Thomas Builds-A-Fire: A Personal Analysis

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Sometimes we believe that there aren’t any more kind and generous people in this world. When we ask people for help in a crisis and they do not follow through, it is those we least expected who jump in and lend a hand. It is only then that we see who our real friends are and get a different perspective on life. We read a story of two young Indian men traveling to Phoenix, Az. This journey is to claim a three hundred dollar savings account and an old yellow pickup truck that Victor Joseph, one of the young men’s fathers left behind when he died. Victor travels with another young Indian called Thomas Builds-A-Fire. Victor had grown up to hate his father along with everything else in the world. And this trip would open his eyes and allow him to realize there was a lot he was blind to. In this documented essay I’m writing, I’m going to discuss the best critical discussion of three sources I found. I’m going to discuss the reasons why one source…show more content…
Victor must come to terms with his own identity, not simply as Indian, but as a man within a large and often puzzling world. Thomas, serving as metaphorical mirror of mnemonic reflection, helps Victor to understand his own role as a member of community, of society, of a family. In the other two sources, They tell how Victor realize that he was wrong to treat Thomas the way he had, and that Thomas has no family, no friends, and all he really wants is for someone to listen to his stories and he isn’t ashamed of who he is. I also think that Victor realizes just how often Thomas has been there for him, even though he has treated him badly. Unfortunately, Victor doesn’t feel that he can be friends with him because the others on the reservation will give him a lot of trouble. So, to show Thomas that he is sorry he offers half of his father’s ashes to kind of make peace. Then Thomas asks him for a favor instead that one time when he is telling a story that he actually listen and Victor

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