Reading No. 1: "Every Little Hurricane" by Sherman Alexie

Sherman Alexie

Title: Every Little Hurricane

Author: Sherman Alexie

Date: 6 March 2019

Setting (time and place): Spokane Indian Reservation in 1976

Event (Conflict, important information, touching passage, question): This story gives a clear perspective about how life in the Indian reservations is. The event takes place in New Year’s Eve, so all the family gathered in Victor’s house. He was trying to sleep in his bed in the basement while the other people were having a party upstairs. There was alcohol and anger due to memories from the past and the conditions in which they live, so the party got out of control. There were even fistfights and people with burns and broken arms. It was described as a hurricane due to the mess caused, and the saddest part is that the innocent Victor who is only nine years old is in the middle of the disaster.

Characters:

Victor: There is not a physical description of him, but even though he is only nine years old, he is conscious about everything that is happening around him.

Uncles: Adolph and Arnold they are brothers of Victor’s mom. They are fist fighting so hard that it seems that they may kill each other. They are fighting due to conflicts they have from the past. One is tall and bigger and the other is short muscular. Thy are also compared with the High-pressure and low-pressure that create hurricanes in climate issues.

Victors’ mother: She is hosting the party until she ends up passed out besides her husband in her bed due to alcohol. She seems to be a person who tries to take care of her family though the conditions and the environment is not so good. She cannot have more babies and it is a source of anger in her personal life.

Victor’s Father: The same as Victor’s mother, he is the other host of the party who ends up completely drunk. Poverty is his main worry. He even drink vodka with an empty stomach.

Memorable Quote / Favorite part: “The forecast was no good. Indians continued to drink harder and harder, as if anticipating. There’s s fifty percent chance of torrential rain, blizzardlike conditions, seismic activity. Then there’s a sixty percent chance, then seventy, eighty.”

How did it make me feel? / Can I make any connection to my life? Well, I have to admit that at the beginning I was a little confused because I was expecting something related to real hurricanes; I mean, the literal meaning but at the end I loved the metaphor. I think that the author couldn’t have used different words to create this effect on the readers. Also, it is interesting and kind of sad because the problematic that is being presented in this short story can be evidenced in real life. I believe that probably most of us have experienced moments in our lives that we can categorize as hurricanes but there are people whose whole lives are hurricanes. Victor is a clear example of that; he is a little kid who lives in a place that suffers from poverty and hunger and his parents do not take care of him as it should be. This short story makes us reflect about our lives, how lucky we are and thank every day for that.