“The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” by Sherman Alexie
“The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fisfight in Heaven” is a short story out of a book that is also titled “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” by Sherman Alexie. This series of short stories was released in 1993 and is still known today as one of his best pieces of work. Alexie is a Native American writer, poet, and filmmaker who generally targets his work toward young adults. Alexie has faced many issues in his life including alcoholism and some bad breakups that make his writing personal and raw. He uses a very casual writing style, which is what is so appealing about his work to young readers. Along with everything he’s been through in his personal life, Alexie has also …show more content…
The initial thought upon hearing this is that maybe Alexie has a problem with alcoholism. Unfortunately, there is a stigma involving Native Americans and their drinking problems. Some aspects of this stigma prove to be true. He even attests to this in an interview, “My tribe is filled with alcoholics. The whole race is filled with alcoholics. For those Indians who try to pretend it 's a stereotype, they 're in deep, deep denial.” (Alexie). Alexie’s father was a pretty mean guy who was an alcoholic himself. He spent much of Alexie’s childhood being drunk and abusive. Alcoholism is a family disease, it’s genetic and it’s likely that a child of an alcoholic will also become an alcoholic. This exact thing happened to Sherman. When he was feeling that he was under a lot of pressure in college, he began drinking heavily to cope. Though he has been sober for many years now, he wrote “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fisfight in Heaven” during his drinking time. When asked if he think alcohol fueled his creativity he said, “So there 's certainly a lot to be said for my desperate years, my alcoholic years, my active alcoholic years as being …show more content…
First, there’s the age old story of the Americans coming in and colonizing their territory. The Americans pushed them out into reservations. In the mid 1900’s, movies and comic books were made on the premise that cowboys and Indians were supposed to battle each other. The title “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fisfight in Heaven” introduces the readers to this concept. The Lone Ranger is a cowboy, and Tonto is an Indian. It’s significant that they are fistfighting in heaven because it’s suggesting that even though these characters are both dead, they’re still at each other’s throats. In the beginning of this story, it is almost entirely centered around the tension between a white person, and the narrator who is a Native American. “‘Can I help you?’ the 7-11 clerk asked me loudly, searching for some response that would reassure him that I wasn 't an armed robber. He knew this dark skin and long, black hair of mine was dangerous. I had potential.” (Alexie). The entire story is somewhat of a back and forth between the clerk in the 7/11 and the narrator. The narrator describes that
“The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fisfight in Heaven” is a short story out of a book that is also titled “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” by Sherman Alexie. This series of short stories was released in 1993 and is still known today as one of his best pieces of work. Alexie is a Native American writer, poet, and filmmaker who generally targets his work toward young adults. Alexie has faced many issues in his life including alcoholism and some bad breakups that make his writing personal and raw. He uses a very casual writing style, which is what is so appealing about his work to young readers. Along with everything he’s been through in his personal life, Alexie has also …show more content…
The initial thought upon hearing this is that maybe Alexie has a problem with alcoholism. Unfortunately, there is a stigma involving Native Americans and their drinking problems. Some aspects of this stigma prove to be true. He even attests to this in an interview, “My tribe is filled with alcoholics. The whole race is filled with alcoholics. For those Indians who try to pretend it 's a stereotype, they 're in deep, deep denial.” (Alexie). Alexie’s father was a pretty mean guy who was an alcoholic himself. He spent much of Alexie’s childhood being drunk and abusive. Alcoholism is a family disease, it’s genetic and it’s likely that a child of an alcoholic will also become an alcoholic. This exact thing happened to Sherman. When he was feeling that he was under a lot of pressure in college, he began drinking heavily to cope. Though he has been sober for many years now, he wrote “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fisfight in Heaven” during his drinking time. When asked if he think alcohol fueled his creativity he said, “So there 's certainly a lot to be said for my desperate years, my alcoholic years, my active alcoholic years as being …show more content…
First, there’s the age old story of the Americans coming in and colonizing their territory. The Americans pushed them out into reservations. In the mid 1900’s, movies and comic books were made on the premise that cowboys and Indians were supposed to battle each other. The title “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fisfight in Heaven” introduces the readers to this concept. The Lone Ranger is a cowboy, and Tonto is an Indian. It’s significant that they are fistfighting in heaven because it’s suggesting that even though these characters are both dead, they’re still at each other’s throats. In the beginning of this story, it is almost entirely centered around the tension between a white person, and the narrator who is a Native American. “‘Can I help you?’ the 7-11 clerk asked me loudly, searching for some response that would reassure him that I wasn 't an armed robber. He knew this dark skin and long, black hair of mine was dangerous. I had potential.” (Alexie). The entire story is somewhat of a back and forth between the clerk in the 7/11 and the narrator. The narrator describes that