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?
I agree with you Sarah. I find that throughout the book there is a great amount of natural hate towards Thomas for no apparent reason other than the waay he looks. The ironic thing is that both Victor and Junior end up becoming friends with Thomas through the creation of their band, which originally seemed very unlikely at the beginning of the book. I found myself quite surprised as well when I found how these reservations truly were, being exact opposites of what had originally been expected.
ReplyDeleteFrancesco Pagano
I also agree. Thomas is such a nice kid but he is the target and is unnecessarily bullied. I was also surprised when Victor and Junior join Thomas's band. I also never pictured reservation to be as normal as it is. It is totally modernized and Thomas is the only one who appears to follow his culture although he starts a rock/blues band.
DeleteMaybe it's because I felt something different when I started going to school in Seekonk, but I don't think in very much like the Spokane Reservation at all. I remember my first week of school freshman year was agonizing. Nobody knew who I was and nobody really seemed to care. I had lived in the town my whole life, but nobody knew who I was because I had gone to private school. That was basically the extent of my conversations with people. They would ask when I moved here, I would respond saying I had always lived here, and when I said I had gone to a private school, most just turned away. It had actually made me quite lonely at the time. If everyone on the Spokane reservation flocked to see Mr. Johnson and hear about his past, why wouldn't anyone from Seekonk try to befriend some new on their first day of school if the two places are so similar?
ReplyDelete