Every Little Hurricane By Sherman Alexie Analysis

Native Americans make up a small portion of a states population but will be, on average, 30 percent of the states’ prison population. The Native lands are still diminishing due to the government and there is a large quantity of rape and violence cases on the reservation. In the Native American culture and society, there is a prevalent cycle of failure and inability to associate with the majority of people along with mentality issues and addiction. Sherman Alexie combines these factors in the short stories “The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn’t Flash Red Anymore” and “Every Little Hurricane,” while the authors from “Frozen in Time”: The impact of Native American media representations on identity and self‐understanding” keep with
Throughout the story, Victor feels like his parents’ problems are because of him. “When it was raining, Victor would apologize to everyone he talked to. “Sorry about the weather,” he would say.” (Alexie, 6) he would describe the storms as remembering a bad or difficult time in the life. At one point he reflects on when his father opened his wallet and had no money but he repetitively opens his it, symbolizing a circular motion of a hurricane. Victor talks about hating drowning in not only water but also liquor which fits the theme of the emotional stress his parents have unknowingly put on him. During the party, Victor’s uncles begin to fight and the narrator describes everyone as nothing more than bystanders and witnesses. This would be related to a realistic hurricane with the instance of people just staring at the hurricane coming at them, completely helpless. These are many moments where Victor compares metaphorical hurricanes to individual instances problems occurring in his
While sitting on his porch with his friend Adrian, Victor says, “Hey, we don’t drink no more, remember? How about a Diet Pepsi?” (Alexie, 44). Although they are no longer drinking alcohol, the issue of addiction still arises by this statement. Throughout the story there is multiple mentions of Adrian asking “Now when did that thing quit flashing?” (Alexie, 44) as in talking specifically the only traffic signal on the reservation. The point of the question is to symbolize how a multitude of situations never get fixed on the reservation. For instance, Julius, the new star basketball player, is holding the hope of everyone to break the cycle of failure and bring light to the reservation. Later, they see him on his way to his basketball game, drunk. Neither Victor nor Adrian seize to help Julius in that moment but after watching him miss every shot at his game, they leave their front door unlocked as if they are welcoming him to come in and jump into the cycle of his fate. The next case of hopefulness is when Victor and Adrian see another group of Indians go by their house, including Lucy, the third grader who plays on the sixth grade team. “Shit, that damn traffic signal is still broken…