Government

Commonly seen between “The Trial of Thomas Builds-the-Fire” and “This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona”, by Sherman Alexie, is the allusion to a tyrannical government. Evident throughout both stories is the subtle dismissal of the needs of the Indian people, in “This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona”, Victor was not able to acquire the funds to travel to make arrangements for his late father as Tribal Council was having, “difficult time financially”(99) while Thomas Builds-the-Fire was deemed, “‘Dangerous'”, for being blatantly truthful(139). The lack of basic funds for necessities was deemed unimportant while Thomas Builds-the-Fire’s trial became somewhat of a formality before his sentencing, Thomas’ fault being his interaction with Esther who was being mistreated by her husband, the tribal chairman, who practiced a form of self-hate by calling Esther a “savage in polyester pants”(140). During the trial, there was clear lack of professionalism apparent through the bias from his history by judge who also had ample funds for a replacement gavel.