Your Responses To “How To Fight Monsters” by Sherman Alexie
Posted: August 28, 2013 in UncategorizedComments
Recent Comments
justin ackerman on “I Am” asks two ce… Nick Hamer on “I Am” asks two ce… Sam Goodman on “I Am” asks two ce… Doug Essig on “I Am” asks two ce… Aaron Sobel on “I Am” asks two ce…
an infinitely hot & dense dot 
Christian Morales
8/29/13
The characters seem to carry a lot of mixed emotions. Junior knows leaving the tribe and going to a different school makes him the major outcast, even though he considers himself a loser already. His father’s breath smells like vodka, which already forms the idea of him having a drinking habit developed to cover the pain of being looked down on. Junior is an emotionally crippled and bullied high school student just trying to make his own way. Basically, the bullying has done what bullying is supposed to do. He feels weak, worthless, and stupid. He feels inferior. His only way of dealing with other people’s hurtful comments or accusations is through physical violence. Doesn’t seem like the best way to fix anything. The worst part of it is that he is all right with losing the fights, as long as he doesn’t die. Dying seems to be his fear. Dying should not be a fear; it should be your choice. People die and that’s just how it is. Fight back for your life; it’s a gift too precious to lose. Regaining his confidence by hurting another individual isn’t exactly the best way to do it, but Roger deserved it. One hundred and twelve losses later, he is finally champion for his thirteenth time. When the times come, some people just aren’t as big as they act. Also, things are different everywhere. But also, does Roger walking away make him the bigger man? I can see how it would, but in the end it just made Junior more confused. He won, but he still feels the same. He is the outsider looking in. Trying to make sense of a world he isn’t accustomed too. His world had basically one rule, fight. He followed the only rule he’s known his whole life and now to the other students he isn’t just a weird kid, he’s an animal.
The story displays a sense of outcast. It shows the difficulties of being different, especially when the outcast is a poor, Indian student in a High School filled with White students and teachers. It is apparent that Junior is brought up in a completely different atmosphere and home than the other students at his High School but that does not seem to stop him from wanting to attend the White majority based High School. Junior is so set on fitting in that he is willing to leave his comfort zone at the ‘rez’ and move to another part of town. He acts as though he has enough money to bring his own lunch to school even though the family is supported by charity food, and ignores the fact that his father has a serious drinking problem. Furthermore, Junior lets the other kids at his new High School bully him and call him names because he knows that no one will stick up for him if he was to call anyone names back. It is not until the bullies offend his race that Junior throws a punch at one of them. Although, one would then suspect the bully to hit Junior back, he does not. Rather he walks away leaving the protagonist lost. Although, the story may appear a bit extreme in the sense that the whole school finds Junior odd, people feel like they do not fit into specific societies all the time, especially in High Schools. It may not always be about the colour of one’s skin or the way one is brought up but can be about anything as simple as style of clothing. Everyone is different; it is just not everyone who dares to stay original. The majority tend to give up their original beliefs in order to fit in and not be ‘different’.
Emily Czelusniak
When reading “How to Fight Monsters” I was appalled at the racism that the main character faced. Not only did they make fun of his name, but they made fun of how he talked and made jokes about him based off of stereotypes. The reading did not specifically say where the setting was, but I feel like people in the United States today would not be so intolerable of people of different races. The illustration in the reading comparing White people to Indian people exemplified the differences of the white people at Reardan and Junior coming from the reservation. Being the only Indian at his school made him feel like even more of an outsider. When Junior started to list the Spokane Indian rules of fighting, I started to understand that any insult, disrespectful comment, or possibility of one would spark a fight. These rules helped me understand that the reputation of your family in Junior’s customs is very important. They are willing to fight over almost anything. When Junior got fed up with the name calling and jokes of the jocks at his new school, he did the only thing he knows what to do, fight. Although he admits that he isn’t very good at it he still keeps fighting. This persistence shows that he sticks with what he knows. Even after sticking up for himself and punching Roger, he is still the outsider. He is no longer “Chief” or “Tonto”; he is the crazy kid who punched somebody. No matter what he had tried got him the acceptance he wanted. From the reading I can take away that there will always be someone or something standing in your way. If it is not one person or issue, it will be another. Junior had to deal with not only the issue racism in Reardan, but also adjusting to the new social rules of the non-reservation world.
Chris Haritos
9/1/2013
Junior seemed like he lived his entire life on a reservation as an Indian born child and was accustomed to the living conditions of the reservation. His father decided that he wanted his son to go to a better high school to obtain a better education. Rather than going to the all Indian reservation school, Junior will be going to Reardan which is an all-white school. Junior knew this would be a huge change in his life and that he would now be a minority. His dad tried to give him the impression that he wasn’t anything less than those white people but Junior didn’t believe that and he went into Reardan feeling like he would be an outcast. It seems like Junior has had a rough life living the reservations, his family was impoverished since he stated that he should have free lunch but was too prideful going into Reardan to not pay for his food. Also it appears that Junior’s father was a drunk and Junior probably has had to deal with that for a long period of time in his life. When Junior got to Reardan it was obvious to him that the only similarity it had with his old school is that he would be bullied. Junior was a victim of bullies at his old reservation school and he only knew one way to deal with it. This was to start throwing fists at people who insulted him critically, he lived by a code that was savage. Even though his win to loss ratio in fighting was about one to eleven he still had the guts to keep trying to defend his honor. Eventually a bully, Roger, decided to take it too far with Junior. Roger insulted Junior, Indians, and black people and Junior knew he had to do something. He swung at Roger and rather than retaliating Roger decided to just walk away. This caused confusion for Junior because he was used to getting swung at back and usually losing the fight. However though at Reardan even the bullies didn’t use there fists to solve problems and Junior was looked at as a savage animal from another planet. Every life-style is different and I don’t believe that Junior was in the wrong for throwing that punch at the bully but it shows you how many dissimilarities there can be between two separate cultures.
Lindsay Hoop
Throughout the story, Junior is in constant battle trying to find his identity. Continuously having to deal with being an outcast, Junior tries to find himself by switching to an all white High School rather than staying at the rez. During the struggles of trying to fit in, Junior overlooks his other problems like poverty within his family and his father’s alcoholic ways. By mentioning the fact that Junior smells vodka on his father’s breath denotes the fact that he realizes the issue, but ignores it. Switching from the rez to a wealthier High School makes Junior aware of his family’s hardships and differences compared to the other students and teachers. The fact that Junior is not like the other students, makes him an easy target and is bullied as soon as he sits in his seat on the first day. The bullying from the other students causes Junior to continue struggling with finding himself and finding his way. Before Junior tells the story of how he got into a fight at school, he pauses and explains “the rules” of how and when to fight on the rez; almost as if Junior realizes that these “rules” are not technically ones to live by at his new High School. This brings up the idea that the customs and traditions of the Indians on the rez and the White students and teachers differ greatly, and Junior must become accustomed to these new changes. After Roger insults Junior’s family, Junior feels the need to show Roger how he handles things and begins to fight him. Confused and even more of an outcast, Junior must deal with the other students not only thinking he’s weird and different, but that he is an animal. Not everyone always fits in with the crowd they might be surrounding themselves with, but then again who determines what “fitting in” actually means?
This story shows just how difficult it can be to feel different. Junior, though just a normal kid like everyone else, has felt like an outcast his entire life. He has decided to make a change and move to a new high school to try and end his struggles. He decides to leave the school on the reservation, where he at least had some things in common with other kids, and go to Reardan High School, twenty-two miles away from the reservation he calls home. At this point you see that Junior has a lot of respect for his father for making the commitment to drive Junior to school so far away. At the same time, however, you can tell that Junior is a little nervous that his father’s drinking problem will lead him to a bar instead of back to the reservation. Junior immediately notices a group of large guys at school, the monsters, as Junior calls them. He is very intimidated not only by this group of guys, but also simply by the fact that he is the only person in the school who is not white. Junior is quickly confronted by a girl named Penelope who seems nice at first, but ends up making fun of him because his name is Junior. Junior continues to get bullied and called names at his new school, but he does not really do anything about it, because he is scared. One day though, Roger and the rest of his gang approached Junior and crossed the line. Junior landed one punch on him and Roger backs down and leaves. Everyone at one point in their life has felt like they don’t belong somewhere, like they don’t fit in. Unfortunately most people will not stick with who they really are, but rather conform to what society considers “socially acceptable.” I think the world needs more Juniors. More people who will continue being who they really are, until they earn the respect they deserve.
This story shows what it is like for people to be different during earlier times when people were less tolerant. It displays how difficult it is for someone with a lower social and economic status to fit in with people of higher statuses. Junior is a very brave boy for leaving his reservation and the people he has known all his life, and going to a school with people who have a completely different set of morals and values. He feels so alienated when he first arrives that he does not say a word for six days, after his brief exchange of words with Penelope and his teacher. Although Junior is different and has many issues back at home, including his father’s drinking problem, he is not afraid to stand up for himself. He has lost 112 fights, however that does not stop him from letting people take advantage of him. However, at Reardan, he initially chooses to remain quiet and not fight back, because he knows no one else in the school will stick up for him in any sort of conflict. This changes when one of the bullies insult his race, his people, and his way of life. Junior throws a hard punch, and everyone is shocked, and frightened. Although the bully is described as being “seven feet tall and 300 pounds,” he does not fight back, simply calls Junior crazy, and walks away. Junior basically won the fight, although he still feels out of place, and uncomfortable like he does not fit in. The underlying lesson here is that bullying is wrong, and people who bully are often cowards with low self esteem. Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can never hurt. This is not to say that Junior made the right decision by punching the kid, but that it is wrong to exclude someone just because they are from a different part of the world, and we are all humans and all deserve to be treated equally.
Junior is a character who feels he is trapped in two different worlds. Towards the middle of the story he explains how he has two names. The first name is Arnold, which is a typical name for a white male, and the other Junior which is a typical Indian name. He is trapped in a world where he is always at the bottom and has no way to reach the top. He states that both he and his father are losers and they are basically at the bottom of the totem pole. Junior uses hyperboles to exaggerate the people around him. The monsters that he described are probably normal boys that are a bit bigger and the people are not so white that they are translucent. He also uses a lot of imagery to depict his own problems such as his eye. He describes it as a modern art piece and he states that it’s all different colors. Junior is a boy who is timid and feels inferior to all the people around him. When he describes himself he seems to be constantly putting himself down. He has the mindset that is strong but a body that is physically weak and small. Junior is the epitome of a new kid in school. He is alone and trying to find himself and is afraid of what others think of him. When he walks into class he has the spotlight effect thinking all of the negative attention is focused on him. He feels like an outsider due to his physical body appearance. Junior is a strong character on the inside because he stood up for himself no matter what the situation and he did not care whether he won or lost. That displays courage and bravery, which is different then most of the other students at his new school.
This story was a strong mix of emotions running throughout: nervousness, defeat, anxiety, strength, excitement, and bewilderment. Imagining Junior’s car ride to the new school, sweaty palms, heart racing, mind full wondering what this new chapter has in store. It’s a feeling that every person has felt at some point or another. Trying to fit into a new school knowing that you are the underdog, and there is nothing that anyone could say to try and increase your confidence. Then that terrifying moment of walking into the first class and having everyone stare, wondering why this person is just standing there awkwardly in the door. Junior knew he had to do everything he could to just make it through the day without drawing too much attention to him. Then that sparkle of hope when somebody actually cares enough to say hello. Then he shuts down after he realizes that he made a fool of himself. He moves from a place of not being noticed, to becoming the most noticed guy on campus. Whether it is because he was the only Indian kid, or because he reminded them of a serial killer, he was now being noticed. He knew the “rules” that he should live by, but he didn’t quite know the rules of this new place. But how is it that violence seems to be the answer to everything. Every questionable statement or the thought of a statement results in a fistfight. Then it happens, the first fist fight of his experience at Reardan. He advanced from one hundred and twelve losses to one more victory, bringing it to a total of six fights he had won. But why didn’t Roger punch him back? After all that was a rule of fist fighting. Could it be that this was not a rule that this foreign place lives by? Now he is stuck in a world that he can’t escape and he will forever be looked at as the weird new kid.
For whatever reason, Junior has to start in a new school. The events leading up to this point made him leave the school at the reservation and start anew in a foreign place, only being twenty-two miles from the rez.
Having to start fresh in a new school is hard enough. Having recently been uprooted from a high school which I already established myself at, I can relate. It is extremely difficult to get up and leave familiar faces. I left as a senior, when everyone knew my name, having felt safe and secure, my role changed. No longer was I a “big senior” on campus, I was nobody. No one knew my name. However, in my case, I had the luxury of having my brother at my side. But in Junior’s case being so different from everyone adds onto the struggle. He did not have a more outgoing brother to tag along with and make some last minute friends before the year ended.
Junior went in to the school with a “target” on his back for being Indian. He was different in every way compared to other students who walked the halls of his new school. He had lived his life differently on the rez. And now he had to adapt to new rules and things he did not understand. The best example of this, when he punched the bully, Roger and he just walked away. On the rez that would have resulted in a fight because that’s how things worked over there, “IF SOMEBODY INSULTS YOU, THEN YOU HAVE TO FIGHT HIM.” Junior was just acting on these rules which had been instilled in him for years having been in, “hundreds of fights.” So, Roger just walking away from Junior and not standing his ground confused him and would like to know what happened later that day…
Junior was odd, weird, and awkward. Junior was different. He was used to growing up in the rez throughout his life. Being at the rez made him comfortable. It gave him a sense of security. At the rez, he felt like he belonged. When he left to go to Reardan, a school outside of the rez, he was a outsider, and his name even made him an outsider. Back at the rez, his name was very common. He even explained about how if one were to call the name “Junior” at the rez, then seventeen people would turn their heads. But, at the school, no one had ever heard of the name “Junior”, just like they had never had a classmate that was an Indian from the rez. Thus, the people, or monsters at the school picked on him. They would call him names like redskin, chief, and tonto. All of these terms were very insulting to him, and thus he decided to take action. Junior went back to his roots and remembered his Indian Rules of Fisticuffs. The first rule stated that, “if somebody insults you, then you have to fight them.” He stuck to his roots after being called names by the monsters in school and punched one of them in the face. Junior did not punch him for the sake of himself, but rather, he did it for the sake of his entire tribe and for his family. He did what he thought was right by sucker punching the monster in the face. The most important thing was that he stood up for what he believed in. If there is one lesson to learn from this part of the story, it is to remember where you came from and to take action for what you believe in, because if someone is silent, then what that person believes in will never be realized. That person’s voice won’t be heard. If a person takes action and their voice is heard, it could change the lives of many in places such as a school, a community, a city, or even the world.
Kyle Fanelli
09/01/13
Try to remember your first day entering high school. Your hands may have been sweating from nervousness, but at the same time, your mind was racing with excitement. You were about to embark on a four year journey of learning new lessons and above all – making new friends. The same feelings of anticipation and exhilaration did not apply, however, for Junior.
He stood outside the school with his father as a scared, scrawny, timid Indian kid. He felt worthless for being what he was – Native American. He had the idea that white people were better than Indians engraved in to his mind. He felt he did not deserve to be at this school. He knew he did not belong in this school. He was the red sheep in the crowd. The white students stared at him. They glared at his dark skin, noticing every feature that was so different from theirs.
Aside from the weird looks, they ignored him – alienated him. The boys did not talk to him and the pretty girls surely did not either. He felt no sense of belonging at that school, but he knew he could not go back to the reservation. He was just a kid who was beyond alone in a place with judging eyes and mean mouths. For the time being, he was fine with students calling him names like Chief, Tonto, and Red Skin. He could deal with those names. He was willing to bend his rules of fighting to stay out of trouble. But that all changed when Roger the Giant approached him during lunch time one day and said the most racist joke he had ever heard. Junior punched him, knocking him to the ground and bloodying his nose. Roger and his group of friends were stunned, and maybe Junior was too. He had finally transformed from a scared kid into a brave man, willing to stand up for himself and his people.
Kaylyn Lambertt:
Junior’s a boy from the reservation with a very low self-esteem. He feels that he can’t do anything right to make his family and his peers accept him for who he is. Instead of going to school on the ‘rez’ and being shunned by the whole tribe, Junior believes that going out of his comfort zone and going to an all white school will help things go back to normal on the ‘rez’. He is willing to yet again, feel like an outcast to try to please everyone else. The feeling and longing of wanting to fit in with a crowd is something that is carried on throughout the whole chapter. Junior tries to bring in money for lunch to seem that he’s not poor, depicting an example of him trying to fit in with the others around him. I think the way Junior feels about himself and his tribe is based on the fact that his father seems to be a drunk, and that no one, not even his friends, seem to care about his existence. As the chapter progresses Junior seems to think that if he’s just silent no one can make fun of him. He’s also not fully aware of the culture change that has been presented to him. He believes that all the rules that he has followed in his tribe are carried over and applied to at the high school with all the white kids. On the first day of class Junior is quick to realize how different his life is from all the students at Reardan High School. He first questions on why everyone is laughing at him about his name, and he comes across another culture shock when he is put face to face with his bully. Growing up all Junior knows is to fight anyone that seems to be a threat, so it’s no surprise that Junior is shocked when his bully doesn’t fight back. Junior is left confused and feeling more like an outcast, when he just did the only one thing he knew to do. It seems that Junior can’t find a place to fit in and feel like he belongs.
Junior is an alien lost on a planet that is physically close yet culturally and spiritually light-years away. Junior is an outcast as soon as he takes his first steps into Reardam high school. Due to his skin tone, Junior stands out like the zebra in a pride of lions. Not only is he alienated by his skin tone, he distance himself from the white students because of his accent. The white kids begin to ignore him, but we learn that does not bother him as the reader might think. On the reservation, both Indian girls and guys ignored him. This adds a whole new dynamic to Junior’s outcast story. We can infer that Junior’s made this decision to go to the white high school was because he had nothing to lose. When our lives have few strings to drag us down, we can make foreign decisions without little resentment. Although he lives in the United States, Junior’s way of life is very foreign to the other students. When insulted by another person, the Native American way is to retaliate physically. Junior is called various names but he does not let it affect him. Until a big jock, makes an obscene racist joke. Although outmatched physically, he with holds his people’s rules and slugs the bully straight in the nose. Prepared for retaliation and ultimately a pummeling from the bully, Junior is utterly shocked when his opponent waves a white flag in disgust at him. In an effort to stand up for himself and his people, he only further alienates himself. Almost everyone has felt alienation at a one point or another in their lives, but very few will experience the kind of alienation Junior faced. I can relate this tale of alienation on a personal level. I went through a similar experience at young age due to my different background. However, as time passes so do petty differences.
Sherman Alexie relives his childhood memories through a unique character named Arnold Spirit, Jr. Just like him, Junior was raised among Indian customs as he grew up on an Indian reservation in Wellpinit. In the short story How to Fight Monsters, Junior’s childhood lessons are the prime reason why he is such an outcast in his new environment in Reardan. Being an outcast wasn’t new for Junior, but by growing up in such an environment, he was somewhat accustomed to it. Since Junior moved to Reardan, all of his problems just seemed to get worst. He soon realized that he’s an outcast in his new environment, mainly physically. They always say never judge a book by it’s cover, but obviously the high school kids from Reardan never got that memo. Just because Junior was smaller, came from a different background, and was also physically different due to his skin tone, the kids always found a reason to believe that junior was an inadequate candidate to become friends with. I quickly assumed that Penelope, the cute blonde, would eventually become Junior’s first friend, but then realized that I was wrong shortly after. Instead of being a helpful friend to the new kid, she begins to talk about him with her friends and fellow classmates, which I found to be really rude. I can definitely see why Junior was having such a hard time fitting into his new environment. He really didn’t have anyone to welcome him into his new home and was just frequently frustrated by his new problems, such as Penelope, Roger, and Mr. Grant. If it wasn’t for the cultural barrier, maybe Junior would’ve had no problems with his new environment and probably could of made a lot of friends at his new school, but obviously that wasn’t the case
This is a story about contrast. Junior comes from a reservation where many of inhabitants are poor and suffer from alcoholism. He decides to escape the continual loop of children following in their parent’s footsteps on the reservation, so he starts to attend a largely white school in nearby Reardan. So white in fact that he compares them to being translucent and that he could “see the blue veins running through their skin like rivers.” He is actually the only Indian in the entire school other than the mascot. Reardan High turns out to be pretty much the exact opposite from the reservation. Half of the school’s graduating class attends college, while no one in Junior’s family has ever gone to college. Junior is very common name on the reservation, but at Reardan High the kids laugh at how strange of a name it is. One of the girls in his homeroom notes that he talks different because he has a different accent than everyone else in the school. On the reservation one is expected to follow a set of unwritten rules about fighting. For example, one must fight someone after being insulted, one must fight the son or daughter of any Indian who works for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, one must fight someone after his or her family or friends are insulted. So, Junior punches Roger, one of the school’s bullies, after he makes a racist remark towards Junior. Roger, however, does not return the punch, but instead he gets up and walks away due to the unwritten rule of “No fighting.” On the reservation Junior would have ended up probably on the losing end of the fight, but at Reardan he ended up winning the fight. Junior writes about how he is forced to live dual lives. He was Junior on the reservation, but Arnold at Reardan.
After reading this story, I felt like I had read the most stereotypical short story ever written. The story portrays several different stereotypes in it. First, the stereotype that every Indian family includes a drunken father. In all Sherman Alexie stories I’ve read (three to be exact) he has the same base line. A drunken father at the root of everything. It doesn’t seem like a fair starting point for every single story of reservation Indians ever. Secondly, the author writes about the typical “jocks”. He describes everyone being small except these so called jocks. This seems like such a hollywood-esque description of a high school and quite cheesy to be honest. I have never been to a high school where the jocks were the only “big” kids. Clearly high schools are very diverse and have a large variety of kids with different sizes and personalities. It does not seem fair that Alexie simply categorizes the entire school into two groups, Jocks and everyone else. Third, Junior standing up to Roger and winning was a textbook happy ending. Like every similar story, the protagonist struggles with a problem, he then stands up for himself and gains his independence in an upset victory. It is an overused theme line. And finally, the overall stereotype. Sherman Alexie, in my opinion, has released too many stories and/or books using the same themes over and over again. Also, in most, he reuses the same names. I find that to be a very lazy quality in a writer. It is also confusing for anyone who has read more than one of his stories because even though a character may have the same name and physical description in both stories, they will take on a different role in each story. This leads to loads of confusion as a reader. Personally, I find Sherman Alexie’s work to be extremely stereotypical and repetitive.
Alejandro Battistel
The story portrays Junior as if he was the monster himself instead of the other boys who bully him. Junior has very low self-esteem and an almost inexistent sense of self-confidence. I can sort of relate to Junior as I came from Venezuela not knowing a single word of english and straight into a high class middle school. When i was learning english in my middle school i had a very strong accent and people used to call me Fez, i was never the fighting type like Junior is, I had a completely different set of rules, the top one being no fighting, ever. No one really talked to me when i was younger either since i did not know how to communicate. Junior must feel like an outcast as if everybody looked down on him because he’s different, the kids in his school don’t consider Junior one of them, as if the laws of human nature didn’t apply to him. As the story develops, Junior feels as if all of the kids in his school are the monsters and he’s trying to find a way to fight them off, but the truth is as the story unfolds, Junior unknowingly starts becoming the monster himself. His laws on fighting are foreshadowing that Junior will end up becoming the monster of the school. The same was that junior sees the kids in his school as the monsters, they must also see him as the monster, as if they had never seen or heard of an indian before like if they were some sort of myth. The truth is, no matter who you are, some people will always view you differently, because everyone has different views and opinions and no two people are the same. When Junior punches Roger in the face and makes his nose bleed, Roger says to Junior “You’re an animal,” which completely confuses Junior because all along he had been viewing Roger and his buddies as the “Animals.”
The writer of this novel obviously wants the reader to feel many different emotions. They want the audience to sympathize towards Junior and his struggles, yet the writer adds comedy within the language to keep the reader involved (Example: the fighting list). The writer portrays Junior as a weak boy, when in fact he is a strong and prominent character. I feel bad for Junior because the glimpse of his life that we read about makes his life sound miserable. Not only is he a Native American that lives on a reservation, but his relationship with his father is cloudy. I can infer from the reading that his father had a rough life growing up as a child and found ways to cope that are questionable. His son Junior is going through the same thing. This excerpt reminds me of the novel A Diary of Wimpy Kid; both depict the average struggles high school teenagers go through. These two pieces of literature explain two different boy’s lives, when in fact they both are very similar.
I also like how the author uses colored language and details throughout the dialogue even though the ‘writer’ is supposed to be young in age. The amount of sensory details and metaphors adds to the intelligence of Junior. I really like how the author uses an analogy to compare bullies to monsters. It is an analogy that can relate to most young adults. I like how this passage is supposed to relate to young adults when in fact it brings up real life issues that many adults face as well. Junior’s character represents the average individual. I also like how the author provided images to make the entry seem more like a journal. The pictures are just as descriptive as the passage and relay the same message.
Zoe Unger
In Sherman Alexie’s “How to Fight Monsters” the speaker, Junior, uses first person to describe his struggles in a new school. The first person point of view emphasizes how naïve and scared Junior is when it comes to his new surroundings. Junior feels like an outcast in everything he does, the color of his skin, how he dresses, how he speaks, and what he believes in. The repetition of “I” highlights his feelings of seclusion form his new classmates.
The reader can infer Alexie uses Junior to represent himself as a young adult. The short story is written in the form of a diary entry: using first person, including dialogue, and even pictures. The reader also feels a stronger connection to Junior due to the detailed dialogue and pictures to go along with the story. The diary look and feel adds to the readers’ enjoyment. This is a unique way to tell a ‘how to’ story based off a personal experience.
Junior is terrified of his new classmates regarding their size and strength; when he looks at them he sees monsters. Ironically when they look at Junior they see a monster as well. The boys call him names and only make him feel smaller. The effect of being different threatens Junior not just emotionally but physically. The climax occurs near the end of the diary entry when Junior throws the first punch with a boy from his school. The unnecessary fight scares the boys and even Junior. Junior is left confused and unaware of what he did wrong due to cultural differences. The use of “I” and the diary entry format makes the story more personal to the reader, creating more emotions and a better story as a whole. I enjoyed reading this short story, I was further drawn to the story due to its unique characteristics.
Arnold, whom prefers to go by the name of Junior, vividly narrates his feeling of confusion and awe at how the “white” culture functions. He carries feelings of inferiority, and exclusion simply because he feels that others would make negative assumptions about his culture (the fallacy of “aggressive” Native Americans, etc.), and his familial background (no college education). Despite all of these thoughts running through his head, Arnold stiffens up and takes the opportunity to further his education even if it means to face the “monsters.” Upon arriving at school, he focuses on the minute details of the people he encounters, such as their height, hair color, and facial features. This attention to detail shows his deep seated thoughts that such feature signify a higher social position and his conditioned train of thought to ignore the beauty within his own culture. Junior briefly interacts with others during his first day and spends much time on spotting out the aggressive behavior others seem to give him when he just shyly answers them. These thoughts pave the way for Arnold to explain the “rules of fighting” which he uses promptly once someone uses racism against him. A third person view of Junior’s fight with the boy who threatened him would most likely result in disapproval, but his cultural backgrounds require him to respect himself even if it means to lose a fight. Much to the astonishment of the boy who made fun of Arnold, Junior’s actions seem to be respected in both cultures, although he could have handled the insult very differently. These parallels highlight that cultures are also very similar in the way that they are different. At the end of the day a reader might ask him or herself why humans must distance themselves from each other because of petty differences, for in the end, everyone wants to be accepted based on what they have to offer to others.
Sherman Alexie is obviously an author who is strongly against the mistreatment of minorities, and particularly Native American’s as seen in this story. Sherman uses “How to Fight Monsters” to show the struggles minorities, especially Native American’s have gone through. Junior, like most Native American’s from the past, has been forced into the “white kids” world. He is viewed as an “animal.” Junior not only feels like he is of less value then the white kids, but he seems to believe all Indians are less valuable. Junior is clearly insecure about his race. The world around him has influenced his mind and dragged his image of his race down. Junior no longer sees the historical importance of his ancestors, but rather sees himself as an “other.” He struggles feeling he doesn’t belong. For the most part he is right, an Indian boy in a racist White world is nothing but trouble. Unfortunately Junior finds himself in this situation and now he must adapt. However adaption isn’t a real option. He can neither knows the “rules” of the white man nor can he turn himself into one. He is an Indian boy, the society he now lives in only discriminates and forces him to try and change. The tone in this story provides a constant feeling of suppression, sadness, and possibly enslavement. Junior only talks about what he doesn’t deserve and the experiences in which the white kids step all over him, being treated like trash. He suppresses his feelings within himself, but knows he must do something eventually. The similarity between Junior’s challenges and the Native American’s through history is impressive. Both are suppressed. Both are confused as the new “rules” are forced upon them. Both are brought to the point where they must fight back or forever be suppressed.