The Lone Ranger And Tonto Fistfight In Heaven Summary

Most of Alexie’s writing reflects life on the reservations today. The poverty, oppression, commodity food, and alcoholism are the main themes in his stories. The title story of his collection The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven, however, deals with the life of an Indian man who has left the reservation to live in Seattle and some of the obstacles he faces in the white world. We never know the main character’s name, probably because he feels like a nameless nobody in this strange world. He is alienated and told that he doesn’t belong even

Defining exactly what shapes ethnic identity in the United States is the hardest question I can imagine being asked. As a child born in the United States, I find this question so difficult because I have been exposed to a large variety of cultures within the small boundaries of my own family. This makes it very difficult to determine one, or even a few characteristics that define ethnic identity. In the case of many of these novels, the task of defining ethnic identity is not so complicated. The list of determinants that I believe to define ethnic identity includes language, geographic location, and tradition.

Throughout “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” the theme of resilience is deliberately presented. Native Americans past and present continue to face stifling issues such as racism, alcoholism, isolation and suicide. Sherman Alexie makes it his obligation in his stories and poems to show Native American resiliency through humor. By using his characters to show resiliency through humor Alexie presents humor as an integral part of Native American survival.

In Sherman Alexie’s short story “Superman and Me,” Alexie writes about his life as an Indian child growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in the state of Washington. He depicts his life from when he was three years old, living on the reservation, up to his current self, as an adult writer who frequently visits that reservation. He primarily describes his interest in reading and how it has changed his life for the better.

In a Bill Moyer’s interview “Sherman Alexie on Living Outside Borders”, Moyer’s interviews Native American author and poet Sherman Alexie. In the Moyer’s and Company interview, Alexie shares his story about the struggles that he endured during his time on a Native American reservation located at Wellpinit, Washington. During the interview, Alexie goes in-depth about his conflicts that plagued the reservation. In an award-winning book by Sherman Alexie called “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”, Alexie writes semi-autobiography that reveals his harsh life on the reservation through a fictional character named Arnold Spirit Junior. In Alexie’s semi-autobiography, Alexie shares his struggles of a poor and alcoholic family, the

In the story "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven" by Sherman Alexie, points out the hardships of being a Native American back in the 20th century. These hardships were racism, alcoholism, poverty and isolation. The story takes place in the reservation and it is about a young Native American whom struggles in society because of his skin color, family's addictions and fights. The narrator moves to Seattle with his white girlfriend who he seems to have an odd relationship because they are constantly fighting. He becomes an alcoholic and moves back to the reservation after a break up with his girlfriend.

In his story “The Lakota Way; Joseph Marshall III adequately convinces the reader to persevere through a series of stories that allows the reader to develop a personal connection with characters. Marshall achieves this by informing the reader and using formal diction. This allows his readers to experience how perseverance can have a positive impact on one’s life. Marshall teaches us that Perseverance represents a quality in human beings that allows us to be steadfast despite the difficulty. In the folk tale “The Story of the Giant,” perseverance is abundant; Marshall utilizes the skill of teaching to persuade his audience to persevere through the story. Marshall‘s unique way of writing allows the reader to take lessons from a story and influence them to use it in their own lives. From lya the giant terrorizing people to Indians having to leave their land because of the government to Marshall’s grandfather’s stories of hardship, Marshall shows his audience how the Native Americans have always had it rough but more importantly how they persevered.

Analysis of Sherman Alexie's 'The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven' and 'Smoke Signals'

Geronimo, Crazy Horse, and Sitting Bull are all noble Indian warriors of the recent past. Each warrior symbolizes courage, hope, and bravery in battle. The mighty warriors proved themselves in battle time and time again. These men were looked up to with the highest regards of their people. Indian children grew up with stories of these brave warriors being passed down from generation to generation. A great respect is seen for the legendary warriors of the past. As times change and the days of Indian and cowboy battles are behind us; how is it possible for a warrior to still be relevant in the modern day? Sherman Alexie expresses this idea of a modern-day warrior in his book The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. Many times,

     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

Sherman J. Alexie, is a short story written in the first person focusing on two Native American Men who grew up together on a Reservation for Native Americans but have been estranged from each other since they were teenagers. Victor who is the narrator of this story is a young man who lost faith in his culture and its traditions, while Thomas our second main character is a deeply rooted traditional storyteller. In the beginning of the story Victor, our Native American narrator learns the death of his father. Jobless and penniless, his only wish is to go to Phoenix, Arizona and bring back his father’s ashes and belongings to the reservation in Spokane. The death of Victor’s father leads him and Thomas to a journey filled with childhood

In “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” written by Sherman Alexie, he talks about his struggle in society of being Indian. Alexie shows his struggle through his telling of personal experiences in life. In his late night trip to 7-11, he has a strange encounter with the 7-11 employee because the employee is suspicious of him just because he is Indian. “‘I was hoping you weren’t crazy, you were scaring me,”’ said the 7-11 employee. He proves his point by giving quotes of his conversation, but even though Alexie was not being suspicious, he gets eyed down as if he was just because of his race. Another way Alexie was racially abused was when he was driving around at night because him and his girlfriend got in a fight. “‘Well you

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven is a book written by; Sherman Alexie. In this book, Alexie writes about a group of Native Americans who live on the Spokane Indian Reservation. As this novel may be fiction, some of the stories that are portrayed in the text have some very real meaning the them. These Native Americans endure lots of heartache and tragedy in this book as they are faced with problems like alcoholism, car accidents, loss of loved one and houses burning. In the face of adversity, many of these Native Americans in this story carry on with their lives and become “Warriors”. The search for warriors in this publication has many themes that come along with it such as; Resilience and Forgiveness. This desire of being a warrior drives characters in this book to stand out and be strong leaders. This is needed because many Native Americans on the reservation needs a warrior to stand up and fight for them. Currently, a warrior does not have the same meaning as it did centuries ago. When looking for a warrior we will not find a gladiator or Spartan walking the streets. What we will find is a person who is strong and resilient enough to carry on and care for his own family or loved ones around them. A warrior is possible to find today, just many are looking in the wrong places as this novel give clarity to what a true warrior is.

“Trauma is a fact of life. It does not, however, have to be a life sentence.” - Peter A. Levine, Ph.D. In Sherman Alexie’s collection of short stories, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, we read stories of Native American struggles for survival in an American society designed to keep Native Americans locked in the cycle of intergenerational trauma. Alexie illustrates the importance of rejecting intergenerational trauma as a method of survival, by isolating the two main causes intergenerational trauma becomes inescapable and giving examples that showcase the impact of attempting to survive the cycle. Through the interpretation of multiple sources, it becomes clear that the inescapability of intergenerational trauma is the outcome of internalized oppression and pessimism.

In a world where assimilation is the easiest way to survive, it can be difficult to maintain two identities. The development of characters is the foundation in which people use to grow and become successful in their path of life. Oppression, cultural changes, and pressure to conform to the stereotypical image of success causes discontent among cultures. Many children have an ideal image of who they want to be, and often their parents have a conflicting view on who they would like to see their child become. In the story “Two Kinds” the Narrator has a rebellious attitude towards the aspirations of her mother. The amount of pressure placed on her and her lack of success causes sadness in the main character since she was not able to perform the way her mother wanted. Similarly, the main character from “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” experiences a feeling of inferiority from the racial discrimination and lack of financial success in his life.