“This Is
What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” is a story of two boys named Victor and
Thomas who live on a reservation. The short story in hindsight is about the
evolution of the two children. How Victor and Thomas grew apart and how each embraced
themselves. Victor conformed to other adolescents on the reservation because it
was easier to fit in than be bullied for being different. Thomas took the other
route he stayed true to himself and stuck to his stories and his imagination.
Thomas has a greater understanding of the world when Victor asked him how his
father died, he said “I heard it on the wind. I heard it from the birds. I felt
it in the sunlight.” Thomas understands that there is more than just facts in
the world but a story can invoke emotion. These were my initial thoughts of the
story.
However,
with the Covid-19 pandemic happening and a quarantine being put in place I
found other meanings that relate to this. Specifically, that Thomas is isolated
in an already isolated setting. Reservations in the first place are already isolated
from a “normal” society and as a generalization people on the reservation would
prefer not to be there. It’s the same with the ongoing crisis now. We’re all in
our own isolation and learning to cope with it. In the story the characters are
isolated in our eyes but don’t feel that they are isolated. It’s as if the roles
are reserved, we weren’t isolated before and now we are, and we have to find
things to entertain ourselves. Like spending time outside and finding things to
do without our friends. Thomas has his thing his stories, he tells stories even
if no one is listening. It’s our turn to find what that is for us.
Rather than associating reservations with the idea of isolation, we might think of them as communities, with tribal sovereignty that makes them distinct from the surrounding areas. While reservations' borders were generally shaped by a history of forced migration and other problematic government policies, they also demarcate a sovereign area for tribal communities. You're absolutely correct, though, in pointing out that Thomas is isolated within his community on his reservation. He is ostracized for being different and for telling his stories. I find the idea that now we must become isolated storytellers (like Thomas) really interesting. Thanks for sharing. - Ms. O'Brien
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