Jessica LaGue
Professor Cave
English 1B
12 February 2015
Symbolic Representation of the Phoenix
The symbolism in “This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix Arizona” is what adds depth to the characters and events that take place in the story. Accompanied by his childhood friend Thomas Builds-The-Fire, our protagonist Victor embarks on a journey to Phoenix, AZ to retrieve the ashes of his estranged father. However it is Victor that will rise from the ashes, and be reborn from the flames of his own suffering and pain, like the Phoenix. In Sherman Alexie’s “This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona,” Alexie intentionally uses symbols such as fire, ashes, and “Phoenix” to demonstrate Victor’s, journey of finding himself after his father’s death. …show more content…
Not only do we have “Thomas Builds-the-Fire,” a key character in this story, but also fire is a symbol of the passions of the heart. Even though Thomas is an outsider on the reservation, the fire he builds within Victor is what gives him the ability to change. Thomas is a dreamer and a visionary, however he is looked on as crazy amongst his people. In reality he see’s life in a way no one else can. Thomas tells Victor about a dream that he had when he was a child. In this dream he was told to go to the falls in Spokane, so the next day he walked from the reservation all the way up to the falls. He was sitting there waiting for a vision when Victor’s father showed up. He lectured Thomas and asked him what he was doing up there. Then Victor’s father takes Thomas to Denny’s, buys him a meal, and tells him to look after Victor always. Thomas says that he wasn’t supposed to go to the falls for a vision as he thought, he was supposed to go there so that he could meet Victor’s father and share this special time with him. This is when we see the tie between the two boys. Thomas is a part of Victor’s own story therefore, when Victor abandoned Thomas as a child; he abandoned a part of himself. Loosing a parent figuratively to alcohol, or depression can cause anger in a child, and feelings of abandonment. When Victor was a teenager he beat up Thomas Builds-the-Fire. Victor was really drunk and attacked Thomas for no reason. …show more content…
Not only is it’s ideology found several times throughout the story, it’s in the story’s own title. The word Phoenix has a double meaning. Not only does it represent the city of Phoenix in the state of Arizona, it also refers to the mythological creature in Egyptian culture. In Egyptian mythology the Phoenix is a mythical bird that dies by fire, and is then reborn from the ashes. Victor’s father’s body lay unfound in his trailer “for a week in hundred degree temperatures before anybody found him.” (185) Though he died of a heart attack, it can be inferred that the hundred degree temperatures symbolize the fire that takes the life of the Phoenix. Coincidently Victor’s father is cremated, which also symbolizes the ashes of the Phoenix. When the Phoenix is reborn, it is reborn from the ashes of its predecessor. Victor is reborn only after he retrieves his father’s ashes from Phoenix, his father being his predecessor. Another example of the Phoenix is Thomas building a fire within Victor thereby killing the person that Victor had become, and allowing him to be reborn with a new outlook on life and the people around him. Perhaps the strongest allusion to the Phoenix is found in Victor’s journey. Throughout the story you see his transformation. It is only after their journey that Victor seems to embrace his Native American heritage and the relationship he has with Thomas, by agreeing to listen to one of his
Professor Cave
English 1B
12 February 2015
Symbolic Representation of the Phoenix
The symbolism in “This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix Arizona” is what adds depth to the characters and events that take place in the story. Accompanied by his childhood friend Thomas Builds-The-Fire, our protagonist Victor embarks on a journey to Phoenix, AZ to retrieve the ashes of his estranged father. However it is Victor that will rise from the ashes, and be reborn from the flames of his own suffering and pain, like the Phoenix. In Sherman Alexie’s “This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona,” Alexie intentionally uses symbols such as fire, ashes, and “Phoenix” to demonstrate Victor’s, journey of finding himself after his father’s death. …show more content…
Not only do we have “Thomas Builds-the-Fire,” a key character in this story, but also fire is a symbol of the passions of the heart. Even though Thomas is an outsider on the reservation, the fire he builds within Victor is what gives him the ability to change. Thomas is a dreamer and a visionary, however he is looked on as crazy amongst his people. In reality he see’s life in a way no one else can. Thomas tells Victor about a dream that he had when he was a child. In this dream he was told to go to the falls in Spokane, so the next day he walked from the reservation all the way up to the falls. He was sitting there waiting for a vision when Victor’s father showed up. He lectured Thomas and asked him what he was doing up there. Then Victor’s father takes Thomas to Denny’s, buys him a meal, and tells him to look after Victor always. Thomas says that he wasn’t supposed to go to the falls for a vision as he thought, he was supposed to go there so that he could meet Victor’s father and share this special time with him. This is when we see the tie between the two boys. Thomas is a part of Victor’s own story therefore, when Victor abandoned Thomas as a child; he abandoned a part of himself. Loosing a parent figuratively to alcohol, or depression can cause anger in a child, and feelings of abandonment. When Victor was a teenager he beat up Thomas Builds-the-Fire. Victor was really drunk and attacked Thomas for no reason. …show more content…
Not only is it’s ideology found several times throughout the story, it’s in the story’s own title. The word Phoenix has a double meaning. Not only does it represent the city of Phoenix in the state of Arizona, it also refers to the mythological creature in Egyptian culture. In Egyptian mythology the Phoenix is a mythical bird that dies by fire, and is then reborn from the ashes. Victor’s father’s body lay unfound in his trailer “for a week in hundred degree temperatures before anybody found him.” (185) Though he died of a heart attack, it can be inferred that the hundred degree temperatures symbolize the fire that takes the life of the Phoenix. Coincidently Victor’s father is cremated, which also symbolizes the ashes of the Phoenix. When the Phoenix is reborn, it is reborn from the ashes of its predecessor. Victor is reborn only after he retrieves his father’s ashes from Phoenix, his father being his predecessor. Another example of the Phoenix is Thomas building a fire within Victor thereby killing the person that Victor had become, and allowing him to be reborn with a new outlook on life and the people around him. Perhaps the strongest allusion to the Phoenix is found in Victor’s journey. Throughout the story you see his transformation. It is only after their journey that Victor seems to embrace his Native American heritage and the relationship he has with Thomas, by agreeing to listen to one of his