Serious matters are usually addressed very seriously in many works of literature, but the times that they are not, authors use humor to reach their audience. Comedy is usually reserved for things that are funny yet Sherman Alexie successfully uses it in his day-to-day writing and has become an influential writer. In “Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven”, Alexie focuses on very serious themes, such as racism and domestic violence, and he is able to explore these themes by using humor. Alexie believes that he can speak to any audience of any political or religious influence because he has the ability to make people laugh.
Sherman Alexie’s literature is always based on the Native American people and its culture, more specifically the Spokane tribe. Being a Native American, from the Spokane Indian Tribe, Alexie has experienced many of the challenges faced by the Native American people. The characters in Alexie’s poems/ stories/films are complex, always dealing with a range of problems, problems that are difficult. His major themes in his stories are big and tough to talk about but he uses wit to speak to all people.
The problems that Alexie talks about can span from racial inequality to lack of options and opportunities in the Native American community. One major reason Alexie uses humor is because often time humor heals old wounds. These wounds would have come from the pain and suffering of pass generations, which was then passed down from his ancestors. Joseph L. Coulombe agrees, “[Alexie) uses humor—or his characters use humor—to reveal injustice, protect self-esteem, heal wounds and create bonds,” (Coulombe). In the story, the narrator created a bond with the 7/11-store clerk by using this technique.
He looked at me, confused at first, then laughed. ‘Shit’ he said, ‘I was hoping you weren’t crazy. You were scaring me. ” A bond was created between the two men because of this amusement. The storyteller knew that the store clerk was initially afraid of him when he entered the store, because of his race, but he made the clerk feel comfortable by using humor. Alexie’s entertaining characters helps rebuild the Native American community from past and present wrongdoings, change perceptions, and inspire others in his community improve their lives by not allowing stereotypes to limit their growth.
A message in this story is for Native Americans to possible let go of the past and become more positive when interacting with the White race. It is also a message towards White people – who have some dislike towards Native Americans – which is that Native Americans are just like them. Alexie’s humor can be looked at as unwelcoming in his stories and poems, because his work are focused on such controversial topics like alcoholism, and isolation which is talked about in “Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.
Many Native American people see Sherman Alexie as a man that mocks his own people and culture, saying that the problems that Alexie brings up is not how the tribes really is and that Alexie makes the stereotype against Native Americans even stronger than originally. Others say that when a comedian jokes about their own race and culture, it becomes funnier and makes people pay attention more. “People with a good sense of humor make others laugh, are able to find the comical side of an otherwise serious situation, and can laugh at themselves. “(Bryan)
Coulombe also said humor” encourages readers to think anew by creating a space of shared inquiry and reciprocal empathy. ” This enables Alexie’s readers to think about the stereotypes and expectations and reexamine their thoughts. This may lead to a person’s growth in morality and social ideas. “In the same respect, an ethnic joke from inside an ethnic group strips the power that joke has away from those who would use it against those of that ethnicity. ” (Bryan) The “Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven seem to offer some hope for understanding on both sides of the situation.
In the beginning, the narrator amuses himself by disturbing the 7/11 store clerk. “… I said after a long interval. It was a sick twist to pull on the guy, but it was late and I was bored. I grabbed my Creamsicle and walked back to the counter slowly, scanned the aisles for effect. I wanted to whistle low and menacingly but || never learned to whistle. ” The narrator knows the stereotypes against his people that the clerk might be thinking of but he taunts the clerk anyways. Humoring himself, the narrator intensifies the ideas of Native Americans as rough and violent.
The narrator humors the clerk also, making him laugh, eventually getting his Creamsicle for free. After, the narrator decides that“ There was something about him I liked, even if it was three in the morning and he was white. ” It seems as though the speaker connected with the clerk. The clerk began to relax also after realizing that the narrator was simply kidding. The small bond that they shared brought the two closer together that anywhere else. The ultimate goal of using humor with the 7/11 clerk was to “bring them together in an ethical stance at odds with mainstream society,” (Coulombe).
This means that Alexie wants to bring the clerk and the narrator together, which opposes what society tells them, because of their difference in skin tone. Although both men were not friends they found a common ground, which is humor, to lay down sense of how they feel. Alcoholism is a big problem that the Native American community face, even in today’s age. Rates of Native American are usually very high and unbelievable. Stereotyping can offer some truth to a culture, but not all and mostly of the time outsides are very quick to make hasty generalization.
Although stereotyping is some times negative and harsh, it can shed light on social problems and create solutions, both within the community and outside the community. In his interview with Big Think, Alexie states: “By writing about it, maybe it will help people get sober and it has, I’ve heard from them. The social function of art is very important to me; it’s not just for art’s sake. I have very specific ideas in mind for what it can do, I’ve seen it happen. It is writing about alcohol that helps me stay sober and I think reading about alcoholism helps other people stay sober,” (Big Think).
Alexie talks about very serious issues during all of his writing, alcoholism being one. The character from “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” suffered from alcoholism that was brought on by the problem he has faced as a Native American. Alexie did not use his comedic strategies when allowing his characters to speak about the alcoholism situation, the comedic strategies were used in the beginning and that was enough to make a reader feel comfortable reading the story. It was almost a way of trapping the reading to continue reading.
Alexie’s humor to get his readers and maybe some of his critics to better value and understand other groups beside their own. Laughing together about something in common makes the reader see that they are not all that different from any other human. “When we laugh, we join together in a largely affirmative, entirely human response to an often unfair world…. Laughter is the great unifier and it has the ability to lift us beyond many racial tensions and cultural conflicts (Coulombe). This is important for Alexie because most of his literature is meant to do that very thing. Bringing people together.
It takes practice, skill, and talent for an author to accomplish using humor correctly and effectively in their writing. Sherman Alexie is an amazing writer, using an element of surprise with humor that makes a reader want to know more about his work. Alexie uses humor to discover more about his themes for readers. The author believes that by using this strategy in his writing, he can get more people to become acceptable to others and understand what happened to the people of the Native American culture. “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” is one of Alexie’s many works that supports what Alexie is doing and how he uses humor.
