The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
Sherman Alexie’s composition of short stories, called The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven, clearly describes aspects of Indian culture that many people wouldn’t already know. The stories are informative, descriptive and interesting. Disappointment is a depressing frustrating and repeated theme throughout almost every one of Sherman Alexie’s short stories.
One of the very first introductions of disappointment to the reader is when the father of one of the main characters, Victor, leaves him and his mother “I know he’s coming back tonight.” (34).This portrayal of disappointment shows how much pain his father had caused him by just leaving. He couldn’t imagine why he would leave him. Victor stays on the porch the day his dad leaves because it is like part of him will not accept that his father really did leave for good this time and is never coming back.
The next disappointment happens soon after when he misses all the shots in the basketball game. “While I looked at all those close-ups of death and destruction, I lost it. I think everybody in that room, everybody on the team, lost that feeling of immortality.” (46) Before the time when they were all waiting for the coach and the game to start they started to think how those injuries relate to their situation. “We went out and lost the championship game by twenty points. I missed every shot I took. I missed everything.” (47) The coach showed up late not bothering to give a pep talk or any encouragement.
When Victor is much older disappointment strikes again, he loses his job and also finds out his father is dead. “Just after Victor lost his job at the BIA, he also found out that his father had died of a heart attack in Phoenix, Arizona.” (59) It is a sad and disappointing time to lose a job, but it is much worse to lose a loved one that was close to you even though he hadn’t seen his father for a while. “Victor hadn’t seen his father in a few years, only talked to him on the phone once or twice, but
One of the very first introductions of disappointment to the reader is when the father of one of the main characters, Victor, leaves him and his mother “I know he’s coming back tonight.” (34).This portrayal of disappointment shows how much pain his father had caused him by just leaving. He couldn’t imagine why he would leave him. Victor stays on the porch the day his dad leaves because it is like part of him will not accept that his father really did leave for good this time and is never coming back.
The next disappointment happens soon after when he misses all the shots in the basketball game. “While I looked at all those close-ups of death and destruction, I lost it. I think everybody in that room, everybody on the team, lost that feeling of immortality.” (46) Before the time when they were all waiting for the coach and the game to start they started to think how those injuries relate to their situation. “We went out and lost the championship game by twenty points. I missed every shot I took. I missed everything.” (47) The coach showed up late not bothering to give a pep talk or any encouragement.
When Victor is much older disappointment strikes again, he loses his job and also finds out his father is dead. “Just after Victor lost his job at the BIA, he also found out that his father had died of a heart attack in Phoenix, Arizona.” (59) It is a sad and disappointing time to lose a job, but it is much worse to lose a loved one that was close to you even though he hadn’t seen his father for a while. “Victor hadn’t seen his father in a few years, only talked to him on the phone once or twice, but