Sherman Alexie composed “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” as a series of digressions that shed light on inner demons of the narrator. The story clearly displays elements of Native American folklore, which are appropriate for both Alexie and the narrator. The storytelling method gives us a glimpse into the narrator's life and allows us to see the world through his eyes, a world whose heavy weight rests on his shoulders. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Whether in Seattle or Spokane, the narrator always feels out of place. The narrator grew up on an Indian reservation and eventually left because of his aspirations. He explains: “I was special, a former college student, a smart guy. I was one of those Indians who was supposed to make it, rise above the rest of the reservation like a damn eagle or something. I was the new kind of warrior” (18). Ultimately he finds no happiness in this new world as he resorts to alcohol and violence to cope with his feelings of displacement; “And I always had crazy dreams. I always had them, but they seemed to become nightmares more often in Seattle” (17). He returns to his reservation, stops drinking, and eventually finds stable work. However, he is still uncomfortable with life as "...[He] wished [he] lived closer to the river, to the falls where the ghosts of salmon leap" (19). Even after returning to his reservation he still feels out of place and wants something more, something that was taken away from him many years ago by his elders. The narrator's mood is annoying and marked by anger towards the white race. The digressions in the story present explanations for his tainted vision and lack of faith towards white people. The story depicts the narrator's relationship with his white girlfriend as destructive, characterized by a lack of trust and commitment. The narrator explains: “In Seattle I broke the lamps. She and I argued and I broke a lamp, took it and threw it down” (16). Later in the story we learn of a dream that drives the narrator to leave his white girlfriend, in which he dreamed of “three soldiers on horseback playing polo with the head of a dead Indian woman” (17). These morbid dreams clearly show his issues with white people and inability to forget past injustices against his kind. The digressions are used to express the mental anguish of the narrator, someone who is always haunted by the past of his ancestors as well as the oppression of the present. generations. Furthermore, these digressions allow us to enter the mind of a depressed and lost narrator, so haunted by his demons that he proclaims: “I wish I could sleep. I put down the newspaper or book, turn off all the lights and lie down quietly in the dark. It may take hours, even years, for me to fall back to sleep” (19). The unconventional structure of this story presents us with someone who is clearly disturbed and always thinking about the past, both his own and his ancestors', and the failures that entailed. For example, his time in Seattle ultimately ended with a dead-end job and a dead-end relationship. Looking back on his failed attempt at city living, the narrator proclaims, “There is an old Indian poet who said that Indians may reside in cities, but they can never live in them. This is as close to the truth as we can get” (18). Throughout the story we never learn the narrator's name, which indicates identity issues. One night he runs into some complications with the authorities while trying to blow off some steam after a fire.