The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven

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Richard 1 John Richard Professor Flynn English 2210—Ethnic Literature 18 November 2013 The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven In Sherman Alexie’s short story collection, he combines memory, fantasy, and realism to give the reader a sad picture of life in and around the inhabitants of the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington State. What is different in this book from the others we have read is that there is no one narrator telling the stories. The Lone Ranger is narrated by several characters. Each story is narrated by a character relevant to the story; however, the majority of the stories are about two characters: Victor Joseph and Thomas Builds-the-Fire. Victor is the main focus of the stories throughout the book. Victor, who as five-year-old, witnesses an old Indian man dead, drowned in a mud puddle allows Alexie to give the reader Victor’s image of his existence by letting the reader know that “Even at five, Victor understood what that meant, how it defined nearly everything.” (7). Thomas Builds-the-Fire is a past friend of Victor’s who tells fantastic stories long after people stop listening and sees visions usually while under the influence of drugs and alcohol. He tells tales of the history of his people as if he lived it. Alexie gives the reader an equation to ponder “Survival = Anger x Imagination. Imagination is the only weapon on the reservation.” (150). I believe that he wants the reader to understand the plight of his people and how they cope. Against a backdrop of alcohol, car accidents, laughter, and basketball, Alexie depicts the distances between Indians and whites, men Richard 2 and women, and mostly modern Indians and the traditions of the past. I do believe that Alexie’s
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