“Only one car an hour passes by (the intersection.) (48)” This
small passage could be a metaphor for once a generation a new, emerging, hero
appears and could “make it all the way (47).” What Adrian and Victor mean is that Julius or, at the end of
the story, Lucy will make if off the reservation and go to college or the
professionals to play basketball. And because Adrian and Victor don’t see a car passing
the intersection and the light in more than a year, that is representative of
not finding a hero.
The entire story is predicated on heroes past present and
future and the curious power they hold for the Native Americans of the
reservation. Victor says as much
in the story on page 45, “Julius Windmaker was the latest in a long line of
reservation basketball heroes.”
Because Julius is the most recent incarnation of a basketball hero, he
carries the weight of the entire reservation on his shoulders-- a tall order
for a boy of only 15. With that
burden of responsibility also comes the urge to be a normal teenager and cause
mischief with his friends and forgo his potential future as a college or
professional basketball player.
Eventually, some would say it was inevitable; Julius detracts from his
path and sinks into alcoholism fads into obscurity faster than he came onto the
scene.
The past heroes of the reservation include Victor himself
and Silas Sirius, who, despite only playing one game, still captivates the
minds and imaginations of everyone on the reservation. Though Victor admits to never being as
good as Julius or Silas, “But I used to be a good ball player. Maybe not as good as some, certainly
not as good as Julius…. (46)” he nevertheless was a local hero for a short
time. Silas, on the other hand,
only played for one game, less than that, and he is still talked about with
reverence. 
Near the end of the story, Victor and Adrian go to see
Julius play after seeing him “drunk as a skunk (50)” at two in the
afternoon. The memories of seeing
him play soon faded, “everyone told their favorite Julius Windmaker… (51)” and
the collective thoughts of the reservation turned to little third grader
Lucy. In the time that Adrian and
Victor saw that the stoplight was out to seeing Julius stumbling down the road
drunk, there is not one mention of a car passing by. This represents the rise, short-lived fame and eventual fall
of heroes as they come up through the levels of basketball. Because the stoplight breaks and is not
repaired and because no cars pass the intersection, it can be interpreted that
none of the reservation heroes will make it all the way and leave the reservation.
Interesting post. I am not sure however about your interpretation that Alexie wants us to believe that "none of the reservation heroes will make it all the way." What do you make of the final image in this piece: the cup? Lucy's fate at the end of the story is "up in the air" so to speak and while their is a pattern of defeat, I think Alexie leaves us an image of hope. After all, the cup that Adrian throws across the yard stays up in the air for an entire day before falling to the earth, whole. We expect the cup to break, but it remains intact. I read this as an indicator that the cycle may be broken and that one of these figures will come out of the reservation unbroken.
ReplyDeleteI took the image of the cup to be an exaggeration. It's fairly evident early on that Victor, and Adrian for that matter, are both at best unreliable narrators. Especially when one takes into account the story of Silas literally flying the length of the basketball court to dunk a ball, "I mean, he flew, period (47.)" And while I like your take on the cup representing a break in the cycle, it's left up in the air-- pun intended. If I had to say that the cup was a manifestation of a new cycle, I would say that Lucy is the physical representation of the the new cycle.
DeleteI like your interpretation and appreciate the comment. Thanks!
I have to agree, this is an interesting interpretation. Nonetheless I have to point out that while the narrator mentions the rise and fall of mostly all of his people as basketball heroes, the last one he mentions is different from the rest. The last person who he mentions is a female named Lucy. I fell like taking your interpretation on step further, Andrew and I will argue that there is no hope for the males in the tribe to succeed but there is hope for a female which can be supported by what Charles responded.
ReplyDeleteI did notice that and am really intrigued with your theory. It is safe to say that because Lucy is female that she stands a much greater chance than the other fallen heroes to make it all the way. It does seem paradoxical almost, that all the males are destined to fall from grace and live the remainder of their lives in relative obscurity, whereas the females (or female for this matter) seem to "make it all the way" though they are never mentioned. I do want to think that maybe Lucy did make it out and escaped the fate that plagued her male counterparts.
DeleteThanks for the comment!
I agree, I believe that the stop light does stand for a continuous cycle of the native americans not making it off the reservation into college. The broken light is just a symbol of how everyone that seems to have a promising future as a kid will soon be a disapointment and probably will fall into acholoic problems and not get into a good school. Everyone constantly looks at these kids as the next one is surely going to make it, but unless something drastic changes in the town no one puts a "stop" to this it will continue on being a broken system.
ReplyDelete