Victor vs. Victor
Victor is
one of Sherman Alexis’ recurring characters in his collection of short stories
called The Lone Ranger and Tonto
Fistfight in Heaven. What makes Victor a complex is the polarity of his
character within the short stories. He
displays his strength and determination, while also displaying a lack of
control and cultural disadvantage.
Victor the
Beast
Victor
fought his way through twelve years of education, while strengthening himself with
every passing school year in Indian
Education. Starting from his very
first school year, Victor found a way to turn things around and take control of
his things in his life. As a first
grader, he was in constant conflict with his classmates as they bullied him physically
while making fun of him verbally. Eventually,
the inner warrior within victor was released as he turned the tables on one of
his bullies and pummeled him into the ground.
Victor becoming his own hero in
this situation was a great example of how he was able to take control and stand
up for himself within the short story. In
sixth grade, Victor told a story about Randy and Stevie and their standoff they
had at the reservation school. Victor
learned that the moral of their confrontation was that the one who throws the
first punch wins the fight; this was a philosophy
that Victor carried with him through some of the other short stories as well as
the rest of his life. At his high school
graduation Victor managed to finish as his class valedictorian at white school,
while obtaining many accolades; this could imply that he will eventually have
many opportunities in the future.
Victor the
Helpless
Sherman
Alexis defined living in a Indian Reservation as a place that is filled with
sorrow, alcoholism, and a place where Indians are at an expected disadvantage
in life due to their heritage. Throughout
the short stories, there was a common theme of Indians being at a social
disadvantage, while being difficult to turn things around.
In Every Little Hurricane Victor described
his family and their problems with money and alcohol as well as some of his own
fears and weaknesses. Nearly all of the
characters within the story are drinking alcohol while getting into conflicts;
the conflicts chain together and start triggering sorrowful memories for Victor. On page four, Victor recalls the story of how
his father could not afford to buy gifts that year. Victor father cries and apologizing to his
family, while Victor imagines that he boxes up his father tears to gift them to
his mother, spreading sorrow person to person.
His family lack of resources and control had a large role in shaping
Victor as he developed, making it difficult for him to leave the cycle of alcoholism
and sorrow.
Results
After
receiving his seemingly strong Indian education while living on the
reservation, Victor ends up in a lifestyle that is similar to the adults of his
childhood. He watches other Indians go through cycles that end in unsuccessfully
every time. I believe that the goal of
both young Victors was to escape the fate that they believed was predetermined
by their heritage, but neither managed to reach their goal and declare victory.
I like how you compared the character in all three stories. Readers can clearly see the changes in Victor as time goes by and he grows up. I feel as though there is the most evidence of Victor's Indian pride in "Indian Education." He is young and spirited and taught by his fellow Indians to be proud of his heritage. On the contrary, white society desires to suppress the Indian in him, and it seems as though society succeeds. As an adult, it appears that he conforms more to society's expectations and puts up with the internal suffering. Or at least, he and the other Indians release their suppression in the only way they know how: violence, crime, alcoholism, etc.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your comparison. For "Victor the Beast" I would also add when you mention him being a warrior in the first grade, i think you should quote Victor because what he thinks is so powerful thinking a first grader is thinking like that: "But he wasn't the warrior. I was. And I chanted It's a good day to die..." Also there is another very impactful moment of the beast in tenth grade where it is said, "Believe me, everything looks like a noose if you stare at it long enough." It's dark, and it's understood throughout the whole tribe. Something to add to "Victor the Helpless" is when he crawls into bed with his passed out parents in Hurricane. On the way to find them, "Victor cried until he found his parents, alone, passed out on their bed in the back bedroom." Victor kissed his parents hoping that the alcohol that seeped through their skin would help him sleep. That sounds very helpless to me.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very good analysis of the potential and opportunities Victor lost throughout the course of his life. Alexie shows us where Victor started within the opening pages of "Every Little Hurricane" and I think he sets up his novel early on to tie Victor's progression into the larger symbolic progression of the reservation as a whole. What I find interesting is that he shortly follows up with "The Only Traffic Signal..." and shows us old Victor.
ReplyDeleteSo early on, we know as readers that Victor is destined to wind up just like all the other disillusioned members of the reservation. I didn't catch that at first, so when I read about Victor and Thomas Builds-the-Fire's road trip, I had some hope that the experience, along with listening to one story of Thomas' at some point in the future, may have made a permanent impact on Victor's life. What's really depressing to me is that if we re-organize that stories chronologically, I don't believe it did. And to make it worse, he's an old man watching other younger guys enter a cycle of rebelliousness and (most likely) failure over and over. Sad stuff.
I like how you broke Victor down into separate components to analyze him. I thought it was interesting that you called Victor a beast and helpless-- I think the entire Native American community could perhaps be categorized like this. They are a fierce people who have strong traditions that are important to them, but their history of oppression continues to hang around. I also found it interesting that Victor became valedictorian at his white school--what does this say about how he and other Native Americans fit into or adapt to white culture? What does it say about white culture?
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