the lone ranger and tonto fistfight in heaven sparknotes

Alexie suggests that stereotypical portrayals of Native Americans - whether as a sports mascot or a character like Tonto - are all the more hurtful because they dehumanize Indigenous people and encourage others to see them as stereotypes rather than individuals. Tonto was a racist caricature of an Indigenous person - an insult that was all the more powerful because for decades, he was the only Native American figure who had high visibility in popular culture. Tonto was a character on the radio and television series The Lone Ranger, which was popular in the United States in the 1950s. This passage helps explain the collection's title. The white waitress who wouldn’t take an order, Tonto, the Washington Redskins.” Victor, - 'The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn't Flash Red Anymore'

It’s the small things that hurt the most. Mass murder, loss of language and land rights. But it’s almost like Indians can easily survive the big stuff. Alexie establishes these two kinds of oppression - the personal and the political - in the collection's opening pages, and it will be a crucial backdrop for every story in the book. However, the distinction between personal and historical experience is complicated by the fact that the characters' personal hardships are, in many cases, directly caused by the marginal place that Indigenous peoples have in modern society. The story – which depicts a nightmarish New Year's Eve party hosted by Victor's family – contrasts the hardships faced by modern Spokane people with those of their ancestors, most of whom were wiped out over the past 500 years. It didn’t even deserve a name.” Narrator, - 'Every Little Hurricane'Īlexie establishes the complex relationship between the experiences of individual Spokane people, and the broader Indigenous community's intergenerational trauma, which is rooted in violence and oppression that spans centuries and continues in the present day. This little kind of hurricane was generic. One Indian killing another did not create a special kind of storm. Victor’s uncles were in the midst of a misdemeanor that would remain one even if somebody was to die. For hundreds of years, Indians were witnesses to crimes of an epic scale.

They were all witnesses and nothing more.

The lone ranger and tonto fistfight in heaven sparknotes