This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix Arizona Summary

Jim Thorpe was an American Athlete who performed during the early 1900’s. At a young age he picked up track and field and eventually other sports like baseball and football and excelled in all of them. He gained worldwide attention because of his amazing talent in every sport he picked up and also because of his race being Native American, which was rare to see in professional sports. His two best sports were Football and Track and field which he won many awards in. He then got into the acting business which made him even more popular and respected throughout the US and even the world. From being told he is the best athlete in the world by a king, to being the president of what is now the NFL, Jim Thorpe changed America culturally because of his athletic career, his ability to persuade people not to discriminate

Thomas on the other hand was ok with knowing Victor would not talk to him again after their trip to Phoenix. “I know you ain’t going to treat me any better than you did before. I know your friends would give you too much shit about it.” (Alexie P. 518) He asked of Victor one favor only, he said, “Just one time when I’m telling a story somewhere, why don’t you stop and listen? Just once!” (Alexie P. 519)

The character Thomas from “ This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona.” is keeping his word by watching over Victor when he most needs it. Thomas is a guy no one really likes and talk to because he is always telling random stories, people see him as a crazy person. In reality Thomas is very humble, because after Victor beating him up for no reason one day, Thomas still decided to help Victor when he was most in need of it.

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

In the short story This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona written by Alexie Sherman. Alexie wrote about these two Native Americans that live on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Victor had a tough childhood when his father left him around the age of seven and moved to Phoenix Arizona. Thomas’s parents died when he was just a baby and grew up with his grandmother, Thomas was a storyteller and got picked on a lot because of his story telling. Victor lost his job and he also found out that he lost his father due to a heart attack, Victor was told that his father had a savings account and if he wanted anything to go to Phoenix to go gather up his father’s belongings.

     He was not the first black player in the major league baseball; neither was he the first black star athlete. Words cannot describe what he brought to the game of baseball and the rest of America. His success in baseball proved that blacks and white can coexist, and corporate well together. His importance to the public was more then just playing baseball.

The first person on the list is Jim Thorpe. He was born in 1888 and in Prague Indian Territory which is actually known as Oklahoma. He was known for

He was arrested and court-martialed during training in the Army for refusing to move to the back of a segregated bus. He was eventually acquitted of the charges and received an honorable discharge. He then started his professional baseball career. Once he graduated, he moved on with his life. He signed to play minor league baseball with the Honolulu Bears.

On May 22, 1887, one of the best competitors of the twentieth century was conceived in a little lodge in Oklahoma. James Francis Thorpe in his Native American name which implies brilliant future, would have a splendid future to be sure. He would go ahead to make achievements in all of football, baseball and olympic style sports.

Jim Thorpe is debatably the best athlete of the 20th century. He was born on May 28th, 1887. Jim's mother had a pair of twin sisters before Jim was born. Unfortunately, they both passed away while they were babies. “He was born to Hiram Thorpe, a farmer, and Mary James, a Pottawatomie Indian and descendant of the last great Sauk and Fox chief Black Hawk, a noted warrior and athlete. Jim was actually born a twin, but his brother Charlie died at the age of nine. His Indian name, Wa-Tho-Huk, translated to “Bright Path,” something that Thorpe definitely had ahead of him.” (CMG Worldwide) Because Jim was born in Indian territory, he learned to hunt and trap animals which helped him develop his amazing endurance. When Jim was six, he was forced to

Before I begin to talk about Arthur Ashe, I feel that it would be appropriate to talk about what was going on around the world at the time. One of the reasons why Arthur Ashe was famous was because he was African American and in that time period, americans found themselves question the ideals of the country. Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence "that all men are created equal", yet africans were segregated from everything; from schools to water fountains. Africans were treated like second class citizens even though many of them have brought fame and honor to the country. Many black athletes would go on to shock the world, including Jesse Owens who would win four gold medals in the 1936 in Nazi Germany Olympics, and Jackie Robinson who became the first major league african american baseball player. Among these famous players was Arthur Robert Ashe Jr.

Jim Thorpe was a Native American. He won a pentathlon and decathlon in the olympics in 1912. He was soon stripped of his gold medals for violating some rules. He was born on May 28, 1887 close to Prague, Oklahoma. Thorpe played baseball and football before pursuing an acting career. The day he died on was March 28, 1953 in the city Lomita, California. The school he went to is The Carlisle School for All Native Americans. Jim Thorpe played for 12 seasons and had 52 career games that were played. Jim Thorpe had 8 children he had 3 daughters named Grace Thorpe, Gale Thorpe, and Charlotte Thorpe. He also had 5 sons named John Thorpe, Richard Thorpe, Carl Thorpe, William Thorpe, and Jim Thorpe Jr. Thorpe’s real name is Wa Tho Huk which means bright

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

Thorpe went on to play professional baseball and football, but he could never again achieve such fame. The book i’ve been reading the past couple weeks is “Jim and Me” by Dan Gutman. Some facts about the author is Dan Gutman was born October 19, 1955 he was born in New York city then a year later he moved to newark, New Jersey. A significant passage In the book “Jim and Me” is “ At some moment in time you have

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