In “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven”, Sherman Alexie depicts Thomas Builds-The-Fire as a strong and determined character who lives with his stories and doesn’t bother about what others feel about him. Through Thomas Build-The-Fire’s words, Alexie tells us about our path of self attainment in life. He tells the readers, through this passage, that that one must find the aim in life and follow it with determination:
“We are all given one thing by which our lives are measured, one determination. Mine are the stories which can change or not change the world. It doesn’t matter which as long as I continue to tell the stories. […] They are all I have. It’s all I can do.” (72-73)
In this passage, Thomas Builds-The-Fire tells us about his aim in life, the stories; the stories he sees, the stories he foretells and the stories he narrates. He is aware of the fact that his stories always do not change the world but they are an inspiration towards the way we perceive things in our lives. Through his words, Alexie sends a message that every individual has a purpose in life, and when one determines that goal, life becomes complete. At the end of the passage, Thomas Builds-The-Fire enlightens us how he is bound with his stories. His understands that his fellows do not appreciate his stories but he has accepted it as his fate and he is determined to follow it.
Works Cited
- Alexie, Sherman. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. New York: HarperCollins, 1994.
- DeNuccio, Jerome. “Slow Dancing with Skeletons: Sherman Alexie’s The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.” Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction. 44.1 (Fall 2002): 86-96. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Vol. 107. Detroit: Gale, 86-96.
- Literature Resource Center. Gale. DIABLO VALLEY COLLEGE. 5 March 2009 <http://0-go.galegroup.com.alice.dvc.edu/ps/start.do?p=LitRC&u=plea38277>.
