Of the all the central characters in Smoke Signals, Victor Joseph is the one whose struggle to cope with his past is at the forefront of the story. Many years after his father Arnold leaves home permanently, in 1998, his mother Arlene receives a phone call from Suzy Song, Arnolds final neighbor, informing her that Arnold died and that he and his stuff would be ready for someone to come pickup at his home near Phoenix. Reluctantly, Victor decides to take a trip down to Phoenix with Thomas, who offered to pay for the trip on the condition that he be allowed to travel with him. Early on in trip, Victor and Thomas talk with a gymnast named Cathy who claims to have been an alternate on the 1980 Olympic team. Victor quickly deduces that she is lying …show more content…
Soon after, Victor becomes irritated with Thomas telling more of his stories and asks him if he even knows how to be a real Indian. An unsure “I guess not,” is Thomas’ response, to which Victor states that he will just have to teach Thomas how to be one. Victor then explains that an Indian must remain stoic and mean like a warrior to receive any respect from others. Victor’s beliefs on what an Indian should act like probably originate from the knowledge and stories of Indians from the nineteenth century passed down over the years through both written and oral records. Victor sternly deciding to actively follow the example of the tribe’s ancestors was probably made in response to his treatment from and the behavior of his father. Choosing to abide by the beliefs and traditions of his tribes allows Victor to cope with or simply avoid his past by both renewing and strengthening his identity as a member of his tribe’s society. However, soon after telling Thomas of his beliefs, Victor’s “warrior act” fails to elicit any respect from two rude gentlemen who take the two Indians’ bus seats during a
In Chis Erie’s film, Smoke Signals, a larger motif can be found on the Nobility of Warriors through subtle hints and metaphors. During the bus ride scene, after which Victor makes Thomas look more “stoic” and Indian they return to their seats to find that they have been taken by two white men that refuse to give them back, Victor and Thomas promptly find a new seat and Thomas says that the “warrior look doesn't work every time.” After Victor stresses that Thomas needs to look and act more Indian so that the white people respect them, nothing changes when they confront the two men. Back in the time of the Native Americans the Warrior was one of the greatest titles one can get, it brought them great respect and all the perks that come with
For example, Victor is saying “Julius windmaker was the latest in a long line of reservation basketball heroes, going all the way back to Aristotle Polatkin, who was shooting jump shots exactly one year before James Naismith supposedly invented basketball”, on page 45. When Victor say that, “the latest in a long line of reservation basketball heroes”, it’s saying that Julius was being the basketball hero during that time and he was the reservation hero who inspired everyone to do what they want and not let any stereotype to stop them from what they like. Julius had demonstrates that stereotype are false statement and prove that Indians are normal people who does not act like savages. Julius proves that he is representing for Native Americans that stereotypes about Native Americans are not true and they are just like human being. Julius windmaker had made himself like a leader, where people would look up to him. It proves that Julius windmaker have demonstrate that he is a symbol of a leader because of how he help the reservation to stand up and fight against
The Spokane Indians held these "rules" in such high regard that when Junior actually followed these rules and struck his bully in the face, the bully just stood in awe. In Junior 's society the logical thing to do would be to attack when you are highly insulted. But on the contrary, this new society did not follow his rules, nor did they have any of their own. By giving us, the readers, this list the author has strengthened his logos factor in this particular story.
In the novel Reservation Blues, most of the characters struggle with their identity at some point. Victor has an especially strong urge to rebel against his Native American heritage, which is apparent in his violent, arrogant demeanor and his obvious problem with alcohol. Victor is tied to his past and has trouble coping with his life as it is, and is in a constant battle with himself, his surroundings, and other people.
Adjusting to another culture is a difficult concept, especially for children in their school classrooms. In Sherman Alexie’s, “Indian Education,” he discusses the different stages of a Native Americans childhood compared to his white counterparts. He is describing the schooling of a child, Victor, in an American Indian reservation, grade by grade. He uses a few different examples of satire and irony, in which could be viewed in completely different ways, expressing different feelings to the reader. Racism and bullying are both present throughout this essay between Indians and Americans. The Indian Americans have the stereotype of being unsuccessful and always being those that are left behind. Through Alexie’s negativity and humor in his
For Victor, growing up on a reservation was not easy. Multiple times he experienced discrimination, on and off the reservation. His second grade teacher decided to punish him instead of rewarding him for his phenomenal grade on a spelling test. He was also subjected to discrimination when a teacher assumed he passed out due to drunkenness because of his skin color, Victor says to this, “Sharing dark skin doesn’t necessarily make two people brothers.” (Alexie, 1993, p. 5) Discrimination was not the only issue Victor experienced, hunger was another problem. While he and his family barley had any food, girls in the bathroom stalls were throwing up their lunch. People take advantage of the luxuries they possess when there are people who barley
When they returned back to the reservation, Victor knew that he still could not be seen talking to Thomas for fear of being ridiculed for talking to the crazy storyteller. “Victor knew that he couldn’t really be friends with Thomas, even after all that had happened. It was cruel but it was real.” (Alexie P. 518) Victor in a way was thankful for Thomas’ help but seemed too proud to admit it to Thomas. Victor knows that Thomas would remain the crazy storyteller. In a way Victor felt ashamed of himself.
In his essay, “Pretty like a White Boy: The Adventure of a Blue-Eyed a Ojibway,” Drew Hayden Taylor discusses his negative life experiences, and decides that he will no longer classify himself as either a White, or Native person, though he is of dual ancestry. Though he aims his essay at the Everyman, he assumes that the reader has knowledge in Native history. Taylor, the comedian mentions that he never knew his White father, and it is likely that he was raised in First Nations household. This assumption supports the ethos of his essay as a whole. While examining the thesis, Taylor makes jumps in logic that are difficult for the reader to follow, on the path to his conclusion. Taylor’s style is consistently lighthearted, and his essay is structurally sound, however, due to errors in logic, his essay appeals to the heart alone.
Hollywood’s early depictions of Natives consisted of tribesmen and noble savages who are in tune with Nature. Films such as The Silent Enemy portray these stereotypes on screen with actors like Chief Buffalo Child Long Lance being shown as tribesmen who are very noble Natives. Although these stereotypes are positive, they are still stereotypes nonetheless. These stereotypes have caused
Victor Joseph’s portrayal of the classic Native American man is exemplified by Alexie’s use of dialogue, costumes, and flashbacks. For example, when Victor sees Thomas smiling as they ride their way to Arizona he says, “Indians ain’t supposed to smile like that. Get stoic” (Smoke Signals). This example of dialogue reveals how Victor believes a Native American man should present himself traditionally, which strongly contrasts with Thomas’s demeanor and appearance. Victor continues on, saying, “Look at your hair, it’s all braided up and stuff. You gotta free it. An Indian man ain’t nothing without his hair.” (Smoke Signals). Hair design is used to symbolize Victor’s close ties with his ancestral past as a Native American. Additionally, Victor’s comment on hair foreshadows when Victor himself cuts his hair, symbolizing a moment in which Victor embraces his traumatic past by accepting who he is as a person. In a more literal sense, flashbacks are also used to symbolize the trauma that Victor experienced in his direct past - living with an alcoholic father, Arnold Joseph, who abandoned him. However, by the end of the movie, Victor embraces this past through the spreading of his father’s ashes.
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.
Everyone has a preconceived opinion of how a certain ethnic group is in terms of the way they live, the morals they hold, the way they deal with people different from them, and how they deal with one another. We come to these conclusions by what we have seen in the media, heard from other people, or actually experienced ourselves. Most people would consider these opinions to be stereotypes. Dances with Wolves is a motion picture that deals with and touches on all sides of personal stereotypes we as American and American Indians have about each other. John Dunbar takes us through and allows us to see how it is to come into a situation he was not familiar with and then eventually the
I’m interested in how things should be.” He refused to accept the injustice that he lived in, so he fought. His father’s fighting spirit never rested; according to him, “Indians are pretty much born soldiers….” There was a distinguishable difference between how Victor and his father thought. As Victor dreamt about his father’s experience at Woodstock and tried to gain some sort of commonality and understanding with his father he said, “But as much as I dream about it, I don’t have any clue about what it meant to my father to be the only Indian who saw Jimi Hendrix play at Woodstock.” He realized that he had no idea how to relate to his father. His generation had no idea how to relate to the wounded generation of his father’s. The assimilation of the Native American people into the unaccepting American culture caused an un-relatable, un-mendable, and incomprehensible separation of thought and relationship between the young and old generations. There was a chasm created by the breaking of a culture.
In the movie there is Victor, the main character, which tries to be the typical Indian, or maybe just a typical man. He shows just hate towards his father, who left Victor and his mother alone and fled to Phoenix. The picture Victor has about his
Shortly after losing his job with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Victor is informed of his father's death. Although they haven't had