This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix Arizona Essay

In “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” written by Sherman Alexie, the story starts off with Victor losing his job at the BIA and losing his father from a heart attack. Victor isn’t the richest person so he goes ask the Tribal Council if they can give him money to go to Phoenix, Arizona to go get his father’s ashes. The only thing the Tribal Council can give him is a hundred dollars. Although Victor needed more than just hundred dollars he still took the money. While Victor was in line to cash the check he seen Thomas Builds-the-Fire, one of his old friends, and then Thomas seen Victor so Thomas walks over to Victor. Thomas told Victor that he’s sorry about his father’s death and Victor asked how he knew and Thomas told him that

Sherman Alexie, in “Indian Education” tells his experiences in school on the reservation. Some of his teachers did not treat him very good and did not try to understand him. In his ninth grade year he collapsed. A teacher assumed that he had been drinking just because he was Native American. The teacher said, “What’s that boy been drinking? I know all about these Indian kids. They start drinking real young.” Sherman Alexie didn’t listen to the negatives in school. He persevered and became valedictorian of his school.

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.

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

Greek Mythology refers to a phoenix as a long-lived bird that is regularly regenerated or reborn. In “This is what is means to say Phoenix Arizona”, Victor, the main characters’ father dies. Victor is faced with conflict; Victor recently lost his job and has no money to get to Phoenix to pick up his father’s remains and memorabilia. Victor runs into an estranged childhood friend, Thomas- Builds- the-Fire. Thomas offers to pay Victors way to Phoenix under the condition Thomas can accompany Victor to Phoenix. The main character Victor can be symbolically compared to a Phoenix; A transformation of character. The character’s identity and development engage the story. Throughout the story, Sherman Alexie uses flash backs to enlighten the past of Victor and Thomas-Builds-the Fire. In the short story, “This is what it means to Say Phoenix Arizona, the author, Sherman Alexie uses character and the occurrence of flash backs to develop the story.

Victor’s father was the man who was sent to him from his dreams to instill in him the value of caring for his fellow Native American peoples. Thomas showed the care he had to not only a friend, but a fellow Native American Victor when Thomas saved Victor's life from hornets “He might have died there, stung a thousand times, if Thomas Builds-the-fire had not come”. This is a perfect example of how much Thomas cares and how selfless he can be by charring in to help victor moreover, he knew he would most likely be stung by the hive as well. Thomas has shown a willingness to help his people with all manner of issues and problems from getting a foot stuck in a hornets nest to helping an old friend travel the 1,379 mile journey to Phoenix, Arizona. These instances of caring are

The book “This Is What It Mean to Say Phoenix, Arizona” by Sherman Alexie illustrate friendship and care with both friends then she goes deep into Native American belief and culture. The way she show it in the book is Thomas show that he still cared for Victor though of what his father was going through in life and still wanted to keep a stronger friendship bond. The relationship between Thomas Builds-the Fire and Victor is intriguing. The trait that Thomas has of constantly story-telling is how history is passed on in many cultures, especially in the Native American culture. Even though their relationship changed over the years, he is still the one that Victor takes with him to Phoenix. I think the fact that Thomas had the money to go was

“This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona” discusses the physical and mental journey of Victor, a Native American man in the state of Washington, as he goes to Phoenix, Arizona to claim his father’s remains and his savings account. While on this journey, Victor learns about himself, his father, and his Indian culture with the help of his estranged friend, Thomas Builds-the–Fire. The author, Sherman Alexie, plays on the stereotypes of Native Americans through the characters of Victor and Thomas. While Thomas is portrayed as the more traditional and “good” Native American, Victor comes across as the “bad” Native American. Through the use of this binary relationship, Alexie is able to illustrate the transformation of these characters as

The film, Smoke Signals was about an adolescent name Victor and his friend Thomas on a journey to see what happened to Victor’s father. Throughout the movie, Victor has trouble trying to forgive his father for leaving his mother and himself behind. The context behind the movie did a great job in illustrating the culture of Native Americans and threw in some of the common stereotypes that are associated with Native Americans. Some of the stereotypes about Native Americans were domestic violence, them being alcoholics and a scene where one of the female characters, Lucy, says we barter because we’re Indian. The depiction of poverty and struggle in the movie was not as concise because of the difference in living space between Victor’s family and Thomas’s. Victor and his mother live in a decent home. In contrast, Thomas and his grandmother live in a higher standard living space. No one in the film was really struggling to meet ends met like how it is in the real world. If the movie was not focused on Victor and Thomas journey, the story would have taken a different path.

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

The movie Smoke Signals is based on the series of short stories written by Sherman Alexie. Just like any movie, there is a meaning to it. Before this movie, when I thought of the phrase "Native American" I thought of things like feathers and societies that were impeccable. But after watching the movie, Smoke Signals, it portrays what being a Native American really means. It is not all fun and games. The protagonist, Victor Joseph, has many hard aspects of his life, but throughout it all he grows mentally. His personality in the beginning of the movie is mean and despicable, he is filled with wrath, but as the movie goes on his personality grows gradually. By the ending of the movie, he was a nicer and kinder.

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.

Another example of the ancient Native American spirit on the reservation was given early in the movie, just as Victor and Thomas are beginning their journey to Phoenix. We see the duo walking side by side down a dirt road, and soon a beat up "reservation car" pulls up beside them carrying two women. The reservation car is old and worn down, dust caking

“This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona”: The Road to a New Beginning

The character Victor from “This It What It Means To Say Phoenix,Arizona” by Sherman Alexie goes through many struggles in order to travel to Arizona to pick up his father's ashes from Washington where he lives. Victor was not in a good economical position, neither was the rest of his family. When his father dies Victor has to go down to Phoenix to take care of all the arrangements needed, but he didn't have enough money so he decides to call the Tribal Council, but what the Tribal Council offered him was not enough to cover all his needs. Victor then accepts help from his childhood friend Thomas who was weird and no one talked to him. Throughout the rest of the play, Victor and Thomas go through many adventures together in order to get the