The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven

The work’s title refers to the white Lone Ranger and the Potawatomi Tonto. However, the first story in the collection focuses on a “fistfight” between two Spokane brothers. What is Alexie suggesting about domestic violence on the reservation or within tribes generally? Do you think Alexie counteracts or reinforces negative stereotypes about Indigenous nations with his attention to reservation violence?

In both “Crazy Horse Dreams” and “Amusements,” Victor rejects the sexual attractiveness of Indigenous women. Has Victor internalized colonialist views of Indigenous people? How does his self-loathing spill over into his relationships with the opposite sex, and why does it seem more pronounced with women than with men?

Thomas and Aunt Nezzy both keep ancestral traditions alive in their own way: Thomas through storytelling and Nezzy through dancing and Indigenous dress. How does tradition-keeping affect the character arc of each? How does their adherence to tradition affect those around them? Is one character more effective than the other in promoting tradition, and if so, how and why?

Victor mourns the destructiveness of alcohol addiction in more than one story. Nevertheless, he conflates drunkenness with beauty and love in “All I Wanted to Do Was Dance”: “They were both drunk. Everything familiar and welcome. Everything beautiful” (87). What is Alexie suggesting about intergenerational alcoholism generally? Does the work’s cultural context further shape attitudes toward alcohol dependence in any way?

“The First Annual All-Indian Horseshoe Pitch and Barbeque” ends with a “child born of white mother and red father” (148). The sun holds her and calls her “beautiful” (148). What is Alexie alluding to by saying “both sides of the baby are beautiful” (148)? What do her “sides” represent?

At the beginning of “The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn’t Flash Red Anymore,” Adrian plays a game of Russian roulette with Victor, who is afraid to pull the trigger. Shortly after, they both spot a group of young vandals, whom Victor describes as “[l]ittle warriors looking for honor” (44). In what ways is the threat of violence as a rite of passage for males in these short stories? Do the stories affirm or condemn this kind of violence, and why?

In the book’s prologue, Alexie reflects on the collection, stating, “I kept trying to figure out the main topic, the big theme, the overarching idea, the epicenter. And it is this: the sons in this book really love and hate their fathers” (xxviii). How do Victor and Junior exemplify this theme? What causes them to vacillate between loving and hating their fathers?

When James receives a terminal cancer diagnosis in “The Approximate Size of My Favorite Tumor,” he responds with sarcastic humor. The tone is especially lighthearted when contrasted with other stories in the collection. Why do you think Alexie juxtaposes humor with death in this story? Does James’s childhood in “Jesus Christ’s Half-Brother Is Alive and Well on the Spokane Indian Reservation” inform his love of comedy? What power do James or other characters in the collection find in humor?