Preview

This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
649 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona
“This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona, is a story that focuses on the relationship between two Native American men, Victor and Thomas Builds-The-Fire, who have grown up together one the Spokane Indian Reservation. The leading cause of the central action of the story was the death of Victor’s father in Phoenix, Arizona. Having just lost his job and unable to financially travel alone with the one hundred dollars given to him by the Tribal Council, Victor happens to run into Thomas Builds-The-Fire who offers to lend him the money as long as he allows him to go along. The men take the journey to Phoenix to claim Victor’s father’s savings and ashes. Upon arrival, they both go inside of the father’s trailer where Victor finds a photo album

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Chapter One, Surrounded by Enemies: The Apache way of life and Geronimo as a young…

    • 1040 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As we learned in class, the Pueblo Indians is a specific group of Native Americans found in central New Mexico to northeastern Arizona. The Laguna Pueblo Reservation in found between Albuquerque and Los Alamos, New Mexico. The conflicts between the Pueblos and the whites began in the sixteenth century, when the Spanish decided to settle within the area of the Pueblos. After the Mexican-American war, the United States took control of the area surrounding the reservation. From there, the United States government implemented a “Reservation system, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and government-run schools for Native Americans.” (Native Americans of Southwest: 1). The use of storytelling is used in traditional Native American culture and is portrayed throughout the novel. The author uses the main character, Tayo, to intertwine the stories told by Native Americans into the life that in portrayed in the novel. Ceremony was created to help spread the word about the importance of preserving the Native American culture, and creating an awareness of the cultural hybridity between the Native American traditions and the whites.…

    • 550 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    While at the reservation post office, to cash his $100.00 cheque, Victor spots Thomas-Builds-the-Fire standing by a rack of magazines. Thomas is the town outcast and he helps to fulfill that 'role' by constantly talking to himself. Thomas is always philosophizing and trying to share his 'visions' with anyone willing to listen. Unfortunately for Thomas, people stopped listening years ago. Yet even with no one listening, he keeps on speaking. Victor and Thomas were childhood friends and Victor can remember Thomas story telling from the start. When the boys were seven, Thomas predicted that Victor's father would one day…

    • 1118 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Soldier's Home

    • 1173 Words
    • 5 Pages

    9. In the film Victor Joseph’s mother makes him promise several times that he will come right back from Phoenix. He says: “I promised you I would. You want me to sign a written contract, Mom? She replies, “Nah, we Indians have a thing about signed documents.” What was she referring to?…

    • 1173 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Smoke Signals is the story of two Native Americans, named Thomas and Victor, who grew up together and go off on an adventure to find who they really are. Thomas is young and lives with his grandmother, because his parents died in a fire when he was a baby; as we later find out, Victor’s father Arnold started the fire. Thomas lives by the morals and ethics of a traditional Native American, following the beliefs and telling stories. Victor is a mean and cold person on the outside, but emotionally distressed about his father and his childhood on the inside. Victor is always being rude to Thomas and easily annoyed by his storytelling. Thomas tells stories of Arnold, Victor’s father, which Victor hates because of the history he has and how he hates his father, but throughout their journey feelings change and Thomas and Victor become closer than ever. The story for both the movie and the short story start the same, Arnold had started a fire on a July 4th when Victor and Thomas were babies, and Thomas’s parents died but they threw Thomas out the window and Arnold caught him.…

    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The purpose of N. Scott Momaday’s essay, “My Kiowa Grandmother,” is personal self-expression, because he attempts to define his own values and judgments through an exploration of the memories and stories he has of his grandmother and ancestors. The title of Momaday’s essay sets the stage for the rest of his words. “My Kiowa Grandmother,” becomes an exploration of who she was and the values that she lived by as part of the last generation of true Kiowa Indians. The essay that ensues is about Momaday collecting his interpretations of her life and analyzing the stories to find the values that the Kiowa honored and followed. Through his exploration, Momaday establishes a system of values that he chooses to try to follow himself. The essay’s content is divided not by a beginning, middle, and an end, but rather through a series of episodes and recollections that are slightly disconnected but belong to a larger picture. The essay is filled with descriptions of the land the Kiowa dwelled on and the manner in which they lost that land, thus forcing them onto a reservation. He discusses the journey his ancestors took as he himself travels in their footsteps a century later across North America, from Montana to Arkansas, where the Kiowa lived for many decades. He then begins to offer a more personal view of…

    • 1815 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Spokane vs Seattle

    • 1464 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In Sherman Alexie’s short story, “What You Pawn I Redeem,” Jackson, the protagonist, must figure out how he can merge his Native American culture into modern day Seattle. The characters in this story have similar characteristics of real life Native Americans. According to The main character, Jackson Jackson, is part of the Spokane Indian Tribe but he has moved to a larger metropolitan area in Seattle, which is much different from the cultured-based Spokane Reservation. Most people move to a new area and have to deal with finding new friends and finding their way around town, but Jackson has bigger problem. He is caught up in his Native American culture and has not quite learned how to live the modern day lifestyle. The story shows that it is important that he keeps his culture alive without becoming separated from the modern world. Jackson is put to the test each and every day to find new ways to interact in the big city and figure out how he can mix his historic traditions with the contemporary civilization that is set in Seattle, Washington. He must adapt to a new culture without losing his own. The struggle to balance modern day living and the Native American culture in Seattle is revealed through the setting.…

    • 1464 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The main concepts this short story depicts is perseverance and strength in hardship. Phoenix Jackson displays bold courage, fortitude, and persistence as she faces the extensive trail into town. She comes across a strong hunter which could be highly dangerous as the setting is directly at the end of the Civil War. Jackson…

    • 516 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Follow the Eagle

    • 527 Words
    • 3 Pages

    After reading the story, “Follow the Eagle,” I am left with astonishment at the understatement in the writing and the deep significance in the context. I believe that this story is not only about Eagle’s journey over the cliff, but the journey is an allegory to Native Americans and other minority groups trying to achieve higher status in the white hierarchy of the West. First Domingo is riding on a “Japanese cycle stolen from a Colorado U law student.” The story informs the reader that Domingo is Mexican right before telling us that he is riding on a stolen bike; possibly in a way to stereotype the Mexican as a thief. Then there is a party for Eagle for his journey out of the Reservation. Here we meet Red Wing who pleads, “Don’t go tomorrow,” to Johnny. There is also a reference to Little Richard’s song “Long Tall Sally” here: “Uncle John have everything he need.” Although Eagle might have everything he needs in the reservation, he still feels the longing to leave and take that leap over the canyon. This could signify his need to become more in the white world. He doesn’t want to be confined to a reservation any longer. Although Eagle doesn’t have a lot of dialogue, the things he does say, he says with excitement. For example, when Domingo asks when he is leaving, Eagle replies, “Tomorrow!” Then, we have Eagle shouting, “So long, man!” as he is falling to his demise. I cannot come up with a time that I would be happy and willing to say good bye to someone as I am failing at something. I would feel ashamed and would not speak to someone looking at me “falling.” Eagle on the other hand, still has the courage to say good bye to his friend. He wanted to try to make it, and although he didn’t, maybe the important thing is that he tried to pursue a dream. Next, we have a quote, “Yes I took you Johnny Eagle.” This quote suggests that although Native Americans or other minorities would like to become bigger in this Westernized country, the land has already become the white…

    • 527 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the story “An Indian Father’s Plea”, the story shows how culture is oftenly affecting how one views others and the world by showing what Wind-Wolf did as a child before he went to school. For example, throughout the story, the father of Wind-Wolf shares to his teacher what Wind-Wolf was exposed to as a child, “. Because of this, Wind-Wolf’s educational setting was not only a “secure” environment, but it was also very colorful, complicated, sensitive, and diverse.” This can show that the child is exposed to his Native-American culture and later in the story, the father talks what the child does spiritually with his mother and what he experienced in his tribe. “Wind-Wolf was with his mother in South Dakota while she danced for seven days straight…

    • 236 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Rainy Mountain

    • 1136 Words
    • 5 Pages

    N. Scott Momaday, in the memoir “The Way to Rainy Mountain”, traced the ancestral roots of his tribe back to the start of the Kiowa tribe. Momaday had always known about his ancestry but the death of his grandmother, Aho, prompted him to seek an in-depth personal exploration of his family history and background. Therefore, Momaday went back to his grandmother's residence and he observed that the spirit of the Kiowa tribe was faint but still very stirring. When he travelled to Aho’s house after her death, he’s looking to build a connection with his ancestors. Momaday felt that he could learn a lot of things and gain some insight from his visit to the motherland. From this article, it is evident that the Kiowa people were very spiritual and had an unbending love for nature because they strived to preserve the environment and performed spiritual dances and rituals in veneration to the sun. This memoir is an embodiment of the Kiowa culture, and N. Scott Momaday gives the reader a succession of oral narratives from the Kiowa community.…

    • 1136 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Anthro Assignment

    • 1517 Words
    • 7 Pages

    “Sun Chief: The Autobiography of a Hopi” is the story of Don C. Talayesva, a man raised as a Hopi Indian and then trained as a white man. Written from his point of view, the autobiography allows the reader to have a better understanding of Hopi culture as Don shares the story of his life. At one point in the work, Don mentions a particular moment in his life when he decided to join his father on a salt expedition to Little Grand Canyon.…

    • 1517 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The author filled the story with Irony. Phoenix appears to be very determined and not easily put down, seemingly strong while…

    • 947 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the story ‘’The Road’’ by Cormac Mccarthy, fire is often used as a symbol, and fire is represent survival. From the beginning of human’s civilization, fire has been using by human for live and survive, and the fire in the story was not an exception. In the path of the father and son, there were many obstacles that stand against them, yet they did not give up to live and fire is become their assistance. An example for fire became a symbol of survival was when it states, ’’The night they camped in a ravine and built a fire against a small stone bluff and ate their last food’’(page 80). Fire is what comes to ignite their will, it produces flame to warm their food and keep their life going. Fire also is a symbol of the immortal will when it said, ‘’ They slept through the night in their exhaustion and in the morning the fire was dead and black on the ground’’(page 93), ‘’He got a fire going and walked out to the edge of the woodlot and stood looking over the country. (page 93-94). When the fire of hope slaked, it awoke again; it is mean that the fire of hope will be endlessly protected to father and son.…

    • 360 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    An Essay on "Otherness"

    • 878 Words
    • 4 Pages

    the birds. I felt it in the sunlight” (Alexie,1994). While Victor was listening he felt embarrassed. “All other Indians stared, surprised that Victor was even talking to Thomas” (Alexie,1994). Nobody talked to Thomas because he told the same dam stories over and over again” (Alexie,1994). His story telling was why he was the Other. This was not a “normal” characteristic. Thomas joined Victor in his journey to Arizona to pick up the remains of his deceased father. During this journey Thomas reveals to Victor of a dream he had of his father. Thomas tells him how he was saved from the danger of Spokane. He then continues to say, “Take care of each other is what my dreams were saying” (Alexie,1994). In this text Otherness is represented my making it a point to take care of each other no matter our differences. In many…

    • 878 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays