After discussing theme in class, provide the theme that your group developed through close analysis of the text and your plot map. Then, defend your theme. Why does this theme make sense for the novel? How does this theme relate to the contemporary American lifestyle?
there has been many themes throughout this book the lone ranger and Tonto fistfight in heaven alcoholism is a big theme throughout this book Victors father and mother are very heavy drinkers and do many drugs and they show no responsibility also love and hate Vic to me seems to be bye polar and is always swinging moods Vic doesn't show his love to his family with people around he does it when he is alone he will show all his emotions and hes feelings about his family members but then also his family is always fighting either mom and dad or the uncles but this book shows a love hate relationship
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you are saying and really like the bipolar part I was thinking the same thing. He grow up screwed right off the bat with drug and alcoholic surrounding him. Its like he jumped in a pool of misery and he cant swim.
DeleteI also agree with your theme, Victor was not put in a good situation from the get-go, and that set him up poorly for success.
DeleteThought out this book it gets more and more depressing where every day is just looking forward till the end. Victor just wakes up and looks forward to the next drink he has because that's the only place he can call home. With his new kid that doesn't talk Victor just sits around all day drinking. (122)”Books and beer are the best and worst defense” I think this quote is great for the theme showing his life just stop giving and what's the point. I think the theme of this book is “help” because he was born indean on a reservation and knows he will never go anywhere because he is at such a disadvantage in life.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this book's theme has a lot to do with the addiction many Indians on the reservation face, especially Victor.
DeleteI agree Victor has a hard time not drinking, all he thinks about is grabbing a beer right away. Which is also true it won't get him anywhere in life which is super sad.
DeleteAfter discussing theme in class, provide the theme that your group developed through close analysis of the text and your plot map. Then, defend your theme. Why does this theme make sense for the novel? How does this theme relate to the contemporary American lifestyle?
ReplyDeleteOne of the major themes of The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven, is how alcoholism tears families apart and ruins the relationships of the families. One example of this is when Victor is describing how he was conceived. Victor says, “I was conceived during one of those drunken nights, half of me formed by my father’s whiskey sperm, the other half formed by my mother’s vodka egg. I was born a goofy reservations mixed drink, and my father needed me just as much as he needed every other kind of drink.” (27). his parents drinking alcohol has affected the way he thinks and acts in his life. Alcoholism affects children and families in many way.
This quote is very meaningful it might sound funny but this shows that he could never live a normal life. It shows Victor was bound to become an alcoholic and pretty much has no chose.
DeleteI also agree with you Quentin because this quote helps show how alcohol can ruin a kids life at a young age and affect him as a adult
DeleteI agree with you both Clayton and Quentin because Victor wants to live a normal life but then yet he can't because he really doesn't want to help himself with anything besides drinking. Which is understandable because that is only what he was around as a younger kid so he does not know any better.
DeleteAfter talking about the theme in class, we came up with “Breaking the cycle of addiction is difficult, especially when surrounded by a culture consumed by it. Seeking support from friends may make it easier.” Throughput the book, we learn that many Indians are affected by addiction, and alcoholism in particular. But because nearly everyone on the reservation suffers from addiction, there is no one there to help support the breakage of the cycle, so the cycle just continues on and on. An example of this cycle is Sammuel Builds-The-Fire, Sammuel never drank in his entire life, up until the point where he loses his job. But after being fired on his birthday, Samuel heads down to the local bar and orders a beer. “With each glass of beer, Samuel gained a few ounces of wisdom, courage. But after a while, he began to understand too much about fear and failure, too. At the halfway point of any drunken night, there is a moment when an Indian realizes he cannot turn back toward tradition and that he has no map to guide him toward the future.” (Alexie 134). After only a few drinks, Samuel has completely lost his way, and remains that way for the rest of his life, partly because he doesn't see a future, and partly because there is no support to help him. Another example of why this lifestyle/mentality is so common throughout the reservation is Victor himself. "Today, now, I drink what I have, will eat what is left in the cupboard, while my mother finishes her quilt, piece by piece. Believe me, there is just barely enough goodness in all of this." (Alexie 144). This is an example of why the culture on the reservation is the way it is because Victor is content just to drink, and doesn't want to accomplish anything else. This theme does not relate to the contemporary american lifestyle because it is about Indians who struggle with addiction and have no motivation or help to break the cycle. Without any help, these Indians could be viewed as just a group of drunks that has no place in any society. In conclusion, our theme is much closer to the opposite of the contemporary american lifestyle, rather than relating to the contemporary american lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteOne of the main themes in The Lone Ranger And Tonto Fist Fight In Heaven is culture can affect how you grow up and how you turn out. ""Oh, Look at that," Adrian said . "not even two in the afternoon and he's drunk as a skunk."" (50). This quote shows that their culture they live in does not care that they do drugs and/or alcohol, almost seems like they encourage it because just about all of them are either always drunk or high. Julius played in his basket ball game drunk and did not do good at all and right their every one knew that that was the "fall" of Julius and the end of his college and basket ball future and i believe that the reason for this is because of the culture he lives in.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on how your life can be changed just by the way your parents act and treat you. This quote and explanation says it good.
DeleteI agree with your theme. It is true that your parents can control what you do and they are the ones you grow up to be like.
DeleteOne of the main themes in the book The Lone Ranger And Tonto Fist Fight In Heaven is love and hate because even tho Victor’s parents didn’t really care for them. “He didn’t hate the fear and pain that caused them. He expected that. What he hated was the way they felt against his cheeks, his chin, his skin as they made their way down his face.” pg 9 Victor is panicking because he can’t find his parents that's how much he loves them. He wants his parents to make him feel wanted but they don’t see that in their eyes. “Victor climbed up on the bed and lay down between them. His mother and father breathe deep, nearly choking alcoholic snores.” pg 9. Shows how much drinking Victor’s parents do instead of spending time with their own kid. Victor was happy once he found his parents knowing they were okay.
ReplyDeleteI agree Victor thinks he is being judged for who he is and what he does but he needs to start accepting who he is.
DeleteOne of the themes in the book is that breaking the cycle of addiction is very hard to overcome. This is true because in the book, victor struggles with alcohol addiction and a slight drug addiction. He is overcoming the alcohol addiction by when ever he is offered a beer, he takes a diet Pepsi instead that way he wont get the beer belly. This is like the American lifestyle because alcohol addiction is a serious issue in the lower end communities. This is because those people have very little money and are depressed about it. So what they do is they go to a bar or buy alcohol and get drunk because that is the best and cheapest way to fix their pain.
ReplyDeleteMy group seemed to think that addiction was the most pronounced theme seen throughout The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. Breaking the cycle of addiction is difficult, especially when surrounded by a culture consumed by it, however, support from friends can make it easier to break addictions. This is seen when victor's friend would always ask for a beer and victor would reply “Hey, we don’t drink no more, remember? How about a Diet Pepsi?” and by doing so they both remained sober and could abstain from alcoholism. On the other hand, Victor ends up becoming an alcoholic later in life despite his efforts during his adolescence. Does anybody think Victor will become sober later in the book or pursue the lifestyle of a hopeless drunk Indian?
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