Will the real Pocahontas please stand up?
Please investigate the story of Pocahontas and John Smith by searching each person at www.wikipedia.org. Jot down notes on points you find important, confusing, and/or intriguing.
Next, read Sherman Alexie's "A Drug Called Tradition." Find one passage in the story that interests you and blog about it (make a comment about it, ask a question, or both). Please include the passage itself in the comment that you post.
Next, read Sherman Alexie's "A Drug Called Tradition." Find one passage in the story that interests you and blog about it (make a comment about it, ask a question, or both). Please include the passage itself in the comment that you post.
posted by Kristin L | 9:07 AM
21 Comments:
Why is the title "A Drug Called Tradition"? Could it be because even though traditions may seem old and worthless, the boys discover that they still care for them even when the old traditions are non-existent? The three images they see, dancing, singing, and riding a horse are part of the non-existent Indian traditions that have been lost but not yet forgotten. Like a drug, these old traditions are almost craved for by the three boys and therefore carried out and remembered during their experience. Sort of what Nathan said: they are trapped between the images of old, current, and new traditions.
“Your past ain't going to fall behind, and your future won't get too far ahead. Sometimes, though, your skeletons will talk to you, tell you to sit down and take a rest, breathe a little. Maybe they'll make you promises, tell you all the things you want to hear."
~Sherman Alexie "A Drug Called Tradition"
This passage is really amazing in terms of symbolism. The skeletons are people, just not filled in with life. The past was full of life, but then you moved to the present, and the life went away, but the memories are still there. They rest in the 'bones'. The future is similar; the only difference is that the life has not yet been filled in. There are no memories yet, but there are ideas and predictions and hopes. What the passage also says is that sometimes you get hints and pointers from your past, and even future. This could be when the skeletons ‘talk’ to you. The future could be dreams and memories, just like the visions in the stories. The skeletons could be ‘talking’ to these young men.
"I guess you could call it the only religion I have, one drum that can fit in my hand, but I think if I played it a little, it might fill up the whole world."
Does the drum remind Victor of what was, and what could have been? Does it remind him of his heritage and the changes his culture has endured and will endure? I think it tells him that things will be okay, as long as he remembers who he is. Also, what do you think he means by "...if i played it a little, it might fill up the whole world."?
One passage in the story that stood out to me is "I guess you could call it the only religion I have, one drum that can fit in my hand, but I think if I played it a little, it might fill up the whole world." The drum may symbolize Victor's connection to his Indian ancestory. It reminds him that the Spokane Tribe will always be there for him. They care for him more and treat him like family. The part about playing the drum and filling the world may symbolize that when he looks into and embraces his ancestory he can find so much more about himself effect his life. Does he want to play the drum or does he just keep it having the comfort that he can just in case?
I think that my favorite sentence in this story was, "Your past is a skeleton walking one step behind you, and your future is a skeleton walking one step in front of you." I think that when Thomas warned junior and the main character not to "slow dance with your skeletons", he means don't dwindle on the past, and don't look to much forward to the future, because you will miss the now, and if you miss the now, it becomes the past. You should live in the present, and live the present to the full so when the present becomes the past, you won't have to linger upon what you could have done better.
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The passage in the story that was most interesting to me was, "These skeletoms are made of memories, dreams, and voices. And they can trap you in the in-between, between touching and becoming. But they're not necessarily evil unless you let them be." This is a strong statement because it shows no regret for the past nor worry for the future. It shows only that the past and future are.
The most important passage to me in the story was, "There are things you should learn. Your past is a skeleton walking one step behind you, and your future is a skeleton walking one step in front of you. Maybe you don't wear a watch, but your skeletons do, and they always know what time it is."
This passage spoke to me because up until I read it, I didn't really understand what was happening in the story but when I read it, it reminded me of the movie "A Christmas Carol." The parts in this movie when Scrooge sees the ghosts of the different Christmas's is similar to the skeletons referred to in "A Drug Called Tradition." The ghosts teach Scrooge that he should learn from his past and be greatful for what he has in the present to be able to improve his future, as I think the skeletons (and visions) do for the three boys. The messages in both movies are the same: learn from the past, appreciate the present, and enjoy the future.
The passage in the story that caught my eye was,"Your past is a skeleton walking one step behind you, and your future is a skeleton walking one step in front of you. Maybe you don't wear a watch, but your skeletons do, and they always know what time it is. Now, these skeletons are made of memories, dreams, and voices."
Would a memory of the past that was bothering someone have any affect on the skeleton of the future? Do the skeletons grow and change mentally when a person does? How would a skeleton be harmful to a person if they tried looking too far into the future?
The passage in the story that caught my eye was,"Your past is a skeleton walking one step behind you, and your future is a skeleton walking one step in front of you. Maybe you don't wear a watch, but your skeletons do, and they always know what time it is. Now, these skeletons are made of memories, dreams, and voices."
Would a memory of the past that was bothering someone have any affect on the skeleton of the future? Do the skeletons grow and change mentally when a person does? How would a skeleton be harmful to a person if they tried looking too far into the future?
I enjoyed the ending of the story when it talked about your skeletons as your past and your future. I really liked the quote, " What you have to do is just keep moving, keep walking, in step with your skeletons. They ain't never going to leave you, so you dont have to worry about that. Your past ain't going to fall behind, and your future won't get to far ahead". I really like this cause you can compare your past skeletons with old memories in the fact that they will never leave you and your future is just around the corner and will be here sooner than you think.
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“What you have to do is keep moving, keep walking, in step with your skeletons. They ain’t ever going to leave you, so you don’t have to worry about that. You past ain’t going to fall behind, and your future won’t get too far ahead.”
This passage shows that the boys are feeling lost and confused; not wanting to forsake their heritage, but unsure about their future. What is it like to be torn between your past and future? In a way, are we all torn between to two?
I also found the part where he says “I could get my guitar to sound like a drum” confusing, however I think the boy might be saying, I could used my present to represent my past.
my passage: It is now.Three Indian boys are drinking diet Pepsi and talking out at Benjamin Lake. They are wearing only loincloths and braids. Although it is the twentieth century and planes are passing overhead, the Indian boys have decided to be real Indians tonight."
Although many passaged interested me, including the seemingly well popular skeleton piece... i chose this passage because i think that it illustrats the efftort to keep alive the old traditions of the Indian culture despite the changing world.
Now, Indians are really into drugs and alcohol, but it wasn't always like that. So by using this passage i think the author is trying to illustrate that some Indians are trying to keep some of the goodness alive.
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One passage that seemed to be very intriguing but at the same time confusing was this: "We dance in circles growing larger and larger until we are standing on the shore, watching all the ships returning to Europe. All the white hands are waving good-bye and we continue to dance, dance until the ships fall off the horizon, dance until we are so tall and strong that the sun is nearly jealous. We dance that way."
The white people had obviously greatly disturbed the Native Americans. When the white people left, the Native Americans felt tall and strong. Why to white people always take the role of superiority, making others feel as though they should be submissive? What do whites have that others are lacking?
A particularly powerful passage, first mentioned by anoel:
“...these skeletons are made of memories, dreams, and voices. And they can trap you in the in-between, between touching and becoming. But they're not necessarily evil, unless you let them be."
To me, this quote serves as a reminder that although the past and future do impact your life, they should not take precedence over the present. Too many times people scrutinize and agonize over every detail of past conversations, actions, etc. They forget that the past cannot be changed, and it is the present that has the potential to be shaped however they wish. The quote also serves as a reminder not to look too far ahead into the future, or the beauties and possibilities of the present will be overlooked.
The quote also parallels certain themes in “A Sound of Thunder,” but I would exceed the sentence limit if I expounded on the similarities.
In an effort to avoid a trite comment, I have chosen a different quote, however in my explanation, I will attempt to adress the other quotes as well.
I love at the end of Thomas' story when he says, "Then the boys sing. They sing and dance and drum. They steal horses. I can see them. They steal horses" (Alexie 21).
This one passage to me sums up the underlying themes of the story and explains the title. The whole story is, in my mind, a warning against living your life with complacency. That, in essence, is what the author is trying to illustrate with the skeletons: Never spend too much time dwelling on the past or the future, but instead live in the present. Yet, at the same time, do not disregard where you come from or who you will be, lest the life you lead in the present becomes superficial and empty.
One interesting passage I found was "I guess you could call it the only religion I have, one drum that can fit in my hand, but I think if I played it a little, it might fill up the whole world." I think it is saying that as long as Victor remembers who he is and where he came from then everything will turn out okay. He always knows that there is something in his past that he has to look to, and to be comforted in, and knowing that, he can get through anything.
I believe that so many people are enthrolled so much by the legend and movie of Pocahontas is because throught all of our lives we hear about how the girl gets saved by the knight in shining armor and that's always a man and that's just how it should be. But in this story it is completely flipped. Pocahontas, a young girl, who is probably, in John Smith's opinion was an inferior race, saves a white man and that is completely backward from the way of thinking today.
I also think that the passage kelly chose is very interesing. "When Indians make lots of money from corporations that way, we can all hear our ancestors laughing in the trees. But we never can tell whether they're laughing at the Indians or the whites. I think they're laughing at pretty much everybody." It is like when the indians make all this money from the big corporations it is hard to tell who is making a bigger fool of themselves. Are the Indians making a fool themselves by making the money, or are the big corporations being bamboozled by the Indians into giving them the money?
THe disney movie pocahontas skews the reality of history, and blends it with fantasy and fairytale. When she was "friends" with John Smith the reccords show that she was 10 or 12 years old. this point of view is definately Not portrayed in the movie. the movie shows pocahontas as a beautiful indian princess and John Smith as a handsome soldier, when in reality they were abotu 20 years apart.
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