Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven
When a death occurs, friends and family instantly weeps and mourns for their loved one. They would then attend his/her wake and funeral service to commemorate his/her death. After the funeral service the body is taken to the graveyard for the burial. Afterwards a reception is held in the deceased's honor. These are the typical American rituals performed when someone passes away; they are done to provide his/her family and friends some closure. Other people or cultures may find closure through other rituals or ceremonies. Also some events are not viewed as highly as others, like for example when Jesse WildShoe died; no one attended his wake. Some, instead of being serious all the time, may use humor to help them cope with someone's death while others may feel it's inappropriate. Everyone has his/her own way of handling death. In Sherman Alexie's The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven, many people dealt with death differently. In the chapter, "Jesus Christ's Half-Brother is Alive and Well on the Spokane Indian Reservation," Jesse WildShoe died. He had a quick funeral and burial, but no wake because nobody on the reservation had the energy or patience to mourn. Probably because of lots had happen
Victor wasn't the only one affected by his father's death; Thomas was also close to his father; which is the reason why he received half of his ashes. Once Thomas left for Spokane Falls in search of a vision, Victor's dad asked, "What the hell are you doing here (69)?" He took Thomas to Denny's and bought him a meal. At that point Thomas knew that the vision was Victor's dad and it meant to look out after one another, which is the reason that Thomas went with Victor to Arizona. This is also why Thomas wanted to throw his half of the ashes into Spokane Falls. It symbolizes the time where Victor's dad found him by Spokane Falls. People handle death differently. Some of it has to do with culture and who they are The typical funeral may bring closure for some, but not for others. For Victor maybe having funeral wasn't his way of expressing his true feelings, instead he poured his father's ashes into Spokane Falls; while for Jesse, to many, the funeral was the right thing for him, although the narrator wished to have him buried in the cold mountains. Everyone has his/her own way of coping with death. Jimmy, whose death was imminent, dealt with his situation through laughter. Many would say that he should be praying for a cure to be discovered or hopes to live another day. Jimmy joked about his death as if was nothing at all. People have their own ways to deal with death, whether it is a funeral, a special ritual, or just joking around as long as it helps one to get through there struggles. When Victor found out that his father had died of a heart attack, in "This is what it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona," he felt the pain of losing someone not close to him, but connected spiritually to him. Victor was never too close to his father since he left his family, and he only talked to him twice on the
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1227
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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