Sherman Alexie, the author of “This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona” uses satire, sarcasm, and dry humor to portray his message. The message that no matter what goes on in life—good or bad—the present, the future, the visions, and the flashbacks tend to move right along in the same direction as the present. Sherman Alexie accomplishes the goal of moving forward in life by using Thomas—a character in the short story who is very lively and funny. The Author purposely used a character like Thomas because he serves as a guide to let others know to move right along and not stay in the now with the help of his stories. One way Sherman Alexie used humor was through Thomas’ stories. Since most of the residents of the reservation avoided Thomas, he was very lonely. Therefore, he spent most of his time observing everyone. Most of Thomas’ stories were based on what he saw. Thomas expanded his stories so they wouldn’t be plain information, but he also incorporated his side to the story which made it funny. In other words, half of the story was true and the other half was made up. An example of this was when …show more content…
On their drive back to the reservation there was no sign of life through Nevada. However, the humor takes place when Thomas finally took the wheel of the pickup truck and ran over the only rabbit alive in Nevada. Although to some this may have not been funny, the author mentioned this in a humorous way to trigger a thought. Maybe a thought of how Victor’s father had died or a thought of his overall message which was that time does not stop for anyone but instead moves right along in the same sequence as the past, the future, and the present. It seems as though the author was trying to tell the reader that in life one might hit some objects however, one will still have to move forward no matter how minor or major the situation
The main characters go on a journey to pick up Arnold (Victor’s father) ashes and belongings in Phoenix, Arizona. Along their journey they meet different cultures and people such as a gymnast and the two cowboys that discriminates them for their appearance and culture. Through the journey, Victor embrace his feelings and beliefs with the help of Thomas. When they arrive at Arnold’s house, Victor learn that the reason of the fire that killed Thomas parents is his father, which reflects at the beginning of the movie where Arnold said to Thomas Grandma “I didn’t mean too” (Arnold Joseph, Smoke Signal, 1998). On their way back to the reservation, they get into an accident which they were blame by the real culprit of the accident. The cop asks Victor if he drink and he says, “I don't drink, never had a drop of alcohol in my life, not a drop”, (Victor Joseph, Smoke Signal, 1998). This conversation reflects to Victor’s childhood where he’s father asks him to drink his beers and he did. In the end of the story, Thomas asked Victor why he’s dad left, and Victor said “He didn’t mean too, Thomas” (Victor Joseph, Smoke Signal, 1998), and this is a metaphor of Arnold saying the same thing from the beginning of the
In Jack Kerouac’s novel On the Road, the narrator, Sal Paradise offers up to us what seems to be a very optimistic view on life. He is forever singing the praises of how wonderful his adventures will be and his high expectations for the future. To Sal, the novel is defined by youthful exuberance and unabashed optimism for the new experiences that he sets out to find. A deeper look into the novel, as well as a look at some of the critics who have written on it, reveals a much darker side, a more pessimistic and sad aspect that Sal simply fails to realize until the very close of the action. Whether Sal is hopped up on the optimism of jazz music, secure in his belief that he is off to find ‘IT,’ or just excited about the promises of a night out in a new city, he is consistently selling the reader on the positive nature of the situations. To be more honest though, On the Road is a novel in which Sal, and the people with whom he surrounds himself, find themselves steeped into a near constant cycle of enthusiastic optimism for the future, which is then followed by a disparaging pessimism for the situation’s reality. While Sal might note that he desires the freedom and happiness of the open road, Ann Douglas says that "this is the saddest book that I’ve ever read" (Douglas, 9). While Sal attempts to show a exuberant and triumphant story of youthful optimism, critics and the actual events of the novel alike seem to point towards the fact that this same optimism turns the novel into a pessimistic story showing the actualities of life.
In “This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix Arizona,” found in The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, by Sherman Alexie, we are reintroduced to Victor and learn that his father has passed away. Victor and his childhood friend Thomas Build-the-Fire’s embark on a journey to Arizona to obtain Victor’s father’s ashes. Thomas reveals that he had made an assurance to Victor's father years before to help him when the time came. Although Victor had a problematic relationship with his father, as well as with Thomas, part of their trip to Arizona involves Thomas recounting his experiences with Victor's father and Victor’s ‘rebirth.’ Through the death of Victor’s father, Victor and Thomas come together.
Humans are creatures of habit. In his work "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky," Stephen Crane considers this apparent truism as well as its sometimes unfortunate consequences. In the story, Scratchy Wilson and Jack Potter face a dramatically changing society. Although their actions and emotions concerning the changes in their town differ, Scratchy and Potter are both very fearful of the inescapable easternizing influences. Through Scratchy and Potter's embracing of the Old West, their responses to the East, and their optimism, Stephen Crane illustrates that whether attachment or resistance exists, change is inevitable.
In the poem "Casey At The Bat," Thayer uses humor throughout the whole story. Things like irony or figurative language to describe Casey's experiences. How does he use these things and why?
In “ What Sacagawea Means to Me” Alexie argues that America has many contradictions, including himself and Sacagawea. Sherman Alexie begins his essay by using a theme park ride to describe Sacagawea’s journey. Alexie does this to appeal to the reader, theme parks are something that was popular at the time and readers would likely be able to relate to the experience of being at one.
As a person one might find that we follow a specific routine on the day to day basis. Sudden changes to these routines feels weird and out of place. In William Faulkner’s “A Rose For Emily” based in a fictional town called Jefferson taking place during the twentieth century. The time period is indeed an important factor because southern tradition was above all of the highest importance. This short story gives the audience details of life during that time in which they followed the values of southern tradition and the importance to never stray away from those traditions. The context of the story is laced with subliminal messages of humanities resistance to change.
In conclusion, Merrill Markoe portrayed high comedy using witty humor along with situational irony in the short story “A Conversation With My Dogs”. She does this while also reaching the moral of the story, which is that with some people or animals you have to be super specific or else they won’t understand what you are trying to say. I have experienced this with some people, including my mom who is often focused on her work. The combination of witty humor and situational irony makes the audience
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,
Sherman Alexie, author of “This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona” has shared her fruitful ideas about the true meaning of friendship. Victor, the core person of the story faced many issues. He is a young individual, having an Indian origin. He is aware of his Dad who died in Phoenix. Victor planned for Phoenix, for closing his Dad’s account and picking up his ashes, but due to being jobless, he felt short of finances to travel to Phoenix. Thomas is another important character of the story. Both Victor and Thomas were a good companions in their childhood. Thomas was famous for telling tales, but since he kept on repeating the same tales, people were not
Are you new in the Phoenix area, visiting or just a resident looking for a way to get around? There are so many things to do in our beautiful and sunny capitol. Rich in Native American and Mexican culture, nightlife and festivals, there’s always something going on for you to tag along on.
Thomas has a distinctive way of sharing his stories: he shuts his eyes every moment before he begins his journey, as if he is envisioning the story inside of his mind and reliving the event he elaborates on. As he goes through each particular event, Thomas’s facial expressions conveys exactly how he feels during the moments. His features light up because of his excessive joy of the memory and he proceeds to dramatically recount his memory to audience, in hopes they receive his story well and enjoy it. The pleasure he takes in recalling his memories is related as to why people tell stories themselves--it is because it invokes pleasant feelings of nostalgia. People tell stories because they want to share a snippet of their lives or the lives of loved ones with others, and in result, they also have the opportunity to reflect on their memories. Moreover, The way the audience gives an account of Thomas’s stories also correlates to Lisel Mueller’s quote (stated in the previous paragraph) which shows how every story can be told differently. People paraphrase, using their own similes and comparisons to tell their version of the story. Comparing their version to the original,
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.
People who choose to dwell in the past, or worry about the future are usually very stressed out people. Many of these dwellers get diagnosed with depression or anxiety. While constantly dwelling on the past they lose what is important: living in the moment. Patty’s Charcoal Drive-in is a poem written about a girl who just got her first job. She is sixteen and college-bound and chooses to live in the moment rather than worry about her future too much. She lives freely in the moment experiencing the juiciness the world has to offer.
Alexie, Sherman. "This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona." Mandell and Kirszner 274-83.