The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven

Content Warning: This section references racism, genocide, and alcohol addiction.

A primary theme in Alexie’s collection is the power of storytelling itself. His 24 short stories present multiple points of view from a large cast of characters, all of whom experience internal conflict due to the pressure to contain painful personal and communal stories. The work turns readers into witnesses to the cycle of spiritual, cultural, and economic loss prevalent on reservations, even as it depicts the characters struggling to become participants in their own stories.

In “Every Little Hurricane,” young Victor watches the story’s violent plot unfolding between his uncles, yet he notes that those in attendance are “witnesses and nothing more” (3). This passivity exacerbates the helplessness that Victor feels. Not only do they refuse to engage or intervene in the story’s events, but they also neglect to help Victor process its meaning. Victor, like several of Alexie’s other protagonists, responds by sealing his own story within himself, fueling his resentment and disconnection. If this is the effect of suppressing one’s narrative, storytelling itself would seem to be a form of agency—a way to externalize pain and resist the structures that impose victimhood.

The premiere storyteller in this collection is