The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven

by

Sherman Alexie

An Indian of whom Victor and his friend Sadie make a spectacle when they find him passed out in an alcoholic stupor at a local carnival. Though knowing it’s a “shitty thing to do,” Victor and Sadie place the unconscious Joe on a roller coaster called the stallion and watch as he goes, unconscious, around and around again. Victor ultimately feels awful, and, when looking in a funhouse mirror at the end of the story, has a vision of himself as an “Indian who offered up another Indian like some kind of treaty.”
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Dirty Joe Character Timeline in The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven

The timeline below shows where the character Dirty Joe appears in The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Amusements
Community vs. Isolation Theme Icon
Dirty Joe, an Indian known on the reservation “because he cruised the taverns at closing time [and]... (full context)
Violence, Poverty, and Loss Theme Icon
Memory, Bearing Witness, Storytelling, and Imagination Theme Icon
Community vs. Isolation Theme Icon
Victor and Sadie carry Joe to the coaster and pay off the “carny” operator to let Joe ride around all... (full context)
Violence, Poverty, and Loss Theme Icon
Memory, Bearing Witness, Storytelling, and Imagination Theme Icon
Cultural Pain vs. Personal Pain Theme Icon
Community vs. Isolation Theme Icon
...“realizing what [he] ha[s] done,” tells Sadie that they should leave. She suggests they collect Joe from the roller coaster, but Victor insists that there’s no time. As they hurry out... (full context)