in school both on the American Indian Reservation, then later in the farm town junior high. He faces serious discrimination at both of these schools, due to his Native American background. This is made clear in both of the schools by the way the other students treat him as well as how his teachers treat him. His classmates would steal his glasses, trip him, call him names, fight him, and many other forms of bullying. His teachers also bullied him verbally. One of his teachers gave him a spelling test and because he aced it, she made him swallow the test. When Victor was at a high school dance and he passed out on the ground. His teacher approached him and the first thing he asked was, “What’s that boy been drinking? ...
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 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
Victor’s lack of compassion and sympathy towards the monster causes him to become angry instead of guilty. His cruelness to his creation made the monster kill and hurt the people he did but “when [he] reflected on [the monster’s] crimes and malice, [Victor’s] hatred and revenge burst all bounds of moderation,”(Shelley 325). Without compassion Victor thinks that the only way to stop the monster is to get revenge on him, instead of just giving him the empathy and kindness that monster craved. Victor realizes that "if he were vanquished, [he] should be a free man...balanced by those horrors of remorse and guilt which would pursue [him] until death. ”(Shelley 731).
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
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.
In the story, Victor is depicted as a flat character and Thomas Builds-the-Fire as a round character who both grew up on the reservation. Victor is a young man who was abandoned by his father from the age of eleven. He is presented as a modern Indian, a man who has lost faith in himself and everything about Indian tradition. Even though Thomas thought “it’s strange that Indians celebrate the Fourth of July, which was not a part of the Indian tradition (“It is not like it was our independence everybody was fighting for.”) Victor, on the other hand, thought it was just supposed to be for fun (Alexie, "This is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona 249). During this time, Victor struggles to find his true identity and the understanding of the tribal culture “What happen to the tribal ties, the sense of community?” (Alexie, "This is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona 255). Victor’s name depicts victory; which led to the author’s insinuation that from Victor’s journey to Arizona, he will find himself, rise from his pain and struggles, and become a young man who was
Alexie, Sherman. "This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona." Mandell and Kirszner 274-83.