This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona

Who is the main character or protagonist of the story? _­ make a quick list of the character’s physical, mental, moral, or behavioral traits. Which seem especially significant to the action of the story? Does the main character have an antagonist in the story? How do they differ?  Does the way the main character speaks reveal anything about his or her personality? If the story is told in first person, what is revealed about how the protagonist views his or her surroundings? What is the character’s primary motivation? Does this motivation seem reasonable to you? Does the protagonist fully understand his or her motivation?

The main character of the short story, “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona,” (247) is Thomas Builds-the-fire. The main character is an American Indian, psychologically disturbed, with strong family values, and with a storyteller background behavior. Thomas Build-the-fire since a little boy enjoyed to tell stories that came to him from dreams, the breeze of the wind, the cry of the animals, the sound of the water running. Thomas Build-the-fire antagonist is Victor. Victor and Thomas Build-the-fire are two completed different persons, even though they grow up together each one with the past of the years choose a different path. Victor is more like the normal American person. He worries more about the money and worries about himself. Thomas is more attach to his Indian roots. When Thomas at the end of the journey tells Victor,” “I know how it is,” Thomas said. “I know you ain’t going to treat me any better that you did before. I know your friends would give you too much shit about it.””(256) When Thomas tells that to Victor, I get the idea that Victor is and will continuous to be a self-centered person who worries to much about what other think about him. If the story was told in a first person view, the point of view of the main character about his surroundings would be sad and at the same time full of life with sign and messages to him, with ideas to tales for him to pass down to the anybody who would listen to him. The character primary motivation is to help a fellow human being in distress. Another motivation for Thomas to help victor is what victor’s father told him ones, “He said I had to watch out for you as part of the deal.” (254) Thomas ones had a vision that drove him to be in the middle of nowhere, where he met with victor’s dad. He later understood that victor’s dad was his vision, “take care of each other is what my dream was saying. Take care of each other.”(254) Thomas motivation is to help each other, his motivation appeals to me very reasonable and very noble. The protagonist seems to fully understand his motivation to help others. When Thomas and Victor made it back to the reservation, Victor wanted to thank him and repay him but Thomas as a good person did what he did no for repayment or any reason. He did what he did because he just wanted to help a person that was in need.