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

Alcoholism is an issue in many peoples lives. But for Native Americans it has become a very common issues effecting many people. Native Americans also affect more than health, issues like stereotyping and control come into play. Two authors decided to include the effects of alcohol in their works. By showing the affects of alcohol in Native Americans, people will be able to see the difficulties of the disease and try to overcome some of the problems.

However, in order to understand the culture of the Native Americans, it is important to study each group distinctly from the other. While the history of the Native Americans is beyond the scope of this paper, it suffices to note that the enduring cultural practices of the Native Americans have had an impact on the abuse of substances such as Alcohol (Moore Gay, 2010). The prevalence of alcohol among this cultural group has been influenced in two ways: by a misperception, social rules, norms and customs, and traditions that have normalized drinking among certain tribes.

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

     By reading the book, the author showed me was that the only thing left for the remaining Native Americans is to drink, since everything they once had has disappeared. Most part of the book is about Indians having bad experiences in life and facing the loss of their tradition.

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,

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.

Substance abuse is a topic most prefer not to discuss; it destroys lives, relationships and families all over the world. Native Americans seem to have suffered immensely by it. Since the coming of the Englishmen and the introduction of new knowledge and tools Native people have been trying to hold on to their own culture and their own way of life. Unfortunately with them came new items for consumption, alcohol was one of the main ingredients to the internal downfall of Native populations. Native American populations suffer greatly due to the ongoing epidemic of substance abuse and dependence; some things are being done about the problems people are having but in the end will it be enough to heal a nation? To open this paper I will look at

Alcoholism is the leading health and social problem of American Indians than any other race. Native Americans who end up leaving the reservation to pursue education or employment opportunities express a high degree of discomfort and anxiety as a result of “feeling caught in two worlds.” By leaving the reservation they are abandoning their traditions, however temporarily, and suffering a sense of personal loss and insecurity. In entering a new world, this sense of loss and insecurity is heightened and becomes exacerbated, particularly if they do not experience success or acceptance in the new environment (Major, A.K. A 2003). However, if success and acceptance in the new world occurs, these individuals will still suffer the pangs of abandonment since they can never fully return to the reservation. In some cases, forced assimilation has extinguished the culture from many Indians as their grandparents and parents were forced to abandon the old ways in order to become more American. Thomas Jefferson, as well as many others believed that Native Americans can be just as ‘White’ Americans. In an attempt to increase local employment opportunities, many tribes have turned to gambling casinos and the collateral business which support these ventures. Illegal activities would certainly increase among Indians because of the simple fact that they need to survive by any means necessary. This can all

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

No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” Unfortunately Native Americans have deep roots with racism and oppression during the last 500 years. “In The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven,” Sherman Alexie tries to show racism in many ways in multiple of his short stories. These stories, engage our history from a Native American viewpoint. Many Native Americans were brutally forced out of their homes and onto Reservations that lacked resources. Later, Indian children were taken from their families and placed into school that were designed to, “Kill the Indian, save the man.” In the book there are multiple short story that are pieces that form a larger puzzle that shows the struggles and their effects on Native Americans. Sherman Alexie shows the many sides of racism, unfair justice and extermination policies and how imagination is key for Native American survival.

In Sherman Alexie’s novel The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven shows the struggles of daily Native American life, which is shown through the point of view of male character. All though out the book the following three questions appear: ‘What does it mean to live as an Indian in this time? What does it mean to be an Indian man? and What does it mean to live on an Indian reservation?’ Alexie uses literary devices such as point of view, imagery, characterization to make his point that the conflict of being an Indian in the U.S. in these short stories using the following short stories “An Indian Education” and “Amusement”. “An Indian Education” uses both imagery and characterization to show us what the narrator is

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).

Sherman Alexie’s “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” is a short story about the modern day Native American. The speaker of the story welcomes the reader to the setting of the story, a 7-11. In this 7-11 the graveyard manager is skeptical about the speaker thinking that he is an armed robber and what not because of his tan skin and long ponytail. The speaker understands why the cashier may feel threatened because he himself was one a 7-11 graveyard shift employee. The speaker has a white girlfriend who he fights with quite often and she accuses him of being an alcoholic, eventually leaves his life with her in Seattle, Washington to go back to his reservation where his family is. He often has vivid dreams of Native Americans and white fighting on a battlefield until it takes a sick twist and the white are playing polo with an Indian woman’s head. The speaker is often stopped by the police for wandering in neighborhoods that the majority of the population is white. Him being different makes white people nervous and on edge. The speaker talks about how he was supposed to be different and that he had potential compared to your average Native American” (Alexie 386). The speaker was in college from a couple years and eventually dropped out and ends up a couch potato flipping through the television stations like the way society