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Arts Humanities

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Apr 3, 2024

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docx

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Uploaded by alisaxsan358

Part 1. Choose one of the short stories that we have read so far. Remember that "Everything that Rises Must Converge" was only provided as a model; you must choose one of the other stories to write about: "Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience (TM)" "The Paper Menagerie" "Badeye" Part 2. Discuss why and how the story connects with one or two of the themes discussed in Unit 1: Love (filial, maternal/paternal, romantic, or platonic) Alienation/Otherness The American Dream/Nightmare The Quest for Identity/Coming of Age Conformity/Rebellion Use specific details from the text, including the use of irony, metaphor, and symbolism, to support your point. Approach this as preparation for your essay in this Unit. Part 3. Respond to at least 2 of your classmates' posts. Your initial post should consist of at least 2 complete and well-written paragraphs, and your replies should be thoughtful and substantive. The story "Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience (TM)" is about a non-Native American man who works as a VR tour guide at Sedona Sweats. The story reflects on the difficulties of cultural appropriation and the search for identity and authenticity. Jesse Turnblatt is the protagonist of the story and struggles with finding what makes him uniquely himself. As a virtual reality tour guide, he adopts an Indian persona to help tourists get an idea of what it is like to be Native American. The romanticized ideology of native Americans the tourists instilled into Jesse causes him to question his identity and what his reality is. I think the irony behind the idea of alienation and authenticity is interesting in this specific story because there are times when the protagonist is told directly that they can be authentic and not be alienated by other people and the standards they hold for them. For example, the wife of Jesse, Theresa, tells him that he is Indian and that there is no need for him to create a persona to seem “more Indian” because he is enough the
way he is. It is interesting to think about how even when we have people to guide us on the right track we are still so affected by the words and actions of other people. I think another significant part of the story and the theme behind it is the protagonist’s journey of self-discovery. He experiences failure, rejection, and self- doubt but in the end, learns that trying to be someone else doesn’t allow you to find what makes you authentic. I think the uses of symbolism and metaphors in this short story allow us to get a closer understanding of how the main character felt in the deepest moments of self- doubt. The author describes things like the sun and blood to represent the feelings and behaviors of Jesse. The sun was compared to the Arizona fire to represent the internal struggle of the protagonist. A smear of blood was used to represent the self- destructive behavior that was taking a physical hold of Jesse. I think the author intended for people to look further than the surface of the story to gain an understanding of the importance of staying true to who you are and looking for your identity and authenticity in yourself rather than in other people.
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