Reservation Blues - Elements of Storytelling

Elements of Storytelling in Reservation Blues

Sherman Alexie’s novel, Reservation Blues, balances out various elements that make a story worth telling and captivate the audience. From the reservation syntax that is present throughout the novel to the vivid juxtaposition of Indian past and present, Sherman Alexie manages to create a story that captures the reader’s attention and transmits the values and attitudes Sherman Alexie wished to convey.

One of the basic elements of storytelling that Sherman Alexie plays with the most is the theme of modern-era expectations of what Indians are, both by the reader and the character in the story. Big Mom is a perfect example of Sherman Alexie poking fun at the expectations of everyone involved in the story. At many points in the story, Sherman Alexie sets up situations where the readers expect Indian stereotypes to show.

On page 203, there is an exchange between Coyote Springs and Big Mom where Big Mom reveals she knows Coyote Springs are going to play for some record company. When the bandmates question how she knows this, Big Mom’s answer is “Ancient Indian magic.” Victor calls her bluff and mentions that “Everybody on the reservation knows about it by now. Ain’t no magic in that.” The mention of “Ancient Indian magic” is Sherman Alexie telling the reader that he understands what the stereotypes of Indians are, and that a traditional Indian story would take this as fact, playing off of what non-Indian readers expect from Indian stories. Victor’s reply to Big Mom is Sherman Alexie’s way of telling the reader that these expectations are not realistic, as an alcoholic Indian can call them out for the lies that they are.

Even so, Sherman Alexie understands that these themes of Indian stereotypes are so deeply embedded into modern United States that they even reach Indians. On page 302, following the fry bread dilemma, Big Mom manages to fix the problem by splitting the pieces of fry bread and handing them out to the hungry Indians, all the while asking for the creator to grant her the power to feed them. An incredulous Thomas asks Big Mom how she was capable of performing such a feat, and to this Big Mom simply replies: “mathematics.” Thomas’s and the other Indians’ praise and willingness to believe in the magical powers serve as evidence of Sherman Alexie exposing the self-stereotyping of Indians.

These short but powerful conflicts drive home the theme of expectations about Indians they themselves and the readers have.