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Reservation Blues

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             The characters in the book Reservation Blues do eat a lot of "white" American food, but throughout the novel there is one Native American food commodity that is constant. Fry bread is a big part of the characters lives. It is mentioned many times during the book. One time in particular is on page 47 where Thomas is hungry and he is searching in his house for food. Alexie writes, " Thomas was hungry on a reservation where there ninety-seven different ways to say fry bread." (47). I think this is really important because it shows that even though the Indians on the reservation have so many words for a food, they don't have the basic ingredients to make it, because of the government issued food they are forced to consume. .
             I think it is significant that they also hold a fry bread contest to see who can make the best fry bread. Alexie writes about the fact that everyone on the reservation drops what he or she is doing to make some fry bread and join in the contest. I believe they are all so interested in this contest because it is the last part of their culture that they can trace back many generations. By this I mean it gives them something to pass on to their children as part of the Spokane tradition that cannot be taken away from them. The fry bread is the only food mentioned in the novel that is not pre-packaged or store bought. The people in the book can feel both physical and emotional satisfaction by preparing and then eating the fry bread. .
             But physical hunger is not the only type of hunger that drives the people to madness. On page 69 Alexie writes about Chess and Checkers Warm Water and how their father often got so angry about food that he seemed crazy. For example, one time he bought them bottles of Pepsi and when he found out they had left them in the snow and the bottles had exploded, he lost his temper. Most people would not get very upset over two bottles of Pepsi, but when Pepsi is the only treat you can give your daughters it is easy to see why he lost his temper.


Essays Related to Reservation Blues

1. Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie

Sherman Alexie's novel, "Reservation Blues," depicts the struggles of Native Americans living on a reservation. Although the story focuses on the lives of a group of teenagers in a rock band, the novel still shows the hardships and setbacks of all the people living on the reservation. ... This same notion also affects the other generations of Indians living on the reservation. ... Likewise, Samuel believes he can take on the Tribal Cops of the reservation in a game of basketball. The Tribal Cops represents the white man and how they have control over the Indians on the reservation. ...

  • Word Count: 1356
  • Approx Pages: 5

2. Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie

Alexie's first novel, Reservation Blues, was published in 1995 and is no exception to this. ... Although the title can refer to the Reservation Blues being the general sad and depressing atmosphere on the Reservation it can also refer to the type of music, the Blues, as being appropriated by Native Americans. ... Grassian further argues that Alexie was reclaiming the Blues music for the Native Americans as he suggests that the Blues were actually created by horses (whom Big Mom taught to sing) when after the slaughter of the horses "the song" [they sang] "sounded so pained...

  • Word Count: 2551
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

3. Difference between Reservation Blues and Smoke Signals

Reservation Blues and Smoke Signals can be viewed as the "Ying" and the "Yang". ... In Reservation Blues, Victor also feels abanded. ... Mainly Reservation Blues dealt with the problem of stereotypes. In Reservation Blues, there were many stereotypes. ... In a way, Reservation Blues and Smoke Signals are reflection of life. ...

  • Word Count: 1337
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Reservation Blues

The main characters of "Reservation Blues" were affected in different ways by having the choice to stay on the reservation or actually leaving the reservation. The reservation was a place where the Indians could feel at home. ... One of the positive aspects of leaving the reservation is that Coyote Springs was able to try and get past the "going nowhere life" that could happen if you stayed on the reservation. ... The band could have just played on the Spokane Reservation and also the neighboring reservations. ... The band already had the praise of the reservation when they were only the reser...

  • Word Count: 801
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Read The Poems Of Sherman Alexie. Discuss The Themes Of His Poetry And Connect Them To The Novel, Reservation Blues.

Issues which are reflected in his novel Reservation Blues. ... It must be weird"" (Reservation Blues, 82). ... These problems are not uncommon on an Indian reservation, and sadly occur to most of the families... ~ In Reservation Blues, hunger is illustrated many times in the lives of the main characters: Thomas, Junior, Victor, Chess and Checkers... Though it is common to most cultures and races, it is depicted in Reservation Blues as, " that warrior desperation and the need to be superhuman in the poverty of a reservation." (114) Sexual frustration is one of the most prominent issues th...

  • Word Count: 804
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Reservation Alcoholism: Serious Or Overrated

Alexie cannot ignore the alcohol situation when describing Native American culture, but Alexie does not need to make alcoholism a common trait amongst almost every "Indian" on the reservation and other reservations. Bird's statement concerning Alexie's embellishment of Native American despair due to alcoholism is an accurate interpretation of Reservation Blues. In Reservation Blues, almost every Native American is an alcoholic. ... In Reservation Blues, not much information is given about Victor's parents; there are only references to the death of Victor's father in Ar...

  • Word Count: 967
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Reservation Blues Book Response

Reservation Blues: Book Response This novel can be described in many ways, a page turner, interesting, and even confusing. I admitt that I could not put this book down for the simple fact that it had me questioning thing constantly. As I read chapter after chapter, I started to not pa...

  • Word Count: 537
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Racial Self-Loathing And The Americanization Process

In Sherman Alexie's Reservation Blues a group of Native-Americans form a band and attempt to integrate themselves into mainstream American society. ... Like Alexie in Reservation Blues, Paredes uses a physical departure to indicate a psychological or cultural departure. In Reservation Blues it is when the band leaves for gigs off the reservation that a cultural dilemma begins to creep in. ... In Toni Morrison's The Blues Eye she deals with racial self-hate. ... In Reservation Blues the band refuses to give up being Indian and thus misses out on a successful career. ...

  • Word Count: 1694
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Grade Level: High School

9. The theme of Alcoholism in Sherman Alexie

A Spokane/Coeur d"Alene Indian, he grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation Wellpinit, Washington. ... Reservation Blues was published in 1995, and Indian Killer followed in 1996. ... In another of Alexie's short stories which is also in The Lone Ranger and Tonto, "The Only Traffic Signal On The Reservation Doesn't Flash Red Anymore", alcoholism is shown as devastating to to the Native American people. ... Everyone thinks that he will be the best ballplayer the reservation has ever seen. ...

  • Word Count: 1246
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

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