Explore and Persuade

Rodene Alce
ENG-106-H600
Annotated Bibliography
(Sherman Alexie- Short Story Author)
Alexie, Sherman. (2017). “Indian Education.” The Broadview Anthology of Expository Prose-Third Canadian Edition, 280. The story, “Indian Education,” has been narrated through the eyes of Victor. He is a Native youth who had initially attended school through reservation but later joined a white learning institution before getting to high school (Alexie, 2017). Therefore, there is a comparison of Victor’s experience in a white school with that on the reservation. The story has outwardly exposed the challenges that students encounter while in the reservation schools. The whites, as well as the Christian teachers, are aiming at destroying these children’s native heritage. The schools or reservation that the author describes are outwardly abided by the Indian boarding schools irrespective of not being boarding schools. The schools have noted, “You should always kill the Indian to save the child” (Alexie, 280). Therefore, the core theme of the story is the oppression depicted in the reservation schools by the Indians and teachers, but absent in the white schools. The story is similar to “Amusement with the fact that both are discussing how the native community cannot live comfortably like the other individuals.
Alexie, Sherman. “A Drug Called Tradition.” The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (1993): 12-23. In the story, “A drug called tradition,” Thomas has decided to host an enormous party after being paid by the Washington Waterpower for some task to do. Although Victor and Thomas and Junior have great ties with the Spokane tradition, they have diverse experiences and lifestyle with their ancestors (Alexie, 1993). The author has demonstrated this vibrant in various instances in the story. Although Victor is noted respecting the big mom and the tribe’s spiritual leader and happily receives a drum that the mom hands to him, he shows some disinterest in the traditional spirituality. He is exemplifying the mushroom trip as “spiritual shit” (Alexie, 14). The key theme in the text is cultural ties mostly between the Europeans and the Native Americans. Also, it is demonstrating a difference in the historical backgrounds of the two groups. These differences can be considered to be the reason for individuals from each of them observing things differently. The story is similar to “Amusement,” as both are discussing cultural differences and differences in classes.
Alexie, Sherman. “All I wanted to do was dance.” Callaloo 17.1 (1994): 15-17. The story, “All I wanted to do was dance,” has been narrated in the third person language. In the story, Victor is noted to be heart-broken after his white woman decides to break up with him (Alexie, 1994). Therefore, he finds himself dancing while he is very drunk, but this time doing it with a Lokata woman in a bar. As victor was going to search for a job the next morning, he remembers his white girlfriend and the talks she had previously talked about a party that attendants consumed cocaine (Alexie, 1994). After a long period of alcoholism, Victor quits drinking, and the author states, “he came back home on the reservation for around 100 days after he had been lost in that desert for forty days” (Alexie, 90). Besides, he is punished for rejecting the sober life and deciding to live his youth life in alcoholism. The book’s core theme concerns alcoholism but not resulted in someone’s will but as a way of evading life- difficult situations. Therefore, the text is similar to “Amusement in that it is demonstrating Victor and his youthful years before he quit drinking.
Alexie, Sherman. “Amusements.” The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. New York: Harper Perennial. Beach, Richard (1995). In the story, “Amusement,” Victor and Sadie are at a celebration where they blunder to another Native American that they knew had conceded on the grass. Although they are unwilling to leave him, they cannot take him with them (Alexie, 1995). Therefore, they both decide to place him on a roller-coaster and watch him for a while. Moreover, they later realize that several white individuals are gathering around and laughing with them. However, they are not pleased standing out like the Native Americans, and in addition to this, two tiny boys realize this and pretend to be shooting them (Alexie, 1995). When they decide to run, for this reason, Victor is arrested and by a security guard. In the story, the main theme is racism, where the author tries to show how the Native Americans are ever in fear concerning their existence. The story is similar to “Indian education, ” as both express instances of racial differences between the two groups and classes.
Alexie, Sherman. “Crazy Horse Dreams.” The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (1993): 37-42. The story rotates around the romance between Victor, who is a Native American man, and another Native American woman who has been noted meeting at the powwow (Alexie, 1993). When this woman initially approaches Victor at the start of the story, he rejects but later reproaches her, stating that he seems so big. Later in the story, the woman approaches Victor once more, and this time they sneak up together (Alexie, 1993)-. When the two go to have sex, Victor is surprised by the woman’s beauty and wonders what he would have given her father to earn her hand. As the two were in a conversation, the woman states that her father was a crazy horse and a warrior who led a great battle at little bighorn. However, the victor is upset after the woman asks why he had so many scars on his body (Alexie, 1993). Therefore, the story’s core theme is love and warrior who the Native Americans were eagerly waiting so that he would rescue them from the reservation. The story is similar to, “All I wanted to do was dance,” as both discuss a particular reservation.
Alexie, Sherman. “Distances.” The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (1993): 104-9. In the story, there is a quotation at the beginning, which is describing the future that the whites have been absorbed by a massive flood (Alexie, 1993). In the story, only Native Americans can survive as a result of the ghost dance. On this note, they are burning anything that the whites had left behind. According to the narrator, he finds a radio which had also been left and wonders whether it is in the working condition (Alexie, 1993). Besides, he is in love with a woman, Dance. On the other hand, the Native Americans have been noted to be split into two. There are those living in reservations and the other group living in the cities. Those living in the cities are all getting sick and dying, and cannot be allowed to intermarry with the other group (Alexie, 1993). The core theme of the story is discussing the difference between individuals living in different regions. Therefore, it is similar to “Indian education,” which portrayed education conditions in different schools and conditions.
Alexie, Sherman. “Imagining the Reservation.” Alexie, Lone: 149-53. The story has started with a rhetorical question seeking to know whether the Native Americans would live a better life if they succeeded in securing their lands. Besides, the narrator of this story begins to express various tales concerning his life (Alexie, 149). One of the tales concerns when he was raided while operating as a cashier. Besides, another tale concerns an Indian child who had given out weird readings concerning the patrons who were at the bar in the reservation. Besides, the narrator is wondering how the Indians can rebuild themselves while having so many injustices (Alexie, 153). Therefore, the main theme of the story concerns racial differences in which the Native Americans do not have even lands, while the Indians are just rebuilding themselves with so many injustices attached to them. Therefore, it is similar to stories such as “Indian education,” “Distances,” and “Amusement,” which are all discussing issues regarding cultural and racial differences.
Alexie, Sherman. “The Trial of Thomas Builds-the-Fire.” The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven 94 (1993).In the story, Thomas, who is already an adult, has been detained for being in the hold with Eve Ford, the reservation postmaster, captive (Alexie, 1993). On this note, he is imprisoned and kept in the silent nature for long, but his case is later taken to a trial where he decides to represent himself. As he explains himself, he narrates a story where he states to be a colt who had been stolen in 1858 by a white general (Alexie, 1993). They had been stolen while very many, which made this white man kill most of them, but fortunately, he succeeded in escaping. This story outwardly angers any Indian in the courtroom. The core theme of the story is racial discrimination, Thomas has been silenced in prison, and the white man who had stolen him years before killed several Indians (Alexie, 1993). Therefore, it can be compared to stories such as “Distance,” “Indian Education,” “Amusement,” and “imagining the reservation, among others.”

Alexie, Sherman. “This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona.” The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (1993): 59-75. The story has presented Victor and his friend, who drive to Arizona to gather his father’s ashes. Victor had just been notified that his father has died in Arizona. Thus, he asks Thomas to accompany him to Arizona to claim the father’s ashes (Alexie, 1993). At this instance, Thomas recalls when he was thirteen and had gone to Spokane Falls, where Victor’s father treated him kindly. When they get the ashes, Victor shares half to Thomas, and they decide to spread it at the Spokane Falls (Alexie, 1993). The story has been grounded on the tribal basis, Thomas in the story, who is the storyteller is deeply concerned with traditional practices (Alexie, 1993). Therefore, it is similar to “A drug called tradition,” as both discuss individuals who have deep beliefs on their traditional practices.
Alexie, Sherman. “Superman and me.” Los Angeles Times 19 (1998). The author has narrated growing up being an Indian who wants to learn how to read and write. After learning how to read and write, find captivation concerning everything that he read, and later became a writer (Alexie, 1998). The story is mostly recommended to the Native American youth, which he expects to train and show how they would attain such experiences. In the story, the author has described how the Native Americans were perceived to be stupid and knowing nothing. On this note, all the school teachers expected that all Native students should fail in most parts concerning their education (Alexie, 1998). However, the Native students tried their best to fit in this stereotype, so the author tries to break it up. The core theme of the story is racial discrimination, where the Native Americans have been discriminated against even in schools. It can be considered to be similar to most of the stories discussed in the context such as, “Distance,” “This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona,” “The Trial of Thomas Builds-the-Fire,” among others.