I am currently reading the book Tanto and the Lone Ranger Fist Fight in Heaven. So far it has just been a collection of short stories based on the memories of the author, Sherman Alexie. Through his narratives, he brings up common issues that occur in American Indian reservations. He discusses his parents alchohalism, the constant bickering within the tribe, and his relationships with his friends on the reservation.
The first story that Sherman Alexie shares with his readers is about the time him and his friends Junior and Thomas experiment with a new "very indian" drug. The causes them to hallucinate. During their hallucinations they bring up a number of allusions to old native American Rituals such as story telling, and horse riding. It is interesting how Alexie portrays the proudness of the characters in the book about their American Indian heritage. He brings up a lot of the negative things that people on the reservations face, but also the beauty in the simplicity of the reservation. He seems to know all of the problems, but has learned to accept them. His writing is so light it is almost humorous. He talks about very intense subjects like how his father abandoned him and the violence that goes on in the reservations, but his writing style isn't angry or terribly depressed. It is very matter of fact. You can sense that they are emotional topics, but the writing itself is very collected and calm.
Something that I find Alexie does very well is his time transitions. I personally find it very difficult to smoothly transition from the present to another time or place. The short story about the hallucinations is comprised of many different scenes being set and memories being conjured. It is an extremely difficult to jump from memory, to story, to preposterous hallucinations without completely losing the reader due to sensory overload. During the trip him and his friends have it seems almost as if every paragraph is an entirely new scene and story. When I first read the chapter I found myself rereading sections so I could better comprehend the story, but upon doing so I saw that he placed each scene very intentionally and symbolically so they flowed well. He would often jump from first person to third person narration and it felt a little bit like a movie where there are parts when an ominous voice is speaking over the film.
It's really interesting to see another piece done by Sherman Alexie. How do you like it so far? What are the similarities to the Alexie piece that we read in class? Personally I couldn't tell if his transitions were good from Indian Education because the scenes were broken up by grade instead of other transitions. Do you think Alexie is talking about the same drug from when he was in 5th grade and his cousin smoked on the merry-go-round? The fact that he can write about such serious topics and play it off as very light and humorous is really good quality. That's really cool that he switches between first person and third person, though personally I think I would get a little confused. Has that title been explained at all from what you've read? I think it's interesting that the title (so far) doesn't have much to do with the content of the book. If this book is anything like Indian Education it must be extremely well written and a good read!
ReplyDeleteMatias, HOW does Alexie make those shifts. You mention that he shifts and what he shifts, but how. Does he use page breaks or closely linked sentences?? I, too, am interested in how time jumps and flows in fiction.
ReplyDeleteI also want to challenge the idea that these are Alexie's "memories." I wonder why he chooses to write fiction instead of non-fiction? What do you think fiction provides him that his memoirs do not?
Well this book has a very interesting title. Does Sherman Alexie bring up allusions throughout the entire book or does he do it occasionally? It seems that based on what you have read, the story is told from first person and third person point of view. Was that transition noticeable while reading the book or was it not? You said the book was divided up into stories and I was wondering if the stories are based on what Alexie says or is it actual stories of Alexie and His friends in the reservation. You mentioned that they experimented with a very “Indian drug” and that it causes hallucinations, Does the book mention specifically what that drug it may be? , I would like to know how the drug makes Alexie hallucinate and why He takes it. Does it bother you about the fact that the book starts a completely new and different story each chapter? It seems like that might cause you to see the book I whole new perspective, sort of like short scenes of His life. In indian education, do you think are ther any familiar sterotypes in any of His stories about the way he looks or or acts? Apart from that this is a book I would definitely read.
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