Smoke Signals Essay

Analysis Of Smoke Signals
In the historical modern Native American film, Smoke Signals, by Sherman Alexie, it tells the story
of two protagonists, Victor and Thomas, who go on a journey to collect the remains of Victor's
long–lost father, Arnold. In this comical movie of pain and feeling lost, the two protagonists, face
trials and tribulations that challenges their beliefs and causes them to reflect about themselves and
the world around them. The protagonists, Thomas and Victor, both have different views of life and
of the way they look at and handle their situations, which causes constructive conflict throughout the
film. Sherman Alexie's film poetically tells this wise story of healing, pain, forgiveness and new
beginnings with the parallel and symbolic use of music, flashbacks, and storytelling, giving the
viewer a new view of the complex and complicated life of Native Americans on a reservation. With
diegetic and non–diegetic music, Alexie shows viewers how Native Americans are influenced by
both traditional and modern culture. The diegetic music features only Native American chants; this
shows viewers the character's main influence due to their isolation and shows a cultural way that
modern Native Americans bond and rebound from conflict. This happens when Thomas and Victor
chant a song about "John Wayne's teeth" after they had their seats stolen on the bus and after Victor
almost gets into an argument with his friend while playing basketball. These scenes apply chanting
to the modern–day
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Movie Smoke Signals Essay
Movie Smoke Signals
For most of my life, the word "Native American" had immediately made me think of feathers,
powwows, and a society uncorrupted by civilization. However, in watching the movie Smoke
Signals, a movie that depicts the modern Native American culture, I learned many other things. For
one, I learned that many of the customs that modern Native Americans have are very similar to my
own. I also saw that the family life of the Native Americans in the film had many of the same
problems that my family had undergone in the past years. This film was unlike any that I have ever
seen; therefore, it reached me on a very personal level.
The movie Smoke Signals was set in 1998, with reoccurring flashbacks to the 1980's on the...show
more content...
Luckily, Thomas and Victor were okay; however, Arnold's problem with alcohol does not stop
with this horrible mistake. For years he continued to drink and abuse his wife and son, Victor.
When Arnold's wife could not take it anymore, Arnold left the family and moved far away,
missing most of his son's life. My family has also had this problem. I have never been a victim of
child abuse, but my father's abuse of alcohol has impacted me in many ways. When I was about
seven, I was told that my dad was leaving because of his alcoholism. I did not understand at the
time the significance of my parents getting a divorce, but having lived ten years without my
father, I feel I can relate to Victor in many ways. My dad has missed so many important events in
my life, such as making the cheerleading squad, my first prom, and even the day I got my
license. After seeing this movie I realized that even if my dad could recover from alcoholism, it
could never make up for all the years we lost together. Lives are ruined by this terrible addiction
everyday; not only the alcoholic's life, but also the lives of those who love them.
I thought this film was very unique because it shows the true Native American perspective of
everyday life, not the usual phony stereotype of Indians such as teepees and bow and arrows. It also
showed how much Native Americans are not much different than other cultures. Instead of singling
other cultures out or judging people that are different from

Summary: Smoke Signals
To conclude, the setting between Smoke Signals and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part–Time
Indian have comparisons and differences. Both Smoke Signals and The Absolutely True Diary of a
Part–Time Indian have many similarities and differences within their characters, plot, and setting. In
Smoke Signals and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part–Time Indian, the characters come upon
many problems that are strongly affected the characters. Even though it may be tough, they learn
from their problem and they always find a good outcome. Although the problem may look as if it is
a way for them to stop they find a way to make it better.

Essay on Smoke signals
The movie Smoke Signal is a story that portrays what a Native American really means. It is a
movie based on story written by Sherman Alexie. Thomas is the narrator of the story. It's just not
a simple movie but it has meaning to it, which is the best thing about the movie. It shows the life
of Indians and how their life was and what they had to deal with. The movie has two main
characters name Victor and Thomas. The movie starts with a house that goes on fire and the man
(Arnold Joseph) Victor's father saves Thomas and Victor from the fire Victor the main character
plays the role of a typical Indian who has hatred towards his father for leaving him and his mother
when he was little. He doesn't seem to like his father as he always...show more content...
On their way back, they get into an accident and there was a lady who needed help in the accident.
Victor remembers what Suzy said him about his dad that in the fire that took place when he was a
baby, his dad always wanted to help him and he did went back to save his life. This hits on his mind
and he decides to get help for the lady. His thoughts about his dad changes. At the end of the movie
Victor disperses the remains of his father in the river and forgives him for what he did before.
I really like the movie and the story was very different than any other movies. Sherman's way of
writing the stories seems very unique and could not tell what would happen next in the movie.
When Victor knew about his father's death I was thinking he would not go to Phoenix to get his
remains since he had hatred towards him but he decides to go which was surprising. It was always
funny how Thomas kept telling stories about different stuffs to Victor even though he knew Victor
don't like to hear them. The author has tried to show the culture of Indians, the thoughts of people,
how they dealt their life through his stories which I really found interesting and something different
to learn. The author has showed how life was back then and I liked the fact he tried to show what
impact it can have to a child's mind if he sees his father drinking alcohol and tormenting his mother

Forgiveness In Smoke Signals
In his 1998 independent film, Smoke Signals, Native American director, Chris Eyre, tells the story of
Thomas Builds–the–Fire and Victor Joseph, two Indians on the Coeur d'aLene Indian reservation in
Idaho. Thomas and Victor have grown up together. The death of Thomas' parents in a house fire on
the 4th of July unites the two boys, even though they were infants, as Victor's father, Arnold, saved
Thomas from the fire. As time passes, Arnold becomes more and more distant and abusive,
drowning his sorrows in alcohol. One day he leaves Victor and his mother and disappears for good.
Victor never really knew why his father left him, but felt that it was his fault. He goes through his
days feeling guilty and is constantly plagued by Thomas, who annoys...show more content...
The theme of forgiveness in the film is the forgiveness of others, but it is also personal forgiveness
of yourself. This is shown through Victor and Arnold's complicated and rough relationship. It also
shows how alike they are. Their relationship has layers, on the top you look at it and think that they
have nothing in common and are a father and son destined to be set against each other, but, as you
go deeper, you see what set them against each other is what links them, what make them similar.
The reflections of their interactions with others, their ways of dealing with grief, and their inability
to forgive themselves are a mirror image. At the end of the film, Victor is able to ultimately forgive
his father because he fully understands what he went through, and can relate to it too. He can see it
in himself and realizes how alike they are. Victor and Arnold were emotionally separated and their
relationship was strained and complicated because they hurt others, including themselves and each
other. They put their blinders up to understanding each other and forgiving. They went against each
other, instead of coming together in their similarities, and in this, proved even more how similar
they are. As the traditional saying goes, "like father, like

Smoke Signals Essay
The movie Smoke Signals is based on the series of short stories written by Sherman Alexie. Just
like any movie, there is a meaning to it. Before this movie, when I thought of the phrase "Native
American" I thought of things like feathers and societies that were impeccable. But after watching
the movie, Smoke Signals, it portrays what being a Native American really means. It is not all fun
and games. The protagonist, Victor Joseph, has many hard aspects of his life, but throughout it all
he grows mentally. His personality in the beginning of the movie is mean and despicable, he is
filled with wrath, but as the movie goes on his personality grows gradually. By the ending of the
movie, he was a nicer and kinder. When the movie begins,...show more content...
Victor has to go to Phoenix to get Arnolds ashes. Thomas offers money to help him get there, but
there is one catch, Thomas has to go with him. Victor automatically says no, but after a little while
he accepts the offer, having a little change of heart. From here on, Victor's personality changes
slowly but surely. As they are on their way to get his father's ashes, two 'cowboys' sit in their seats,
but they won't let them have their seats back, because the boys are Native Americans. This only
makes Victor mad, and Thomas confused. When they get to Phoenix, they meet Suzy Song, who is
the woman who lived next to Arnold. She tells Victor about how much Arnold talked about him, and
how much he wished he could see him. She also told him about how the fire on July 4th was
accidently caused by Arnold, because he was drinking. All these years Victor thought his father didn't
want him anymore, but he just didn't want to hurt his son anymore. After the boys got the ashes, and
anything else that Victor wanted from his father's trailer, they left without telling Suzy goodbye.
Victor was still in denial about his father passing away, and everything that Suzy had told him. He
yelled at Thomas telling him he didn't care about him or anything basically. Victor was driving and
almost ran into a car parked on the side of the road, and went off the road. When they got out of the
truck, it was a car accident caused by a drunk driver.

Stereotypes In Smoke Signals
Smoke Signals is one of the most touching films of the 1990's, based on Sherman Alexie's short
story, This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona. Although it is not a standard Western film, but
one can learn much about American Indians' life as it is a film created and acted by them. The
indigenous characters of the film are not represented as the typical Western film's American Indians,
but the story represents indigenous life in a natural way, and gives a contemporary image to the
viewer of them as the new generation American Indians, who grew up in Native American boarding
schools, speak the English language well, and white people started to convert them into the Christian
religion. The well–known stereotypes about their roots and lifestyle appear in a hidden, humorous
way with the help of symbols that usually refers to their past; and do not appear in an easy, clear
way, as it is hard to understand without any background information about Native Americans. In this
paper, I...show more content...
Smoke Signals cannot refer to anything else, but the American Indians. While reading it, the often
depicted picture comes alive about a stereotyped indigenous person as sending smoke signals to
another person; but then, while watching the film, it turns out that this stereotypical image of them
are far from it. In this case, smoke signals refer to the fact, that the film is about American Indian
characters, but the viewer should decode what the signal means for them, as it hides different
meanings for everybody. This is what makes the story more exciting, the journey helps us find
ourselves with the help of Victor, who wants to separate from everything that connects him to his
roots at the beginning of the story partly due to his relationship with his father that was not the
expected good father– son relationship with good

The Smoke Signals Forgiveness Essay
The Smoke Signals Forgiveness
Smoke Signals, written by Sherman Alexie and directed by Chris Eyre, begins on July 4, 1976 on
the Coeur d' Alene Reservation. Arnold Joseph (Gary Farmer), drunk while celebrating the
"independence", lit off a firework and set the Builds–the–Fire residence on fire, killing the parents of
Thomas Builds–the Fire. Many people were already asleep in the house when the fire started, so no
one saw Arnold's mistake, which he kept a secret from the whole reservation. Both Thomas
Builds–the–Fire (Evan Adams) and Victor Joseph (Adam Beach), Arnold's son, were saved from the
burning house. Arnold ran to catch Thomas in his arms after Thomas was thrown from a window.
Victor and Thomas grew up together. After the
...show more content...
One day, Arlene received a call from Arnold's neighbor in Phoenix, Suzy Song (Irene Bedard),
saying that Arnold had died and that someone should probably come down to Phoenix to take care
of the death. This meant that Victor had to take a bus to Phoenix to get Arnold's possessions and
drive his truck back to the reservation. There was just one problem, Victor didn't have the money
for a bus pass, but Thomas did. The catch was, if Thomas gave Victor some money to go to
Phoenix, Thomas got to come along too. Victor had no other choice but to accept the offer. And the
journey begins.
Victor and Thomas had never been off the reservation before. They experienced what it's really
like to be a Native American in the real world. On the bus ride there, two white men took their
seats and made rude comments about them being Native Americans. They received a lot of stares
and uncomfortable looks from people as well. The bus ride to Phoenix was hard for Victor because
he had to deal with Thomas talking the whole time. Victor especially didn't like it when Thomas
brought up his father in conversation.
In Phoenix, Thomas and Victor walked many miles through the desert to get to Arnold's old trailer.
Suzy Song lived in a trailer there as well. They met Suzy right away, and she was very helpful. She
and Thomas told stories to each

Smoke Signals Film Analysis
This review will discuss the film Smoke Signals directed by Chris Eyre, screenplay by Sherman
Alexie. The film is good because it is a movie that grabs the viewer's attention with the adventure it
portrays in the film and the impact that it leaves at the end of the film. In this review, I will talk
about the details of the film as a whole to show what made it interesting. Also, this paper will talk
about other movies to compare and contrast against Smoke Signals. And finally, this paper will
discuss what makes a good movie in film standards.
The film Smoke Signals is a good movie that many people should take time to look at it. The film
follows the story of Victor, who has father issues as a young boy and as a young man. In the film,
they focus on two characters: Victor and Thomas. Victor is a tough guy but he has dad issues.
The other character is Thomas, who is slow to understand the situation but means well when he
tells his story. In the beginning of the film, Thomas' house is on fire, and Victor's dad saves him
from the fire but his parents do not make it out. As the years pass, Victor is growing up with his
father while Thomas is living with his grandmother. Victor's dad is never the same after the fire; he
acts different by being more drunk or just not being a good father. Then one day, Victor's mom and
dad have an argument with each other and Victor's dad picks up his stuff, takes their truck and
drives away. The film transitions to a period that is years later.

Smoke Signals Analysis
The film, Smoke Signals was about an adolescent name Victor and his friend Thomas on a journey
to see what happened to Victor's father. Throughout the movie, Victor has trouble trying to forgive
his father for leaving his mother and himself behind. The context behind the movie did a great job
in illustrating the culture of Native Americans and threw in some of the common stereotypes that
are associated with Native Americans. Some of the stereotypes about Native Americans were
domestic violence, them being alcoholics and a scene where one of the female characters, Lucy,
says we barter because we're Indian. The depiction of poverty and struggle in the movie was not as
concise because of the difference in living space between Victor'sfamily and Thomas's. Victor and
his mother live in a decent home. In contrast, Thomas and his grandmother live in a higher standard
living space. No one in the film was really struggling to meet ends met like how it is in the real
world. If the movie was not focused on Victor and Thomas journey, the story would have taken a
different path.
In the scene where Victor and Thomas were on the bus, Victor stated there's three things that are
needed to be a true Indian. The first thing being is that you have to be stoic, if not White people will
walk all over you. The second thing is that an Indian is nothing without his hair. Lastly, to be Indian
you have to dress like an Indian, in essence culturally or like a warrior. The culture of Native
Americans

Smoke Signals Essay

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