The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven Symbols

Alcohol

In almost every story in The Lone Ranger and Tonto, Sherman Alexie engages directly with the common cultural stereotype—and devastating real-life epidemic—of Native Americans falling victim to alcoholism, or engaging in excessive drinking. In…

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Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse, a Native American war leader and member of the Oglala Lakota tribe, lived from the mid-to-late 1800s, and is perhaps most recognizable as the leader of a victorious war party at the Battle…

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Dreams and Visions

“Nobody dreams all the time,” one of Alexie’s unnamed narrators says, “because it would hurt all the time.” Throughout this text, dreams represent an alternate reality, and symbolize either an escape from the present or…

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Fry Bread

Fry bread represents home and domestic comfort. A food created by Native Americans out of necessity when they were forced from their arable land, and made from ingredients given to Native people by the United…

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Basketball and Television

Basketball, in these stories, symbolizes hope for the future and the opportunity for change, advancement, and even escape from the reservation. Alexie himself was a gifted basketball player as a child, and he endows his…

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