The Lone Ranger And Tonto Fistfight In Heaven Analysis

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

The colonization of Native American people has consequently framed Native American society as heteronormative, despite the historical inaccuracies of such a notion. The relationships presented throughout this collection range from sexual, platonic, familial and interracial. Race is "a constant presence" (14) throughout the course of each narrative. Alexie 's stories question of identity as it relates to race and sexuality across a boad spectrum. The nine stories in The Toughest Indian in the World move off the reservation to Seattle or the nearby city of Spokane. The ‘urban Indians’ at the heart of these stories are educated, middle class and sober, and outwardly at least, they are fully integrated into the dominant white society. This paper will explore the trajectory of identity in Alexie 's work and how Toughest Indian demonstates a sense of otherness of Indians in an urban envirnment. This theme is expored through Alexie 's treatment of race and sexuality as demonstrated in two stories: Toughest Indian and John Wayne.

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.

“Indians are like the weather.” With his opening words Vine Deloria Jr. sets up the basis for the rest of his witty yet substantial manifesto, Custer Died for Your Sins. The book, which describes the struggles and misrepresentation of the American Indian people in 1960s American culture, is written in a style that changes from ironic and humorous satire to serious notions, then back again. Through energetic dialogue that engages the reader in a clever and articulate presentation, Deloria advocates the dismissal of old stereotypes and shows a viewpoint that allows the general public to gain a deeper understanding of what it is to be an American Indian.

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.

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

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.

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,

From its birth, America was a place of inequality and privilege. Since Columbus 's arrival and up until present day, Native American tribes have been victim of white men 's persecution and tyranny. This was first expressed in the 1800’s, when Native Americans were driven off their land and forced to embark on the Trail of Tears, and again during the Western American- Indian War where white Americans massacred millions of Native Americans in hatred. Today, much of the Indian Territory that was once a refuge for Native Americans has since been taken over by white men, and the major tribes that once called these reservations home are all but gone. These events show the discrimination and oppression the Native Americans faced. They were, and continue to be, pushed onto reservations,

The belief that Natives needed to change was further revealed with the establishment of the Yakima Indian Reservation. This school was used as a tool to try and assimilate Indians into the mainstream American culture. This wasn’t the only one to open, by the 1880’s 10,000 Indian children were placed in boarding schools. This feeling of superiority was further made abundant when the US government created the Carlisle Indian School. A federally funded off-reservation boarding school, founded under the principle that reservation schools weren’t doing a sufficient enough job. Natives needed to be off the reservation and immerse themselves in white culture in hopes of these children being impactful members of society one day. Anglo Americans mistakenly believed that Native Americans wanted their help. That they were a vanishing race who’s only hope for survival was rapid cultural transformation. These boarding school wiped away the children’s identity. Everything they learned back home, they were taught to forget. Carlisle and other off reservation boarding school was an assault of Natives cultural identity. Everything these children brought with them was done away with. Their long hair was cut off. They were given new clothes and were not allowed to eat their traditional cooked foods. Their names were stripped away from them and they were given new white first and last names. It was also forbidden for the children to speak their language, instead they were taught English. This belief of superiority was also shown in discriminatory laws in Alaska. In the 1940’s, Alaska natives had difficulty finding homes and were refused entry to public facilities that served whites only. This led for the fight of an Anti-Discrimination Act that would eliminate these

Along with the belief that the Native Americans should be driven off their land to make room for Anglo American expansion, the Anglos also believed the Native Americans also had to be tamed due to their inferiority. “Kill the Indian and Save the Man,” written by Richard H. Pratt, stated that, “We shall have to go elsewhere, and seek for other means besides land in

Internalized oppression is just one factor that contributes to the inescapability of intergenerational trauma. Alexie uses figurative language to demonstrate that the cycle of oppression is further perpetuated by the concept of racial inferiority, poverty, and failure to achieve an education in his short story “The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn’t Flash Red Anymore”. The main character, Victor, sits on the porch with his friend Adrian as they reminisce their past and hope for others futures. Victor claims that “Indians [could] easily survive the big stuff... It’s the small things that hurt the most. The white waitress who wouldn’t take an order, Tonto, the Washington Redskins” (49).

It is easy to see that current events and issues of the world around them have had an impact on authors and what they have written from the stories in this time period. The Native American authors wrote stories describing life during and after white man came to America. We read Oratory’s by two Native American’s COCHISE and CHARLOT. They gave heart-wrenching speeches, giving great details into the history of the tribes and the devastating effect the white man had on them. Author Zitkala Sa gave us a powerful interpretation of her life as a Indian and how the white’s coming to America affected her life.

In Sherman Alexie’s ‘The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven’ (2005 edition) alcoholism plays a huge role throughout the book. Particularly in the short stories ‘Amusement’, ‘The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn’t Flash Red Anymore’ and ‘A Train is an Order of Occurrence Designed to Lead to Some Result’. Kids on the reservation always start off good with school and sports keeping them busy, but somewhere along the way they always seem to fall off track. That is why things like basketball play such a huge role in their lives; distracting them from partying, drinking, and drugs. If just one person could make it out of there with a scholarship or something of that sort they would have hope. Victor being one of the most talked about character in these stories is a clear example of how his drinking problem affected him. In spite of that fact drinking affects every Indian on the reservation, if they haven’t drank, they’ve been around it all their lives. These stories help support why alcohol plays such a major role in their lives.