At The Heart Of The Phoenix

In “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” written by Sherman Alexie, the story starts off with Victor losing his job at the BIA and losing his father from a heart attack. Victor isn’t the richest person so he goes ask the Tribal Council if they can give him money to go to Phoenix, Arizona to go get his father’s ashes. The only thing the Tribal Council can give him is a hundred dollars. Although Victor needed more than just hundred dollars he still took the money. While Victor was in line to cash the check he seen Thomas Builds-the-Fire, one of his old friends, and then Thomas seen Victor so Thomas walks over to Victor. Thomas told Victor that he’s sorry about his father’s death and Victor asked how he knew and Thomas told him that

As most people know, storytelling is an important aspect of the Native American culture. That is how many of customs and tribal practices get passed down throughout history. In the short story “This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” the narrator explains how Thomas Builds-the-Fire’s story’s are needed but not appreciated. Through a maim revelation Thomas understands the importance of storytelling. Conflicts between the community and the the main characters are present through the story. Before explaining this story and its meaning, the theme must be recognized.

One of the more interesting implications that are presented in the later parts of this essay is the economic ramifications of the hip-hop culture. McBride paints the picture of a lower income Caucasian American teenager in Dayton, Ohio who finds truth in the story of hip-hop. McBride notes:

The information that has been provided about the subcultures of Hip Hop and Punk shows there are many differences between Hip Hop and Punk and several contributing factors that shape these subcultures but ultimately each one’s existence serves a similar purpose: a form of escape and expression. Prior to research, I was an outsider looking in on the two subcultures. Assumed no similarity at all, but I learned, when you take a deeper look and explore the pages they are different books carrying the same message.

The later half of the Homelander Generation, also known as “Generation Y,” is known for having little to no identity. Popular culture says that history repeats itself and that I belong to a generation where an overall style does not exist. From music to clothing everyone is desperately trying to reach into the past. The 60s, 70s, and 80s all have defining styles prevalent to that specific decade, for example disco. As a result to addressing the uniqueness of California and its culture in the 1990s Bay Area patrons began a move toward rap, hard-hitting beats, baggy clothing and defined dance styles. California was home to the newest cohesive generational movement. It was home to the development of the Hyphy Movement and the defining aspects of a craze that in itself was crazy. In areas that include San Francisco, Oakland, Fairfield and Hayward transformed. The Hyphy Movement demanded acknowledgment of the Bay Area’s diverse and particularly its interesting take on the California Dream.

Hip Hop was birthed in the neighborhood, where young people gathered in parks, on playgrounds, and neighborhood street corners, to verbalize poetry over spontaneous sounds and adopted melodies. Hip Hop was not just the music; it was also a way for the young to show their skills in break dancing, gymnastic dance style that was valued, and athleticism over choreographed fluidity. Hip hop was also fashion such as: hats, jackets, gold chains, and name-brand sneakers. Hip Hop was a form of graffiti, to a new way of expression that engaged spray paint on the subway walls as the canvas. In addition, today’s hip hop have changed as where the DJ was once is now the producer as the key music maker, and the park is now a studio.

In the short story This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona written by Alexie Sherman. Alexie wrote about these two Native Americans that live on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Victor had a tough childhood when his father left him around the age of seven and moved to Phoenix Arizona. Thomas’s parents died when he was just a baby and grew up with his grandmother, Thomas was a storyteller and got picked on a lot because of his story telling. Victor lost his job and he also found out that he lost his father due to a heart attack, Victor was told that his father had a savings account and if he wanted anything to go to Phoenix to go gather up his father’s belongings.

taken place in recreational Centre in the inner city of Edmonton, Canada (p.337). The goal of this paper was to explore the different ways the youth adopt hip hop “as a means to contest their subjection

In “This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona” by Sherman Alexie we go through a journey with Victor and Thomas Build-a-Fire, where Thomas helps his old friend Victor get to Phoenix, Arizona to receive the ashes of Victor’s father. Thomas Build-a-Fire was a friend of Victor’s when they were a kid, when they were older they got into a fight while Victor was drunk ending their friendship. When Victor’s father passes away Thomas is there ready to lend a helping hand. From this gesture we can tell Thomas is highly forgiving and caring. We’re also informed that he is a story teller.

In “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” Sherman Alexie included Jim Thorpe in his short story to emphasize Thorpe because Thorpe ran track and Sherman is trying to make a point in how fast Thomas and Victor was running. Jim Thorpe also known as James Francis Thorpe is from an Indian Territory known as the Sac and Fox. In the years Jim Thorpe was growing up, no one expected an indian to become something of themselves, but no one would have ever of thought that an indian can achieve in life. Since Thorpe was an indian he had to grow up in a totally different world than other races. Being in a different world didn’t stop Thorpe to become something and to achieve in life.

1.) In this class we have examined the sociological forces that created the social conditions from which Hip-Hop emerged in the Bronx. Drawing upon Chang, as well as videos (Bronx is Burning, Flying Cut Sleeves etc.), discuss the sociological roots of rap. Specifically, what social forces (for example: state policies, global economic trends, technological advancements, community characteristics as well as race, class, gender politics) were present and facilitated the development of Hip-Hop?

Rap music, also known as hip-hop, is a popular art form. Having risen from humble origins on the streets of New York City during the mid-1970s, hip-hop has since become a multifaceted cultural force. Indeed, observers say, hip-hop is more than just music. The culture that has blossomed around rap music in recent decades has influenced fashion, dance, television, film and—perhaps what has become the most controversially—the attitudes of American youth. For many rappers and rap fans during it’s early time, hip-hop provided an accurate, honest depiction of city life that had been considered conspicuously absent from other media sources, such as television. With a growing number of rap artists within this period, using hip-hop as a platform to call for social progress and impart positive messages to listeners, the genre entered a so-called Golden Age

Phoenix Forgotten is a fictional documentary based on the real life UFO phenomenon known as the ‘Phoenix Lights’. Back in March 1997, a series of lights were seen by thousands of people in Arizona and Nevada as the events were captured on video that can be found on Youtube today. The accident which many described as a giant boomerang-shaped aircraft silently moving across the skies before disappearing. Despite this incident initially being downplayed by government officials, the reality is that Phoenix Light is one of the most infamous sightings of UFOs that to this very day as not been explained or debunked by the public.

Fashion is used to assimilate with peers. Hip Hop aficionados’ objective is to stand out in a crowd. Signature style is like a freestyle performance. It demonstrates an individual’s special skills. Hip-hop style is not a uniform but speaks to personal style and swagger. It reflects a flamboyant lifestyle. Customization is a big part of distinction because the lack of funds made followers work with what they have. In fact, haggling was a big part of shoppers experience

Sylvia Townsend Warner has made the ending of "The Phoenix" so shocking by putting in a lot of twists. There were three main parts which suggest how the ending of "The Phoenix" was so shocking. First was when the Phoenix died, the second was when it ended killing thousands and third was how the writer ended it at its climax.