TLRATFIH response

1). Frank Ross asked Alexie about the political nature of his writing, quoting him as saying he does not like to beat readers over the head with it. Alexie replied: “I like to make them laugh first, then beat them over the head . . . when they are defenseless.” Describe some examples from the stories that demonstrate this tactic. Choose one example to focus on and explain how the humor and political point work together as in the above quote.

Humor - albeit it mostly dark - is evident throughout most of Alexie's stories in TLRATFIH. Whether indulging in mind-altering drugs in search of spiritual visions or tossing a drunk Indian onto a roller coaster, Alexie wraps even his darkest subject matters into an accessible package through the use of humorous retelling. In "Because My Father Always Said He Was the Only Indian who Saw Jimi Hendrix Play 'The Star-Spangled Banner' At Woodstock," the character of Victor describes his father's unwavering obsession with Jimi Hendrix and the circumstances that lead him to see his hero playing at Woodstock. In this story, Alexie caustically relates his father's involvement in a anti-war demonstration that gleaned a Pulitzer Prize winning photograph and jail-time. The irony of the photograph, which captured the use of violence to negate violence, is as humorous as it is pointed. The subsequent captions that accompanied this visual dichotomy teemed with racist puns: "ONE WARRIOR AGAINST WAR" and "PEACEFUL GATHERING TURNS INTO NATIVE UPRISING." Even his father's experience in jail was defined by killings that were labeled only by the victim's skin color. This dark portrait of race is described in the story against a backdrop of odd humor; in fact, the entire story that unfolds surrounding Victor's father's fixation with Jimi Hendrix is heavy with sadness but carried lightly by its sardonic delivery. His parent's volatile relationship and his father's motorcycle injury and eventual departure are all tinged with a knowing sense of humor, however dark it may be. By relating the story in a sardonic tone, Alexie is able to subtly tap into his reader's emotions that are left wide open in the presence of humor. Because he refrains from an overly depressing and pitying tone, Alexie creates a harmony between the intensity of the story and it's casual delivery so that readers are more inclined to receive the emotional message that lies within.



2). On whiteness, Indian identity and colonialism, Alexie says, “What is colonialism but the breeding out of existence of the colonized? The most dangerous thing for Indians, then, now and forever is that we love our colonizers. And we do.” He goes on to say, and I paraphrase, that Indian identity now is mostly a matter of cultural difference; that culture is received knowledge, because the authentic practitioners are gone. The culture is all adopted culture, not innate. Colonization is complete. Think about how what he is discussing plays out in his stories. Choose one (a different one than for the first question) and discuss how a story represents the characters' relationship to the tribe's past and to the colonizing culture.

In "This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona" Alexie delves deeper into the character of Thomas Builds-the-fire and his relationship with Victor. Thomas is an outcast in the reservation; his penchant for "storytelling" and his spiritual oddities make him and easy target for bullying and disregard. However, in a community that is fraught with alcoholism, fear, and poverty, Thomas seems to be one of the few Indians who remains in touch with the spirituality that defines Indian culture. He receives visions in dreams and relates stories about the people around him that are both omniscient and revealing. However, Victor is described as feeling "embarrassed" to be around Thomas and has a history of treating him as badly as most everyone else on the reservation. Victor laments, "Whatever happened to the tribal ties, the sense of community? The only real thing he shared with anybody was a bottle and broken dreams." In the past, Indian communities shared timeless stories and knowledge that fostered a cultural bond. This common sense of identity and heritage transcended the boundaries of time, but as colonization took hold in the Indian world it slowly faded into the realm of irrelevance and shame. Thomas Builds-the-Fire, however, remains connected to the mystic properties of storytelling and nature despite the scorn he receives from his fellow Indians, who have long-since succumbed to the dynamic force of colonization.