the lone ranger and tonto fistfight in heaven sparknotes

The Lone Ranger and Tonto can be considered symbols of white American and Indigenous identity, respectively. The story’s title and the discussion of Tonto in the text are the most prominent examples. In both stories, Alexie emphasizes the potency of humor as a tool to cope with challenging obstacles, like racism or cancer.Īlexie also references white popular culture.

When the narrator defuses the tension between himself and the cashier through humor, his attitude is similar to that of James Many Horses, who deploys humor during a racist incident in “The Approximate Size of My Favorite Tumor”. The story about the narrator being robbed at a 7-11 also appears in “Imagining the Reservation”, which suggests that they are narrated by the same character. “ The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” contains numerous callbacks to other stories in the collection. The story ends with the narrator alone and depressed. They forgive each other for their fights, although it is unclear whether they will get back together. After losing a game to him, the narrator finds a job and moves to Spokane. The BIA chief’s son is extremely good at basketball. While the narrator was away at school, a young white man moved to the reservation because his father was the chief of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Because the narrator attended college, his mother is disappointed that he has not found a job, and constantly nags him to do so. The next day, he breaks up with her and moves back to the reservation. After a particularly bad fight, the narrator dreams that he and his girlfriend are an Indian chief and a missionary’s wife, respectively, and their romance starts a war between Indians and white people. The narrator is living in Seattle with a white girlfriend. He teases the cashier as he checks out, playing on the man’s fear, and the cashier catches on, laughs, and gives him the Creamsicle for free. Although the narrator knows the cashier is frightened of him because of his dark skin, he says he understands the man’s apprehension because he once worked the graveyard shift at a 7-11 and was robbed himself. As the narrator enters the store, the cashier becomes visibly uncomfortable. It is three in the morning when the narrator goes to 7-11 to buy a Creamsicle.

The lone ranger and tonto fistfight in heaven sparknotes