Response Essay- The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven

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In this short story, a young American Indian man describes a sleepless night on the town, the somewhat violent relationship he shares with his girlfriend, and some of the events occurring during his stay at an Indian reservation. Through out his story, he describes “whites” as fearful of Indians and feels obvious resentment towards them. During a section of the story, he describes driving through a nice, residential neighborhood where the police begin to follow him. He states that they must be doing this because they are nervous by his presence, as well as the residents. He describes this very casually, as though he expected it to happen and was not angry at this reaction what so ever. In another part of the short story, he describes venturing into a 7-11 at three in the morning, where an older white man is working. He immediately recognizes that the clerk is uneasy and must be troubled by his long black hair and dark skin, thinking that he must be dangerous. It seems that in his everyday life, he expects these reactions from white people. He assumes he will be feared and questioned, even when he is simply driving his car in a residential neighborhood. As he is describing these situations, he doesn’t seem to be bothered. He doesn’t use hateful language to describe these happenings, Its almost as if he is poking fun at them. However, later in the story, we find out he is having troubling dreams about whites killing Indians, even using their heads to play polo. This would lead one to assume that past happenings between whites and Indians does bother him quite a bit, more then he might express during everyday occurrences. Based on his story and accounts, it seems that he is accepting of the way whites treat him and fear him, but is subconsciously bothered by the way his ancestors were treated. It seems like he would be angered by the treatment he receives, but

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