Sherman Alexie
ENGLlOO
Christensen
A Cultural Disassociation
InThe Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist/ight in Heaven, by Sherman Alexie, the three short stories, "A Drug Called Tradition," "This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix,
Arizona," and "The Trial of Thomas Builds-the-Fire," depict the Native American experience with their own cultural past through Thomas Builds-the-Fire. In "A Drug Called Tradition," Victor, Junior and Thomas volunteer themselves to the effects
of
magic mushrooms and go on a trip to Benjamin Lake. In "This Is What It Means to Say
Phoenix Arizonao" Victor is refused sufficient funds from the tribal council to collect and cremate his dead father. Thomas offers to give him money in exchange for partnership on his journey, and Victor and Thomas travel together to Arizona to retrieve Victor 's father.
In "The Trial of Thomas Builds-the-Fire," Thomas is put on trial for his crimes against story telling and must defend himself against his own people.
Alexie uses his character Thomas Builds-a-Fire in the three stories as a symbol for the cultural history and savior of Native Americans. Alexie also uses the rejection and persecution of Thomas Builds-a-Fire to convey how Native Americans are fighting against themselves and perpetuating an intentional loss of culture.
Throughout the stories in which Thomas is mentioned, he is consistently perceived as an outsider or one who is not commonly accepted by society. In numerous instances in Alexie 's book, Thomas is described as one whom others are reluctant to hear speak, because he is constantly telling stories about the Native American past that nobody
wants to understand or accept. Thomas represents the Spokane traditions and cultural past that they are losing. People continually reject Thomas because he and his stories are
symbolic of the persistent Native American cultural past that struggles to stay alive
within its people.
In "A Drug Called Traditiono" Victor and his friend
Christensen
A Cultural Disassociation
InThe Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist/ight in Heaven, by Sherman Alexie, the three short stories, "A Drug Called Tradition," "This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix,
Arizona," and "The Trial of Thomas Builds-the-Fire," depict the Native American experience with their own cultural past through Thomas Builds-the-Fire. In "A Drug Called Tradition," Victor, Junior and Thomas volunteer themselves to the effects
of
magic mushrooms and go on a trip to Benjamin Lake. In "This Is What It Means to Say
Phoenix Arizonao" Victor is refused sufficient funds from the tribal council to collect and cremate his dead father. Thomas offers to give him money in exchange for partnership on his journey, and Victor and Thomas travel together to Arizona to retrieve Victor 's father.
In "The Trial of Thomas Builds-the-Fire," Thomas is put on trial for his crimes against story telling and must defend himself against his own people.
Alexie uses his character Thomas Builds-a-Fire in the three stories as a symbol for the cultural history and savior of Native Americans. Alexie also uses the rejection and persecution of Thomas Builds-a-Fire to convey how Native Americans are fighting against themselves and perpetuating an intentional loss of culture.
Throughout the stories in which Thomas is mentioned, he is consistently perceived as an outsider or one who is not commonly accepted by society. In numerous instances in Alexie 's book, Thomas is described as one whom others are reluctant to hear speak, because he is constantly telling stories about the Native American past that nobody
wants to understand or accept. Thomas represents the Spokane traditions and cultural past that they are losing. People continually reject Thomas because he and his stories are
symbolic of the persistent Native American cultural past that struggles to stay alive
within its people.
In "A Drug Called Traditiono" Victor and his friend
Cited: Heaven. Alexie, Sherman. New York: Grove Press, 2005. 12-23. Armbruster-Sandoval, Ralph. "Teaching smoke signals: fatherhood, forgiveness, and 'freedom '." Wicazo Sa Review 23.I (2008):123+ Blewster, Kelley. "TRIBAL VISIONS." Biblio 4.3 (1999):22. General OneFile. Web. 8 Dec