Sherman Alexie: This is What it Means

This is What it Means
Sherman Alexie



."Whatever happened to the tribal ties, the sense of community? The only real thing he shared with anybody was a bottle and broken dreams. He owed Thomas something, anything." 

The quote I chose to analyze was one which details the core message of this story: the concept of maintaining relationships with the important people in one's life, as well as the importance of maintaining a strong sense of community on a broader level. Thomas was Victor's best friend growing up, but a friend who was lost as the years leading to maturity separated the two socially. Despite the fact that the story explicitly states how the two of them could never be friends, even after all they had been through on their journey to collect Victor's father's belongings, it still centralizes around the idea of rebuilding the relationship between the two. 

In addition to this quote, Alexie notes a promise made between the two at the end of the novel, stating that the next time Thomas was telling a story in public, Victor would stop and listen. Throughout the entire story, Thomas's love for storytelling was described in great detail -- it appears to be a real passion of his. Victor's promise to listen to Thomas's story in public is his way of repaying the debt that he believes he owes Thomas. This "debt" was a result of him making fun of Thomas despite their friendship as he moved from adolescence into adulthood, his beating of Thomas, and, of course, Thomas loaning him money and traveling across the country with him. However, when Victor promises to listen to Thomas's story, he begins to repay the debt and repair the relationship with his buddy from childhood. The story's message is that community and human relationship is the most important part of life.