A comparative between the "The Lone Ranger" and "Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven", by Sherman Alexie and Ceremony, by Leslie Marmon Silko.

With The Light Of Knowing

" My forefathers were warriors.

Their son is a warrior. From

Them I take only my existence.

From my tribe I take nothing

I have made my self what I am."

Tecumseh -Shawnee chief

When the world was created and the first man and first woman walked the world alone, there were no tribes. From them selves they created the People, and being all brothers and sisters from the same parents they were able to draw strength from each other, and their tight knit society. Since then the blood has dwindled the white man has parted them from their native soil, and has scattered them across the nations. " Look what's here for us, look. Here's the Indians mother earth! Old dried up thing." Pg. 25 Ceremony To the characters in both Ceremony and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven, their tribes are no longer reliable, they must find the strength to exist within themselves.

Sherman Alexie at the Texas Book Festival, Austin,...

English: American author, poet and filmmaker Sherm...

Sherman Alexie

But they are still reaching, grasping for the rich culture they once had.

In the modern tale, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie, the Native Americans of the Spokane Indian Reservation, live in a world of lost dreams, the dregs of spirit tales, and fallen Basket Ball heroes. One by one they succumb to the oblivion of despair, alcohol and drugs. The only comfort comes from their past and their fellows in desolation. Yet they are able to keep some things alive, their lore, the solstice they seek from the elders who still know the old tales. This book is a collection of stories from various residents of the reservation. In a chapter named A Drug Called Tradition, three young men experience a past they never had. Thomas sees Victor...