Comparing The Lone Ranger And Tonto Fistfight In Heaven

Racism throughout time has had a powerful negative force in society. There have been many efforts made to relieve racism. Racism is still present in America, although many people are doing their best to put a stop to racism and its somewhat devastating effects on young black males in society. “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” (Lee) The negative stereotypes and racial profiling that Americans hand down from generation to generation are damaging not only to the minorities but to those perpetuating them as well. The behaviors that are kept alive because of these negative stereotypes and the behaviors associated with them, create an emotional and social struggle as well as presenting obstacles when receiving an education and employment opportunities.

The way we live defines us, tradition defines us. Tradition is a very important thing. It is something that spans many generations and is a part of one's identity. Tradition can define us. Therefore when tradition is forcibly taken away it can hurt a lot of people and generations. An example of a people who have had many of their traditions suppressed and taken away are the original inhabitants of the Americas. Their tradition was taken from them and they were either killed or forced into following a new tradition which erasing all of their identity. The effect this has on the newer generation is bad because they will feel like a part of them is missing because their tradition was taken and it can cause a trauma called generational trauma. The book The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in heaven, focuses on a Native American named Victor in order to describe how generational trauma causes a weakening of tradition because it becomes replaced with alcohol and isolation. In addition, Alexie presents how a rekindling of old traditions is a way out of this harmful circle.

     Traditionally, Native American Literature has been an oral genre. Although Native American Literature was the first American literature created, it has been the last to be recognized -and, to some extent, is still waiting for full recognition (www.usc.edu). With the Indian being forced to assimilate, their literature was forced to take on a written form. Although the traditional way of storytelling has changed, Native American Literature has survived. In it's written form, it is being shared with a larger population. Black Elk Speaks (Neihardt 1932) and The Lone Ranger and Tonto FistFight in Heaven (Alexie 1993) are two Native American works of

Every day an extensive amount of people have to face hatred and bullying. Huge conflicts occur and lives are lost. The issue that plays a significant part in all of this is racism. It affects individuals and communities in every corner of the world.

The long and often dark history between the white man and their co-inhabitants, the Native-Americans has been recognized on a global stage since the very first interaction between the two groups. Although several hundred years has passed and the two populations may not be chasing one another down on horseback, a fruitful relationship still does not exist. This poor relationship is a focal point of Sherman Alexie, a Spokane tribe member, in his story, “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.” Through the interactions and events of his Native-American character, Victor, Alexie shows the isolation of Native-Americans due to this tension that underlies the relationship between Native-Americans and mainstream American society.

Racism is still a very current issue in America today. By no means is racism as overt as it was fifty years ago with enforced segregation, but today racism is more covert and often hides behind closed doors to only strike out when least expected. Racism has been deceasing and will continue to be decreased only through education. Hopefully, one day racism will cease to exist. But, that day if possible is many years away.

“Kill the Indian and save the Man,” sounds more like something out of a dystopian novel than an educational campaign slogan, but in 1887 those were the words chosen by Army Lt. Richard Henry Pratt to garner public support for government’s attempt to forcefully “Americanize” Native Americans. Native Americans that survived violence were coerced into wearing white man’s clothes, cutting their hair, and not speaking their native languages to “encourage” them to blend in (Reyhner). Sherman Alexie knows firsthand of the many lingering ramifications that these callous actions of violence and injustice against America’s indigenous peoples

Racism has been a big problem in America for many year. In the past, white children in the United States were to be taught that they were more important than black children. They could see how their parents treated other races, and then would begin to think that their own race is valued more than other races. We can see this in the way schools, and towns were set up, and still are set up. In the 1900’s, white families often had a lot nicer houses, and were more highly educated than black children and families. Racism was happening all around children. They could easily see how their own drinking fountains were better, and nicer than blacks. Racism in our country may not be as obvious and cruel as it was in the 1900’s, but it is still something that we need to be aware of, and fight against.

Based on the experiences and hardships of Native Americans in the United States, the stories featured in The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie display the escapades of Victor and a few others such as Junior and Thomas. The collection of tales shows various stereotypes of Native Americans that the author has identified with as aspects of his life such as drinking problems within families. One of the main focuses of the book as a whole that was present in almost every story was the relationship between Native Americans and other races. The Natives in the story almost always inherently clashed with the whites of the story, however all was not well between other minorities and even other Natives interacting with the protagonists. Race, whether it is Native American, another minority, or white, does not determine the conflict and tension between two people as displayed by Victor and Junior’s interactions throughout The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.

Do you have issues with family members not being there for you? If so, you may be in a similar situation as victor from The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight In Heaven by Sherman Alexie. Victor's father leaves their home and the reservation while victor is still young age leaving him to live with his mother on the reservation. In Native American cultures, storytelling has historically been used to convey morals, an understanding of life and death, and roles in society. Using the fictional character Victor, Alexie takes this tradition to a new audience in order documents his childhood struggles separation and distance from family and how stories kept those who were absent with him.

Racism is a very controversial topic in today’s society. Some might think racism ended when the 15th amendment was passed and black men were able to vote, but some people still face racism in today’s society. With the new presidential leader, minorities are being more and more ostracized. Racism is no longer just “black and white”. Rather, it is a gray area where racism is no longer clear to all people.

All over the world families are trying to fit in while still being apart of their true being.

Racism is a huge problem, especially here in the United States. The United States has come a long was, but there is no doubt that there is much more progress to be made. People seem to follow the patterns of others and fall in to the same issues. It is important that the cycle breaks and individual learn to be independent and speak their own minds instead of following the thoughts and beliefs of others. Until the chains are broken and people fall out of this endless loop, racism will continue to be a major issue.

In the book “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight In Heaven” written by Sherman Alexie, the reader follows a short story of an Indian man who finds himself in fiery fights with his girlfriend. The author uses the conflict between the Narrator and his girlfriend to show how the toxic relationships in the past between White people and Native Americans has damaged how he lives his everyday life.

Racism is one of the world’s biggest concerns; it is still strong in this generation. So much chaos is coming about from racism in our lives today. Stories on the news are explaining how severe racism is. Even schools still have issues with racism; students aren’t friends and are more like enemies. I believe with the turmoil we are in today, it will take large amounts of effort to make this world great again. People of all skin colors, personalities, and backgrounds should come together to build and accomplish great things.