The Seldom Mention of Women in Sherman Alexie's Short Stories Essay

Womens Medicine and Magic Objects and Actions of Women in Alexies Short Stories In the stories found in Sherman Alexies The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, men take the central focus of the stories. Women, although integral parts of the stories, are mentioned very seldom. When they are mentioned, it is usually in accordance with objects, whereas the men are associated with the main themes of the stories talking, storytelling, collective and individual memories, traditions, etc. In Alexies stories, though, womens objects are not always the most important part of the womens roles. It is their actions, often represented through physical objects, which make up their importance in the stories.In Every Little Hurricane, Victors mother plays an important role, even if she is somewhat incidental in the plot of the story she is only mentioned in accordance to Victors father, whereas he is mentioned individually. Although she is a small part of the story, her body itself plays a large part in the story. It is her brothers, Adolph and Arnold, who fight as the hurricane rages on. By the sharing the same blood and parentage as her brothers, she possesses part of them within herself she is somewhat responsible for them. Her body comes into play elsewhere Victor lies between his parents and kissed his mothers neck, tasted the salt and whiskey. (9) Here her skin and her possession of alcohol are important to Victor, and therefore important to the story. She also remembers how the Indian Health Service doctor sterilized her moments after Victor was born. (8)Victors mother, and her body itself, is not an object in the sense that she is no more valuable that a piece of furniture or a basketball instead, it is her possessions that mean something. She possesses the same blood that runs through her brothers, she possesses alcohol-soaked skin that Victor finds oddly comforting, and...