—Anonymous
When I read “Toughest Indian in the World”, the describe on the culture identities makes me feel very uncomfortable. In this article, the narrator picks up an Indian hitchhiker who makes a living fighting other Indians on reservations in illegal, bare-knuckle matches. To the narrator, he represents a modern-day warrior, a savior who can rescue the narrator from his fractured existence as an Indian living in a world hostile to native tradition. When I read this article, I feel very sad about the culture identities, since I was struggling in the culture identities and shock as well. When I first came to New York, I was attracted by lots of fantastic things. At the same time, I was so surprised to everyone’s individualism. Therefore, I tried to get involved to American culture and get the American lifestyle. Some culture identities problems came when I talked to my parents and friends in China, I felt that they couldn’t understand me and couldn’t get what I mean. There is a word in Chinese, called “banana people”, describing Chinese people who is used to American culture. When I read this article, I feel so uncomfortable, since the problem this narrower faces is what exactly I face. However, the story doesn’t give me answer. In the story, the two men’s sex activities are metaphors about the culture identities. But fictive story doesn’t tell me how to deal with the reality culture identities problems. In the story, Alexie uses violence” to describe the fighter’s rough, bruised body, his callused hands, his scars and unhealed wounds and uses “I had never been that close to another man, but the fighter’s callused fingers felt better than I would have imagined if I had ever allowed myself to imagine such things. ” to describes their romantic encounter in a roadside motel, the narrator fantasizes that in making love to a warrior, he can become a warrior himself, and finally become a true Indian. The narrator uses sex to feel an Indian culture identity, but this way is romantic but not practical. In the story, narrator stays between two worlds, a vanishing world of his Coe d’ Alene ancestry and a modern world. In this story, the narrower comes to accept those paradoxes, somethings seemingly contradictory, yet also capable of revealing a truth. “The Toughest Indian in the World” tells a story about most contemporary American Indians, and about how to maintain two culture identities at the same time. In my real-life experiences, the key to maintain two culture identities is respect. I try to not take those cultures too seriously, resulting that I will not feel uncomfortable, when I meet some difference things. What’s more, I try to understand some culture which I feel not so interesting or so comfortable. After reading “The Toughest Indian in the World”, I realize that lots of people is facing the culture identities problems. I also think maybe I can try to live between those two cultures, resulting a better understanding of the two countries and two cultures.
