Analysis Of This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix Arizona

The case is about a print shop located in Toronto known as Eva’s Phoenix print shop. It is a socially and environmentally responsible commercial printer that helps homeless and at risk youth achieve self-sufficiency.

So the officer said, ‘is there a reason you stole that candy bar, son? Did you not have enough money or something?’ I wailed, ‘yeah… I guess so. I don't know… maybe I was bored. I'm sorry. I don’t want to go to juvenile hall!’ The officer replied, ‘look, son, I'm not going to take you to juvenile hall; you're way too young for that. But what you did is against the law and you can’t come back into this store again.’ I said, ‘well, my friends were doing it and said it was easy. They weren't caught and I didn't think I’d get into all this trouble!’ Then he said, ‘Wait, other boys are stealing? Could you tell me their names and do they live around here?’ I asked, ‘can I get a free candy bar and a lawyer if I do?’ He coldly said, ‘No.’ I divulged, ‘Okay. Reza is the one I've known the longest and his friend Kyle stole too. They live in the same apartment complex as me.’ Yeah, I was a douche for

Greek Mythology refers to a phoenix as a long-lived bird that is regularly regenerated or reborn. In “This is what is means to say Phoenix Arizona”, Victor, the main characters’ father dies. Victor is faced with conflict; Victor recently lost his job and has no money to get to Phoenix to pick up his father’s remains and memorabilia. Victor runs into an estranged childhood friend, Thomas- Builds- the-Fire. Thomas offers to pay Victors way to Phoenix under the condition Thomas can accompany Victor to Phoenix. The main character Victor can be symbolically compared to a Phoenix; A transformation of character. The character’s identity and development engage the story. Throughout the story, Sherman Alexie uses flash backs to enlighten the past of Victor and Thomas-Builds-the Fire. In the short story, “This is what it means to Say Phoenix Arizona, the author, Sherman Alexie uses character and the occurrence of flash backs to develop the story.

In the stories To Build a Fire and A Worn Path, Jack London and Eudora Welty tell the stories of two protagonists going on arduous journeys during the winter. Phoenix Jackson, the protagonist of A Worn Path, is an elderly lady hardened by the trials of life as a black woman living in the Southern United States, prior to the Civil Rights Era. She is surprisingly limber, resilient, and healthy for her age and has assumed the responsibility of caring for her sick seven- year- old grandson. She diligently provides him with the medicine necessary to treat him for the ingestion of lye. The young man, the protagonist in To Build a Fire, is a young northerner who is responsible for himself and his dog. He is besieged by the petulance of youth and ignores the advice of his elders, depending instead on youthful bravado to guide his decisions. Ultimately, on these two journeys of survival, both protagonists will depend on their life experiences to guide them through. The young man will be guided by his limited life experiences while Phoenix will depend on her wealth of knowledge to choose her path to survival.

In life, everyone experiences a time of hardship, and for the most part, those affected find methods of overcoming the adversity. The idea of getting through hardship is best reflected in; Sherman J. Alexie’s story “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” (274). In the story, victor whose father had recently died from a heart attack has to travel to phoenix Arizona to reclaim his father’s ashes and his truck. Victor is joined by his former childhood friend “Thomas Builds-the-fire”, who finances the trip to phoenix since Victor did not have the means. They drove back truck from phoenix to the reservation. Throughout the trip, Thomas is always telling stories mostly

Sherman J. Alexie, is a short story written in the first person focusing on two Native American Men who grew up together on a Reservation for Native Americans but have been estranged from each other since they were teenagers. Victor who is the narrator of this story is a young man who lost faith in his culture and its traditions, while Thomas our second main character is a deeply rooted traditional storyteller. In the beginning of the story Victor, our Native American narrator learns the death of his father. Jobless and penniless, his only wish is to go to Phoenix, Arizona and bring back his father’s ashes and belongings to the reservation in Spokane. The death of Victor’s father leads him and Thomas to a journey filled with childhood

Thomas introduced himself by saying, “I’m half magician on my mother’s side and half clown on my father’s” (Alexie, “This Is What” 286). Many people laughed at that joke and Cathy thought it was funny also, so they continue to have a conversation. Even though Victor is embarrassed at Thomas’s attempts to continue to talk with her, they realize that Cathy is friendly and they all enjoy talking to each other. Another example is Thomas says “Sounds like you all got a lot in common with Indians” (Alexie, “This Is what 286”). This joke made the situation awkward because nobody thought was funny. That shows that not everything is a joke and could get the people around him offended or mad. When the plane lands, Victor felt the need to say sorry and get the feeling out of his chest so he apologizes for beating up Thomas. Soon later they arrive at Victor’s father’s trailer. Victor’s father’s body was not found for a week, so the trailer smelled really bad and it is really hard for Thomas and Victor to go in to sort through the man's things. While they are looking and going through the trailer they both are telling stories about how they helped one another and how they will have each other’s

Arizona’s historical development dates back to thousands of years ago. Arizona holds the second largest amount of indigenous/ Native American population of any other state in the United States. One of the first groups of people to live on Arizona’s land was the Native Americans, or otherwise called the American Indians. These Natives came much before any of the Europeans, or the Spanish settlers came to Arizona. There were three main Native American groups that truly began the exploration of Arizona. These groups include the Anasazi, Hohokam, and Mogollon tribes. Each of their tribes settled in different sections of Arizona ranging from Northeastern to Southeastern parts of the land.

Thomas on the other hand was ok with knowing Victor would not talk to him again after their trip to Phoenix. “I know you ain’t going to treat me any better than you did before. I know your friends would give you too much shit about it.” (Alexie P. 518) He asked of Victor one favor only, he said, “Just one time when I’m telling a story somewhere, why don’t you stop and listen? Just once!” (Alexie P. 519)

Over the course of Victor’s life time, he loses everyone he loves and cares about because of his creation. Victor decides to track down the monster, which leaves clues leading to the North Pole. Victor runs into a ship captain and tells him the story. As they both continue to look, Victor becomes very sick and eventually dies. One night the ship captain, Robert Walton, hears noises from the room where Victor’s body lays. When he walks in, he sees the monster weeping over the body. The monster tells Mr. Walton how regretful he is and that he has nothing to do now and his life was over. After that he ran off into the cold, darkness and was never heard from again. The puzzle of the story is what was going through Victor’s head through all

whether it was the outward substance of things or the inner spirit of nature and the mysterious soul of a man that occupied me, still my inquiries were directed to the metaphysical, or in it highest sense, the secrets of the world.” (23) Victor has said, this quote shows Victor’s deep desire to learn about all the secrets the world may have. This is the when Victor realizes what he would like to dedicate his life’s work to. Victor ignores both his social life, and his health. He focuses solely on discovering the secrets nature holds. Victor’s obsession with this consumes all his time thus destroying relationships he had. This shows that Victor no longer holds his friends or family close, but instead he pushes them aside to focus on what he feels is more important. Victor speaks of all the countless nights and days he has spent, and how he is tired. Victor had stopped mailing Elizabeth, and she grows worried all due to his search for knowledge. Later on in the story Victor’s work comes alive. He creates a monster, and from this point on nothing will be the same between him and his

As Victors brother was killed by the creature he created, the remourse victor and his father have towards his death show weakness. Men in society are conditioned to be brought up as brave and protective. While Victors father is letting the death of

On their way back, they get into an accident and there was a lady who needed help in the accident. Victor remembers what Suzy said him about his dad that in the fire that took place when he was a baby, his dad always wanted to help him and he did went back to save his life. This hits on his mind and he decides to get help for the lady. His thoughts about his dad changes. At the end of the movie Victor disperses the remains of his father in the river and forgives him for what he did before.

“This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona”: The Road to a New Beginning

In Sherman Alexie's “This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona” a man named Victor finds out that his father has passed away. Being next of kin, Victor is responsible for gathering his father's assets together, which requires him to make an out of town trip. In order to accomplish this Victor needs help. This help comes from the town outcast, Thomas Builds-the Fire. Victor and Thomas were childhood best friends but as they grew older, Victor turned his back on the one that always looked out for him. A trip to gather his father's remains turns into a journey of reviewing his life and choices.