"This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona"

Who is the main character or protagonist of the story?

In the story, “This is what it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona”, the two characters is Victor and Thomas. 

Make a quick list of the character’s physical, mental, moral, or behavior traits.  Which seem especially significant to the action of the story?

The only common trait that both characters have in the story is two men who grew up with one another on one of the Indian reservation in the United States. They were friends until “when they were fifteen and… Victor and Thomas got into a fistfight.  That is, Victor was really drunk and beat up Thomas up for no reason at all” (251).  When the story began, the readers found out that Victor’s father died a few days after he lost his job.  So Victor was desperate for money because he needs to get to Arizona to get the father’s body and the money from the saving account. It seems like how the relationship between Victor and his father was not strong at all because Victor said how he “hadn’t seen his father in a few years, only talked to him on the telephone once or twice…” (247-48). Also, it seems like the motivation of the trip was to claim his father’s savings account and his car.  But the trip to Arizona is significant to the action of the story because this trip reunited two long time friends.  This leads up to Thomas’s personality.  When I was reading the story, Thomas had the personality where he had the lending hand to help people.  For example, it was Thomas who volunteered to help contribute some money to fly to Arizona; who helped drive back to the reservations; and when both characters arrived back to the reservation from Arizona, Victor realized how much of a great friend Thomas is.  With this kind of personality, Thomas contributes to the action of the story because no matter how a friendship is ruin, it only takes one person to forgive the other. 

Does the main character have an antagonist in the story?  How do they differ?

I believe that Victor is the only one who has an antagonist.  The antagonist is Victor’s friendship with Thomas.  Ever since the fight both characters had when they were fifteen years old, they were not friends. Since then, Thomas was the outcast of the reservation because he “Thomas was a storyteller that nobody wanted to listen to” (248).  Also, “nobody talked to Thomas anymore because he told the same damn stories over and over again.  Victor was embarrassed, but he thought that Thomas might be able to help him.  Victor felt a sudden need for tradition” (249).  Victor knew deep inside of him that they are friends, but their community would not approve because the community reject Thomas. 

Does the way the protagonist speaks reveal anything about his or her personality?

When both characters do speak, they do reveal of how they changed, especially by the end of the novel.  At the end of the story, Victor gave his fathers’ ashes to Thomas.  This is significant because earlier in the story, Thomas told Victor a story of a time where he went to Spokane all by himself at the age of 13 because his dream told him to go there for a sign. When he got to Spokane, Victor’s dad saw him there, picked him up, and both went back to the reservation.  But the true meaning of the sign is “take care of each other is what [Thomas] dreams were saying.  Take care of each other” (254).  Thomas was true to this saying because he was taking care of his friend who needed help.  On the other hand, Victor had changed by the end of the story too.  He changed because he actually wanted to hear a story from Thomas.  He realized that he can accept Thomas as the person he is, not the opinion from the town. 

If the story is told in the first person, what is revealed about how the protagonist views his or her surroundings?

Both characters think that their life on the reservation is hard because they do not have the financial securities.  Victor said how “who does have money on a reservation, except the cigarette and fireworks salespeople” (248).  But by the end of the story, both characters had changed their surroundings because they finally had each other.  When both characters arrived back to the reservation, Victor gave his father’s ashes to Thomas to represent the meaning of take care of one another. 

What is the character’s primary motivation?  Does this motivation seem reasonable to you?

In the beginning of the story, Victor’s primary motivation was to get to Arizona to get the remains of his father, the saving account, and the car.  I would think this motivation is reasonable to me because which child would not want to receive the inheritances?  But when Thomas was introduce, Thomas’s motivation was to amend their friendship. As mentioned earlier, Thomas has the personality to forgive and to have the helping hand when someone is in need.  For example, when Victor apologized to Thomas, Thomas forgave him because “[they] were just kids and [he was] drunk” (252).  By the end of the story, Victor believed that “he owned Thomas something, anything” (256).

Does the protagonist fully understand his or her motivations?

I believe that both characters understand their motivations because both motivations are very clear and straight to the point. 

In what ways is the protagonist changed or tested by the events of the story?

I believe that Victor changed by the events by the end of the story.  Through the story, he had memories of him and Thomas when they were younger.  Through these good memories, he was able to know why he appreciates his friendship with Thomas. 

The actor that I will chose for Thomas is Adam Beach.  For Victor, I would chose A Martinez.  

http://www.bluecorncomics.com/abeach.htm

http://static.tvguide.com/MediaBin/Galleries/Imported/BioPix/Ri/2006/2006_12/a-martinez1.jpg