The story of “The Lone Ranger and Tonto fistfight in heaven” by Sherman Alexie is not only the title of his published book, but it is also the title of one the chapters in this book; which is found on page 181 of the book. In this short story, he shares events and experiences where he has been racially profiled and thought to be someone he’s not; as well as shares his experience with his trip back home. “The Lone Ranger and Tonto” being the classic story of an American cowboy and a Native American Indian, Sherman Alexie takes a small twist to the classic story in his version “The Lone Ranger and Tonto fistfight in heaven.” The Lone Ranger and Tonto are racial identifiers, or symbols, of whites and Native Americans. Although he does not experience
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After he and his girlfriend had gotten into an argument, Alexie decided to relax by going for a drive in the city of Seattle. After driving for quite some time, Alexie was lost and driving through a nicer neighborhood than what he was used to. As Alexie said in his story, “Once, I ended up in a beautiful residential area, and somebody must have been worried because the police showed up and pulled me over” (Alexie 182). Obviously, Alexie is not doing anything wrong, but with the way people think they don’t know what else to do but call the police when they see something, or someone, out of the ordinary. Once the police officer makes contact with Alexie, the officer asks him what he’s doing there and where he’s supposed to be. Alexie proceeds to let the officer know that he had gotten into a fight with his significant other and was merely lost. And the officer says “Well you should be more careful where you drive. You’re making people nervous. You don’t fit the profile of the neighborhood” (Alexie 183). The officer is clearly saying that he is a Native American male, driving in a predominately white neighborhood and he doesn’t belong. Not only has he been racially profiled twice, but he has been mistaken for a threat twice as
After he and his girlfriend had gotten into an argument, Alexie decided to relax by going for a drive in the city of Seattle. After driving for quite some time, Alexie was lost and driving through a nicer neighborhood than what he was used to. As Alexie said in his story, “Once, I ended up in a beautiful residential area, and somebody must have been worried because the police showed up and pulled me over” (Alexie 182). Obviously, Alexie is not doing anything wrong, but with the way people think they don’t know what else to do but call the police when they see something, or someone, out of the ordinary. Once the police officer makes contact with Alexie, the officer asks him what he’s doing there and where he’s supposed to be. Alexie proceeds to let the officer know that he had gotten into a fight with his significant other and was merely lost. And the officer says “Well you should be more careful where you drive. You’re making people nervous. You don’t fit the profile of the neighborhood” (Alexie 183). The officer is clearly saying that he is a Native American male, driving in a predominately white neighborhood and he doesn’t belong. Not only has he been racially profiled twice, but he has been mistaken for a threat twice as