Characterization And Symbolism In Short Story Moths
The symbolism of alcohol in this short story has a different meaning for Native Americans, than in Americans' points of view, because the alcohol for them doesn't just dissolve families, marriages, and any kind of relation that the alcoholic person has to the society. The Native American people are a minority that suffers inequality and discrimination, so it is harder to give up the alcohol. Alexie called this phenomenon "A drug called tradition".
Furthermore, Alexie explains that the Native Americans rediscover their Native Identity when they get drunk. As a result, they always want to be drunk to bring back their own culture, beliefs, etc. For example, the story narrates to us that the couple always argued when he was to the point that Alexie releases the problem about the Native Americans and Alcohol stating what the Native American man's girlfriend said to him during a fight: "Drunk all the time and stupid" (Alexie 38). On the other hands, he explains that he doesn't want to hurt his girlfriend physically or psychologically because he really loves her.
One day he doesn't want to fight with her anymore, so he jumps in to his car and starts driving, so he left Seattle and ends up driving around a residential neighborhood because the neighbors are nervous the police stopped him. Alexie shares his own experience about having problems with alcohol and at the age of 23 giving up the drink. He express that alcohol causes more of a dependency to Native Americans, and that it harder for them to give up than Americans. The causes of this may be being the minority in the society so they don't have or feel support to give up the drink, it also affects their culture because they lose part of their native personality, their tradition, their life and their culture dissolves with the passages of the time.
This point of view can be understood only by Native Americans and their own experience about being involved with alcohol but there are Native Americans that can't really give up the drink because they feel that being drunk is their solution to discover or rediscover their own Native Identity. As a result, the consume of alcohol have different consequence like, in this shot story he broke up with his girlfriend because they fight a lot when he was drunk. Moreover, the author describes the problem "But I'd been too out of shape from drinking…" (Alexie 40) The readers can figure out that the frequently consume alcohol brings physical change and disadvantages to the body such as, ulcer of the stomach, chronic pancreatitis and liver cirrhosis also the accumulation of physical tier.Others symbolisms that Alexie used is the emphasis about the tone of the skin.
The reader cans easily see the strong message that Alexie tries to give is to show the inequality and the unjust treatment that people like him suffered or still suffer during their lives for different reasons. As an illustration, Alexie express in his short story "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven": "Whites killing Indians and Indians killing Whites" (Alexie 39). It's not just races killing each other because the "Whites" marginalized, mistreated "Indians", and put them in reservations.
The "Indians" felt that they have right; as a result "Indians" had to fight to protect their selves, so they started to learn how to shoot and fight, like other animals kill to survive. Alexie tries to show us about the unfairness of the American Justice System, telling us that he was the only Native American boy in the high school out of the reservation. This brings thousand of ideas how hard for them is being out of the reservation because most of the people don't accept them because there were different.
This doesn't play role in Native Americans; there are thousands of people that suffer from this all the time, either because of their physical features or their culture. Alexie also used the skin tone to shows the discrimination to the people. For instance, in the reading someone steal the basketball shoes of the Native American. This shows discrimination because most of the people know that basketball is an American sport and the thief steal his shoes to give the message that Native American can't play basketball.
Moreover, when the Native American man returns to the reservation he saw a "white" kid playing basketball at the reservation. Alexie release the discrimination and inequality: "He played Indian ball, fast and loose, better than all the Indians there" (Alexie 40) because the "white" kid was in the reservation the Native American man feels that he have to loose in "Indian" territory, but the result of the game is that the "white" kid won. In addition, the Native American man accepts that he is really good playing "Indian ball". All in all, his short story "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven" by Sherman Alexie is not just about an idiot man that left his home town (the reservation) and has problems in his relationship with his girlfriend because he drank a lot and they constantly fight, or all that insecurity, deception and submission that he felt about his life.
It's about how hard is being a part of a minority group like the Native Americans because you are in two worlds. One is with the minority group about all the things that they expect you to do for your tribe; the other world is in the current society, how can you be accepted by all the people, even when you have different believes, religion or skin tone. If you add your personal desires and what you want to do, would this put any person in a hard position because it's hard to please everybody around you and your-self at the same time.
It's also hard to choose one because it's like denying who you are and where you came from. It's in our personality to never forget about who you are because you don't feel complete at all without this, even when we decides to don't care about our past, culture or religion and choose to make real our desires a part of you will feel empty or constantly ask your-self if you did the right choice.
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