The Lone Ranger And Tonto Fistfight In Heaven

Sherman Alexie’s short story “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” follows a young Native American man in Seattle. It starts late at night with the narrator walking to a 7-11. When he enters, it is obvious that the cashier is visibly uncomfortable because of the narrator’s appearance. The look given to him reminds the narrator of his white ex-girlfriend, leading to flashbacks of their past fights. After one of their arguments, he dreamed that he and his girlfriend were a minor war chief and a missionary’s wife whose affair created a war between the Native Americans and white people. The next morning, he broke up with his girlfriend and returned home to the Spokane Indian Reservation. After finally finding a job following his return home, his ex-girlfriend calls him, granting forgiveness and also uncertainty in the future of their relationship. The story demonstrates racism against Native Americans in America. Alexie’s story takes place specifically during the 90’s and also in Seattle, Washington and the Spokane Indian Reservation. The fact that part of the story is set on a reservation and also revolves around a young Native American man plays a substantial part in the central idea of the story. When racism is brought up in conversation, the discussion regularly turns to topics of racism against …show more content…
At one point, he ends up in a “nice residential neighborhood” and has the police called on him for his “suspicious appearance”. The officer tells him that “[He was] making people nervous” and “he didn’t fit the profile of the neighborhood” (15). The narrator then responded in his thoughts, “I didn’t really fit the profile of the country” (15). This incident within in a heavily white populated community highlights the struggles of racial profiling faced by not only African-Americans and Latinos, but Native Americans