Conflict in This is What it Means to say Phoenix, Arizona :: essays research papers

This is What it Means to say Phoenix, ArizonaWalking down the hall, you notice him. Everyone avoids him and ignores the fact that he exists. You know who he is but your atomic number 18 hesitant in approaching him because you know of the consequences. Hes not part of the crowd and to acknowledge him will mean turmoil for you. Its starts erupt with teasing and joking and slowly develops into bulling, but you can avoid that if you just turn around. In the story, This is What it Means to say Phoenix, Arizona, Sherman Alexie explores life by including generally recognised conflicts. Although typical, the conflicts that Victor encounters occur in more than one aspect of life at once. Some are resolvable, but true to life, some are not. The close apparent conflict in the story is the relationship between Thomas Builds the Fire and Victor. Through the death of Victors father, they have come together.As the story begins, the narrator, Victor not only lost his job at the Bureau of Indian A ffairs, he also found out that his father had died of a heart attack in Phoenix, Arizona (181). Having little money to make the trip to Phoenix, Victor decides to ask to Tribal council for assistance. However, the tribal refuses to provide the full meter of his request because they did not have enough to bring his father all the way back from Phoenix (181). In desperation, Victor turns to Thomas Builds-the-Fire, an old childhood friend, for help. At first, Victor refuses help from Thomas because of his strange and unpopular reputation. Thomas is known as the reservations storyteller who shared stories and continued tell stories even after people stopped listening. However, as he becomes weary, he finally is able to negotiate a plan with Thomas. The plan includes Thomas travel with Victor to and from Phoenix.During the trip, Victor reflects on his past experiences with Thomas. At fifteen, they had long since stopped being friends and got into a fistfight (183). As adults, thou gh they would often see individually other on the reservation, however they would rarely interact. As an opportunity arises, when they arrived to his fathers trailer in Arizona, Victor finally apologizes to Thomas. He adds, I neer told you I was sorry for beating you up that time (185) and accepts him for who he is.