Brennan Furst

3/11/2013
WR 121

This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona

by Sherman Alexie
This story focuses heavily on change. From the main characters father in his childhood
to the fathers absence in his adulthood to Victor and Thomass relationship then to how the
Native Americans culture has turned away from the traditions of their tribe. Every page, it
seems, has some form of change upon it. This story focuses on the bad aspects of change and the
helplessness felt by the duo over their inability to do anything about these transformations. The
inability to take away the choices they made during their youth.
The somber tone in Alexies essay is odd to me because it speaks towards wanting to go
back to a time when things were better. Victor is often musing about how, in the old days, the
community was stronger even thinking to himself, Whatever happened to the tribal ties, the
sense of community? as he realizes that he still cannot be friends with Thomas (882). Indicating
his yearning for the whole of the reservation to coordinate as a people, rather than live in
segmented burbs. However, that is the way that it was done tribes would not grow very large and
did not socialize with other tribes in the area very often; even when they did, it was brief. Victor,
also, seems to not be willing to form the ties within the tribe to create that sense of community he
so longs for, rather he wants to wish it into being. Well, as the saying goes wish in one hand and
crap in the other, which one fills up first?
Victor and Thomass personalities are really shown in two different times, their childhood
and their adulthood. In addition, to understand the two, one must separate them as four different
characters. In their adulthood both Victor and Thomas feel a sense of loss of value and tradition
in their society. While Victor, as an adult, is concerned with the death of his father and the need
to get to Phoenix to retrieve his fathers remains he comes to a realization that the community

Brennan Furst
3/11/2013
WR 121
would not help him in his plight, making him wish for old traditions of tribal living where
everyone in the tribe helped everyone else in the tribe. Whereas, Thomas, as an adult, is stuck
between a tradition of a story based culture that is dying and a world that cannot accept him. The
two are polar opposites of each other, Victor is brooding and conservative with his thoughts
while Thomas is outgoing and unafraid to say what comes to him without being offensive about
it. This is best demonstrated in the scene on the plane when Thomas openly engages Cathy, a
gymnast; in conversation and Victor attempts to stop him out of embarrassment, but with a little
joking from Thomas the three of them talk the whole ride down to Phoenix. It is only after this
that Victor mentions that he wishes everyone could be this open with each other. The two of
them feed off each others energy, Thomas is grounded by Victors caution and Victor is pushed
into doing things that he would not normally do by Thomass inquisitive exploration. As
children, Victor is more carefree than Thomas and urges Thomas to not over think things too
much, while Thomas cannot help himself from pondering about the deeper meaning behind his
dreams and other social/political quandaries involving their people.
The author does a good job at painting a scene through the symbolism found within the
piece. Thomas, a symbol of divinity, is consistently there for Victor throughout the story. Twice
Thomas just appears to save the first time the reader encounters this is when Thomas is right
there at Victors door waiting for him, knowing that Victor has already accepted his charity and
imposes one condition on the offer, Victor must take Thomas with him on his journey. The
second time Thomas simply appears to come to the aid of Victor is when Victors leg becomes
trapped in an underground wasp nest. Thomas tells Victor to run as soon as he is pulled free of
the nest and the two run for so long that it takes them hours to return home. Thomas also offers
foresight to Victor when they were both young, telling him that his father was going to leave

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before anybody else knew that this was going to happen as though he had precognition. It is even
seen as the two drove home in Victors fathers truck. Not long after Thomas takes the wheel, he
kills a rabbit, the only animal that they had seen in all of Nevada, prompting Victor to take the
wheel again. That scene could easily be referenced as a person needing to take their own fate into
their hands while being mindful of their deity and not to rely too heavily upon their higher power
for aid. To borrow a quote from the Abrahamic religions; God helps those that helps themselves.
As children though, Victor did not need those lessons, he was taking life in stride all the while
Thomas was there to see him through it. It is not until Victor beats Thomas in a drunken rage that
it seems Victors life takes a turn for the worse as he abandons his higher power.
This story does a very good job at pointing out the difference time makes of us all. By
jumping from past events to current ones and back again, the juxtaposition is more stark than it
would have been had Alexie simply written a short prologue about the two in their youth and
then went into how they lived as adults. It really conveys the sense that childhood is simpler and
easier to understand than adulthood and its many trials, its many sacrifices. As Victor and
Thomas both know that society will not allow them to be comrades now, but when they were
children no one cared whom they socialized with as long as nobody was getting hurt. It makes
me wonder what the world would be like if more people adopted this childlike mentality about
social boundaries.

Brennan Furst
3/11/2013
WR 121
Works Cited
Alexie, Sherman. This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona. The Writers Presence: A
Pool of Readings. 7th ed. Ed. Donald McQuade and Robert Atwan. Boston: Bedford/St.
Martins, 2012. 873-883. Print.