In Reservation Blues, Alexie has scattered magical occurrences throughout his otherwise perfectly realistic fictional world, an approach critics refer to as magic realism. In her essay ‘‘Conjuring the Colonizer: Alternative Readings of Magic Realism in Sherman Alexie’s Reservation Blues,’’ Wendy Belcher discusses how the association of magic with the guitar, a secular Western object, inverts…
Tag: The United States of America
Reservation Blues: Setting
Robert Johnson and the Blues Although during his short lifetime his reputation reached not far beyond the bars and roadhouses of the Deep South where his music evolved, Robert Johnson, after his death, as noted by Barry Lee Pearson and Bill McCulloch in their biography, ‘‘rose from obscurity to become an all-American musical icon, the…
Reservation Blues: Literary Devices
American Indian Literature Works that would be classified as Native American fiction, as put forth by Daniel Grassian in Understanding Sherman Alexie, are often marked by a return journey of sorts, where an Indian protagonist ventures out into the world fashioned by whites and, eventually disillusioned or disheartened, returns to reconnect with his tribe. Such…
Reservation Blues: Themes
The Power of Music Alexie has much to say in Reservation Blues about the power of music to inspire, heal, and unite listeners. Thomas professes to have been inspired by music from an early age, as his mother sang not only traditional Spokane songs but also Broadway numbers and Catholic hymns.When the enchanted guitar suggests,…
Reservation Blues: Characters
Mr. Armstrong The head of Cavalry Records, Armstrong quickly concludes that Coyote Springs does not have what it takes, and he agrees to promote two white women, Betty and Veronica, dressed up like Indians instead. Father Arnold A onetime rock singer who heard his calling to the Catholic priesthood in a McDonald’s, Father Arnold is…
Reservation Blues: Chapter Summaries
Chapter 1: Reservation Blues As Reservation Blues begins, jazz musician Robert Johnson shows up at the reservation crossroads in Wellpinit, Washington, looking for a woman on a hill. Thomas Builds-the-Fire kindly drives Johnson toward the mountain home of Big Mom—who generations ago witnessed a tragic slaughter of horses by U.S. troops—but the van dies en…
The Princess Bride – Analysis – Essay
In The Princess Bride Goldman managed to produce a fantasy novel that parodies the genre in a consistently amusing manner, yet also reveals an underlying seriousness of purpose. It is a fine balancing act, successfully accomplished, which is why The Princess Bride is usually regarded as Goldman’s best novel. Rob Reiner’s excellent film adaptation of…
The Princess Bride – Setting – Fantasy Elements
The Fantasy Novel Goldman published The Princess Bride at a time when the fantasy novel was gaining popularity. Much of the new interest in fantasy was fueled by the success of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit (1937) and the Lord of the Rings trilogy (1954–55), which became extremely popular in the United States in…
The Princess Bride – Literary Devices – Parody – Symbolism
Parody The novel is part fairy tale, part fantasy, part adventure, and part romance, but it is all these things only with a twist. The author is familiar with these genres and is determined to parody them. A parody is a spoof in which something— a style, a genre—is imitated only to make fun of…
The Princess Bride – Characters
Queen Bella Queen Bella is King Lotharon’s wife and Prince Humperdinck’s stepmother. He calls her the evil stepmother, but actually she is sweet and considerate and much beloved in the kingdom. Buttercup Buttercup grows up on a farm and at the age of fifteen is potentially one of the most beautiful women in the world….