post #3

        While reading chapters six and seven I was introduced to Big Mama a little more. In the beginning of the book she was mentioned briefly in the first chapter, but now she's interacting with the characters, in chapter seven, not just Robert Johnson. One of the scenes I had a question about was on the third page in for chapter six. The narrator states Robert Johnson's problems with his guitar, "He buried that guitar, he threw it in rivers, dropped it off tall buildings. But it always came back to him," (p. 173). If music was so important to the Native American tribes, why was he trying to get rid of this guitar that played such eat music? The text also said that he was able to fall in-love when he didn't have the guitar with him. Yet again, if the Native American tribes were based on music wouldn't that help Robert find love? Many songs give off a certain vibe that people can relate to, and I'm almost 100% positive a lady would have liked his music. In the sixth chapter, Coyote Springs was given the chance to be flown to New York to do studio work for Mr. Sheridan and Mr. Wright. They claim to like them for their voices but its clear that they just like them because they have the "Indian image." In the letter they sent it states, "Overall, this band looks and sounds Indian. They all have dark skin. Chess, Checkers, and Junior all have long hair. Thomas has a big nose, and Victor has many scars. We're looking at some genuine crossover appeal," (p. 190). These men just want to record Coyote Springs, regardless on how they sound, due to their native image. They know that this group will get many fans from all over with some auto tuning and tweaking little flaws.
        In chapter seven, Big Mama was finally described fairly well. "There were a million stories about Big Mom. But no matter how many stories were told, some Indians still refused to believe in her," (p. 200). Many Indians claimed that she was fake because she lived all by herself, all the way in the mountains, never came down into the village, and had visitors visit her at night. But when the members of Coyote Spring went to visit her they all learned she was real and knew everything about everyone. Because Victor was so rude to Big Mama she put him in his place by telling him to forgive the priest who molested him as a child. (which makes sense why Victor isn't very religious) Big Mama also knew Checkers and Chess's real names which are Eunice and Gladys. Clearly she shows them that she knows exactly what she's talking about. Big Mama is a gigantic legend in the Spokane Indian tribe.          

Reservation Blues #3

A major topic that appears in this section of Reservation Blues is opportunity. In this section Coyote Springs is finally offered a chance at a record deal, but that opportunity comes with some serious risks. For one thing, The tribe is starting to wonder if they should allow themselves to be represented by such a group of people. Also, the band must decide if they should leave behind what they know and are comfortable with in exchange for the opportunity of a lifetime. Its like Thomas says, "If an Indian chose the correct hand, he won everything, he won all the sticks. If an Indian chose wrong, he never got to play again" (Alexie 220). This means that no matter what, you only have one shot at life, there are no redoes. If you don't take advantage of the opportunities that are offered to you, life will lack adventure and excitement. Because there are no second chances in life, its imperative to go after your dreams and never give up on them. If you give up on the parts of your life most dear to you, your dreams, you will find it so much easier to give up on other aspects of your life that may seem less important. Giving up is never the way to go through life, and if Coyote Springs gives up on their dream of success, they will never be able to come back to the reservation.

Kayley 3

Chapter six starts off with Robert Johnson, a character only introduced in the beginning of the book with his magic guitar. He was at Big Mom's front porch which was a surprise. I remember him being on his way to her but there was never a passage that said he made it and now all of a sudden he's with her? His character is confusing to me as well as Big Moms because they both came out of nowhere and have been around for many years. They both seem magical in a sense which is cool. I always wished to live forever and be able to use magic. That's every little kid's dream. In the beginning of the novel the guitar seemed like the most amazing personified object belonging to a person. After reading, the guitar was a burden on Robert Johnson. The guitar kept him from living his life and from falling in love. When Johnson got rid of the guitar he enjoyed his glory days, but the guitar would always find its way back to him. That guitar, which now belongs to Victor, is like a curse. It made Johnson crazy and I'm curious to see what will happen to Victor. The guitar "held onto Victor even harder than it ever held Johnson," (174) which is a scary thought due to the fact that is made Johnson mad. He even lost hope and thought about suicide. Hopefully nothing drastic like that happens to Victor. Although I think he deserves it because of his negative attitude and bullying ways, when I found out more about Victors past I sympathized. Victor had a tough time growing up and was even touched by a priest at a very young age. Although a messed up childhood doesn't justify Victor's mean ways, I do feel bad for the guy and wish his childhood wasn't full of pain. I also had a rough childhood, seeing my parents’ divorce and then losing one. It was such a depression time in my life and I can connect to Victor in that way. It's funny how the Spokane Tribe thinks "that rock and roll music is sinful" (179). It's similar to those who view today's hip hop and rap as sinful. Many adults have this view but it great that Coyote Springs does not conform to what society thinks is right. It's awesome that their doing what they love. I mean yes they get drunk and basically rely on their music, but they're making something out of themselves and doing what they love with no regrets. With even casting a vote to excommunicate Coyote Springs from the tribe, they still found success. I can relate to having somebody knock you down but you get back up and try again. Coyote Springs never gave up and hard work paid off. They got their record deal they were longing for. I know how that feels to finally achieve what you have been waiting for your whole life. An important event was Coyote Springs going to see Big Mom. Big Mom symbolized God to me. She is "a part of every tribe," (199) as God is a part of everyone's lives. A lot of people don't believe in Big Mom just as a lot of people don't believe in God. I think its beautiful how Big Mom is so powerful and influential in Indian life as God is in ours.

#3

     The third part to this book has been quite interesting.  A variety of things have happened.  Coyote Springs has so far been signed to a recording label, won a contest, almost thrown out of their reeservation, atteded Church, and many other things.  The most surprising part however is that they meet Big Mom.  Big Mom is believed to have supernatural powers by the Spokane Indians.  This is evident when Thomas says "'She's just a part of God...Big Mom is just a bigger part of God'" (Alexie 206).  This shows the native's faith in her powers to the point of worship, seeing her as a possible prophet.  She is quite the interesting character, actually.  I personally do not believe in magic, and neither does Victor within the book.  Somehow, however, Big Mom is able to practically reach into the mnds of the band and pull out classified information that they refuse to tell others.  One such case is when she says to Vicot that "'you should forgive that priest whho hurt you when you were little'" (Alexie 203).  Knowledge such as that doesn't just get passed around orally; in fact, I am willing to bet that Victor has not told a single soul at all about the incident where he was touched by a priest when he was young.  It brings to question if she really does have magical powers.  I see very little possibiility in courses of history for her to be able to know such a deep and personal thing about someone who didn't even believe the woman had existed to start with!  Another surprise is Junior revealing Victor's good side in a letter left for Big Mom after she further improved their playing.  In his letter, Junior reveals that Victor "borrowed money and his uncle's car and drove to Oregon and got me.  He even bought me a hamburger and fries outside Dick's and ate" (Alexie 216).  This is quite a shock to me personally so far.  Up to this point, Victor has been seen as passive aggressive to the band and bossy to Junior.  In this letter, however, a contradiction occcurs.  The reader sees Victor's good side and comes to question his own character.  The reader also question why he holds back on being nice and wonders whether or not it may have to do with the priest or some other problem he has hold dear to himself.

Francesco Pagano

P.S. Again, if there are weirdly spelled words or groups of letters missing, my computer and keyboard are going crazy. I attempted to get rid of what I could.

Reservation Blues #3

I feel as though during this section of the story, we begin to realize why Victor is the way he is. It was explained towards the beginning of the story that he was an alchoholic. He constantly asked Junior to go get a beer and it was something that happened almost every single day. He acted out in ways of violence. For example, by smashing Robert'sThomas's guitar on the ground and causing him to cry. The author explains, "Victor released Thomas from the headlock but picked up the guitar and smashed it against the sidewalk... 'There,' Victor said. 'Now you can play the song'"(15). It is then declared in chapter 7 as to why Victor is the way he is. We also see a major role added to the story in the character of Big Mom. We realize how forgiving and how influential her character is towards others in chapter 7. She says to Victor, "'Victor,' Big Mom said, 'you should forgive that priest who hurt you when you were little. That will give you power over him, you know? Forgiveness is magic, too.' 'What are you talking about?' Victor asked, but he knew. He still felt the priest's hands on his body after all those years" (203). I feel as though this quote is extremely influential on the entire story as a whole. For example,Big Mom says that by forgiving someone, it is for yourself not for the other person. I completely agree with this statement. Although it may be a difficult decision, I believe that in life, we are faced with challenges where we are hurt by others and it is up to us whether to forgive or hold onto what is hurting us. I feel as though Big Mom's statement provides a theme for this story that forgiveness is not for the other person, it is for yourself.

Yany 2

        In the next three chapter we read, many events and stories are told about that left me quite baffled. First off, Chess and Thomas fall in love. I suppose the time was much more simplistic back then, or at least in the reservation areas, because she had no problem inviting a strange, grown man back to her house. She practically begged him to the point where he couldn't say no. In order to please her, he quickly states, Well,... I'll stay for a little while. Maybe drink some coffee. How does that sounds," (p.61). It was actually an important factor to the book, for me, that Thomas went over Chess's house. When he went over, we were able to learn about the men from reservations, her father and Thomas's father. "Thomas's father still drank quietly, never raising his voice once in all of his life, just staggering around the reservation, usually covered in piss and shit," (p.57). I was completely repulsed and quite confused by this quote. How on earth did Thomas just allow his father to be the town drunk? Doesn't that give him a bad name, as well as his father? I don't know about you, but if my father was ever in a point in his life as bad as that I wouldn't just ignore it, I would force him to become a man and face his fears. The only way to fix what is wrong is to go up against your fears. Now Chess's father, on the other hand, showed the controlling stereotype of a man. "If drunk, however, he forced himself on his wife," (p. 68). This quote clarified how most men in the reservations spent their days, drunk. But Chess's father was the kind of drunk who would push around his wife and children to show that he was superior towards them. He forced his wife to have sex with him when the time was convenient for him and didn't care what she had to say about it. When men think they are that superior towards women, I become filled with hatred, especially these men. How can they just run around town all day doing whatever they please, while getting piss drunk? Then after their done playing around they come home and boss the women and children around? Honestly, how is that fair whatsoever? These chapters showed me about Thomas and Chess's love life and the arrogant men in reservations.

Reservation Blues #2

     In the second section of Reservation Blues, religion becomes a major topic. At this point in time, Coyote Springs has picked up two new members, Chess and Checkers Warm Water,  sisters from the Flathead Indian Reservation. As children growing up, Chess and Checkers also attended the Catholic church on their reservation,  just like Junior, Victor, and Thomas. Chess and Checkers, however, had always used their religion as a rock, a piece of life that was always there for the. To the three men however, the Catholic religion had always been something worthless. They all had terrible experiences with the church. For example, when Victor goes to summer camp away from the reservation, he has an awful experience with a priest there when he is only nine years old. (148) Another example of some of the bad experiences the group has as children comes from one Sunday when Thomas went to church and the priest was ordering everyone to burn their books and records. Thomas is deeply bothered by this because those books meant a lot to him and he was sadden to see them go. (146) The most important thing that this section of the book shows, however, is just how much your life can be changed by one thing. For the Warm Water sisters, religion was all they had left after their brother died. For Victor, Thomas, and Junior, religion had always seemed like something that was meant to punish them; to destroy their Spokane identity. This is a very important lesson to remember in life because if you don't know something that's going to change your life, you are going to end up going through life a miserable person who is envious of happiness. While its always good to be aware of things that change your life, it's also important to know how to turn those changes into something positive, like the Warm Water sisters did with their church experiences. Being able to make changes in your life work for you will make life so much better in the long run.

Kayley 2

Within the next few chapters, a number of concepts and events are relatable to me. Before i go into that, a major event is when Chess and Thomas fall in love. They're alike in a loy of way, including valuing old traditions. Their childhoods both suffered through pain and loss. Chess also follows traditional values of Native Americans and believes that "Indian men need Indian women.. [and] I think only Indian women can take care of Indian men" (81). There is a lot of controversary about Whites and Indians and their "mixing". Chess thinks that Victor and Junior betray their DNA, while Thomas believes that there's a shortage of love. I agree with Thomas's perspective that love it so rare, it should be celebrated when found. Anyways, Chess told stories like Thomas, who he had yet to find a woman like him until her. Their relationship is beautiful and powerful. I have a relationship with my boyfriend like that too. Coyote Springs now consists of Thomas, Voctor, Junior, Chess, and Checkers. Their band, "Coyote Springs melded faster than any garage band in history" (79). They play with pride and passion and are very professional. Music in this book is so powerful. "I used to think her songs drifted across the entire reservation. I imagined they knocked deer over and shook the antlers of moose and elk...Those songs floated up to the clouds, fell back to the earth as rain, and changed the shape of plants and trees" (66-67). This imagery is stunning and makes you feel the emotions. I can also relate to the hardships of the Warm Water's childhood. I also lost a loved one and my family coped with death in sorrow songs and plenty of alcohol. This book is so magical and beautiful. I instantly thought of my dad when "Thomas smiled because so many people visited him in memories" (91). Memories, music, and dreams are not only precious in this book, but also to me.

Reservation Blues #2

While reading the second section of Reservation Blues, I immediately began to see a change in Thomas's character. Towards the beginning of the novel, Thomas seemed as though he was sensitive and caring. For example, when Victor smashed the guitar on the ground, Thomas began to cry, making the reader feel as though Thomas was very delicate. From the very start of chapter 3, I saw a bit of a change in Thomas. When seeing Chess and Checkers, Thomas asked Victor if he was aware of their presence. Victor says, "The one with the cowboy hat and big tits?" (56). After Victor says this, Thomas agrees with him and the group of men continued their foul conversation. I feel as though this simple statement shows a change in Thomas's character because Thomas went from being a sensitive person to one who agrees with men who speak in a derogative manner towards women.

Later in the section, I again noticed something peculiar about Thomas's character that reminded me of myself. When Checker's asked Thomas if he ever drank, he replied, "Look what it did to my father" (114). I feel as though just that statement alone is influential and shows that Thomas has learned from the mistakes of his father. This quote reminded me of myself because my family has had a terrible history of alcoholism and learning that it is an addictive trait in my family, I refuse to be like others and drink. These sections of Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie show the reader character development of Thomas and how although his character has changed, he still remains educated of mistakes of the past.

Reservation Blues Response Ch 3 - 5

         The second section of this book has continued to grip me in place and force me to continue reading.  In these chapters, there is one specific story told by Thomas that intrigues me.  This story is about Thomas's father Samuel and Lester playing a game of basketball with a group of cops.  The introduction of this story plays against the reader's current perception of Thomas Builds-The-Fire's faather Samuel.  Up to the story, Samuel is known too be a heavy drunk and disgrace to the Spokane reservation.  Thomas reveals to the reader however that before his drinking days, Samuel was a strong basketball player as he states "'He was such a good basketball player that all the Spokanes wanted him to be more.  When any Indian shows the slightest hint of talent in any direction, the rest of the tribe starts expecting Jesus'" (Alexie 97).  Thomas reveals that during high school, his father was the top basketball player in the school and would be the reason that his team won.  He was so great at the game that otheers compared him to Jesus.  After high school, there was nothing left for him because of the absence of basketball in his life.  Consequently, he began drinking.  The use of the story aftterwarrds is evry powerful, negaating any current belief about Samuel there may be so far by the reader.  in this story, he is considered to be arrogant, stating that "'Two of you ain't going to be near enough...Lester and me will take on all six of you fake bastards.  Full court to ten by ones.  Make it.  Take it'" (Alexie 102).  His arrogance and self confidence is so great that Samuel challenges a group of 6 cops to a game of basketball while Lester doesn't even play well.  He is seen as rambunctious and arrogant throughout the story, never giving up hope against the cops, even though he eventually ends up losing the game.  The use of this story to contradict the older Samuel comes across very effectively as a result.

PaganoF

     PS:  Same as before, my computer keyboard is acting crazy; any double letters or crazy mixings
             of letters is due to the keyboard; I apologize in advance.

        In the first two chapters I read of Reservation Blues, Sherman Alexie paints a picture of what reservation lands were all about. The first thing I learned was how poorly the people treated each other. Thomas Builds-the-Fire is disrespected by almost every person in the book because he’s darker than the typical Spokane Indian. “We’ll kick your ass anyway,’ Victor said. ‘If you can’t play the song, we get the guitar,” (p. 15). Not only is Victor threatening to beat him up, he also threatens to steal his guitar, the one and only object Thomas can call his own. I, myself, used to perceive reservation lands as a quiet, safe, and friendly place. I never knew that reservation lands actually had such a high number of malnourished and underprivileged members. Many people could barely get jobs, even with an education, and spent most of their days drinking, getting themselves into unnecessary trouble, and just hanging around. How did you originally perceive what the reservation lands were like? Did you know they were a depressing place or did you think it was a pretty safe place? Spokane Indians were often represented as alcoholics. "I'm feeling like a beer. What do you think, Junior? Let's knock off early and head for the tavern," (p.20). Victor can't even make it through the day without having or thinking about having a beer. He's so dependent on alcohol that he needs it to enjoy the day. Also, another time alcohol was brought up in these chapters was when the narrator was talking about White Hawk's mother. They said she had drank while she was pregnant with him, giving him fetal alcohol syndrome. How would someone in their right mind drink while they're pregnant and risk the life of their unborn child?!
        I can make connections with the Spokane tribe and Seekonk. Whenever there's a new person in Seekonk, everyone knows within the first week. Not only do we hear about the person but you see the person, find out background information, and end up talking to them at least once. When Mr. Johnson first arrived in the Spokane tribe, word spread fast. He was one of the only black men there and everyone found out he arrived immediately. Do you agree that Seekonk is similar to the Spokane tribe?  
 

Kayley 1

Reservation Blues starts off with a song ending with two lines saying, "And if you ain't got choices ain't got much to lose"(1), which relates to the Spokanes Reservation. It saddened me when Thomas was talking about all the murdered dreams and how the government put the Spokanes on this reservation and how Thomas grew up sleeping "in the half-finished basement, with two blankets for walls and one blanket for his bed"(7). It reminded me of learning about how Indians were stripped from their homes and forced to live on horrible, limited-sized reservations instead of roaming free. I wonder why Robert Johnson is such a brief character in these first two chapters. He just seems to pass his guitar to Thomas and is running from the Gentleman. It perplexes me that Robert has a magical guitar that Thomas picked up, "strummed the strings, felt a small pain in the palms of his hands, and heard the first sad note of the reservation blues"(9). Music is most symbolic in this book and it relates to dreams of Indians. Dreams decide everything. Some people have dreams that represent actual events of the past, present, or future. It's cool how dreams revolve around so much of their lives. Thomas's stories are also important and connect with the same feelings and emotions as music. Another relatable aspect is bullies and how they're always in everyone's lives. I see them walking the halls and I see them in this book. Victor and Junior are the mean kids. They're "two of the most accomplished bullies of recent Native American history"(13). Those boys relate to bullies everywhere and how they exist even among Native Americans. Thomas is also an easy target and people like Thomas are the first to get picked on. Thomas is also the typical victim, being "the weakest Indian boy on the whole reservation, so mall and skinny, with bigger wrists than arms, a head too large for its body, and ugly government glasses"(14). His character agrees with the stereotype of victims who are bullied. Not that I've been bullied, but I can relate to Thomas being nice to everyone, including Victor and Junior who have always bullied him. He does a lot out of the kindness of his heart such as paying for Victor's airplane tickets to go pick up Victor's father’s ashes in Arizona. Even though Victor is a horrible person to Thomas, Thomas still "kills him with kindness" which is a motto that I live by. Everything seemed pretty normal until the guitar started talking... personification at its finest. The guitar is cool though and represents someone that is there to listen to Thomas. I can relate to being lonely and wanting a friend, which the guitar seems to be his friend. Also, Thomas, Victor, and Junior's band formed as Coyote Springs, which I was surprised because they're total opposites, but I guess it's true that music can bring everyone together.

can someone invite Sarah?
I just sent her another invite to the new email you gave me. Let me know if she doesn't get it.-M

Reservation Blues #1

Reading the first few chapters of Reservation Blues, I noticed an interesting theme about the importance of music to the Native Americans . For instance, when Big Mom first hears the horse's screaming song, she describes it as "...so pained and tortured that Big Mom could never have imagined it before the white man came, and never understood it later..." (Alexi 9). The fact that Big Mom is able to hear the natural music all around her and feel its emotional power, whether or not she understands it, is remarkable because many people do not have the ability to connect to music in that way. This shows how music is such an essential part of her life that she has come to look for it in all aspects of life, even in the silence that follows a song. Thomas also feels this connection to music through the guitar he obtains through Robert Johnson. The Guitar tells Thomas "Y'all need to play songs for your people...We takin' those two with us" (Alexi 23) because he knows the reservation is missing one of the key parts of its heritage. The fact that even the Guitar is out to create the art of music in the reservation shows how important it is for the Spokane tribe to embrace the musical aspect of their culture in order to become whole and flourishing again. I can relate to feeling this way about music in my own life because I know without music, I would probably be a very unhappy and static person. Music helps give me my vitality and life while keeping me grounded and helping me maintain my perspective. Music is so important to me because it helps remind me who I am and brings me through difficult times in my life.

Reservation Blues #1

While reading the first section of Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie, I came to realize that throughout the novel, so far, I am able to make connections with my own experiences. Although circumstances may be very different, I realize that after beginning to read about the Native American's, my entire perception of them has been wrong. Being a musician, I usually consider myself aware of the different types of music around the world but it never occurred to me that Native American's had any type of interests in music other than the typical songs one would hear at a powwow. One example in the text in which I felt I could relate to my own experiences is when the narrator is explaining the story of Big Mom and her horses. They explain, "Big Mom played a new flute song every morning to remind everybody that music created and recreated the world daily" (10). This quote in particularly to me, hits home. Being a passionate flute player who wants to continue through college, I can completely agree with the statement that music creates and recreates the world constantly. I feel as though if we did not have music, there would be no soul to this world. The fact that through her sadness, Big Mom played music also reminds me of myself. That is an exceptional example as to why I can connect this quote with my own experience. Having been through a great deal at only sixteen years old, my entire life I have turned to music to be my back-bone. Since I was four years old, music has been my world. Another example as to why I feel as though the text relates to similar instances in my life time is when the narrator is explaining Junior's character. They explain, "Junior based all of his decisions on his dreams and visions, which created a lot of problems" (18). Although I do not have visions, it is crazy to explain the fact that I do base many of my decisions off of things that have happened in my dreams. I am one of the only people I know who can consistently remember every single one of my dreams, every night. I am able to explain everything that happened and remember it for weeks later because for some reason, I have insane nightmares almost every night. By explaining Junior's character as someone who bases reality off of his dreams, I can completely relate because I have dreams that someone has died, I am being kidnapped, etc. and when I feel as though I am in a scary situation, I immediately think of what I did in my dream to get out of it. As strange as it may seem, it actually sometimes works. One last example as to why I was able to relate some of the text to similar experiences of my own is when Victor smashed Thomas's guitar and Thomas began to weep. The narrator explains, "Thomas started to cry. That was the worst thing an Indian man could do if he were sober" (17). Almost everyone in their lifetime has had an instance in which they were ashamed of being upset over something, but could not help but cry. My example in particular, is when I came back to school after my brother had passed away. Not that I thought I was over it, but I figured that I was to the point where I was done crying. Evidently, I was wrong. My first day back, I couldn't even make it through second period and although everyone told me that I shouldn't be, I was so ashamed that I had let myself get to the point of being upset in front of everybody. This is a different situation, but similar to the fact that Thomas was ashamed of crying over a guitar in front of other people in the tribe, but he clearly had other things making him upset. Evidently, through just the first section of Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie, I was able to relate a number of examples to similar experiences I have gone through in my life.

Reservation Blues #1

Reservation Blues Reader Response Letter #1

 

So far, through chapter 2, this book Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie is very enlightening on the life of the Native American on reservations and the tough life these individuals have. So far this book has made me question my own opinions onn the Indian reservations of the United States. Before this back, I had always wondered the conditions of the Indian reservations because of the hostility some Native Americans have as a result of the creation of them. As a result of this book, my eyes have been opened on the sheer quality of the homes and lives the individuals living here have. As seen throughout, it is very poor. In this book, the author reveals that Thomas Builds-The-Fire "thought he needed more money than music. Music seemed to be a luxury these days" (Alexie 23). This states that music itself was very rare. Native Americans were constantly so focused on money that they had no time for any entertainment; they were just barely making it by. The use of the word ‘reservation’ throughout the novel is also very powerful, using the word as a way to describe something out of shape, old, or unwanted. The use of this word is used throughout, and very powerfully used to describe a variety of different items as being old or unusual.

 

P.S. I apologize for any unusual grammar or vocabulary mistakes; my computer is acting up really badly.

 

Francesco Pagano