Themes
Spirituality
Throughout the novel, a strong theme of spirituality is present. From the nagging Catholics to Big Mom and her spiritual connection with past atrocities and current events of her people, the notion of a conflict between the European beliefs and Native American beliefs is explored.
Identity
A common conflict that arises among the characters is identity. While each character seems to struggle with who he/she really is individually, they are constantly encountering characters who question who they are as a people. Examples include white people which range from those wanting to be Indian, to those who don’t believe “real Indians” even still exist and mistake them for Puerto Rican. The novel explores the concept of what it means to not only be a Spokane, but what it means to be a modern Native American.
Stories
Alexie uses stories of Thomas, along with the stories of dreams, visions, and news articles to weave his story and convey his messages of Religion and what it means to truly be an Indian. These stories must be dissected, and once a deep investigation is done, they carry a meaning which drives the plot of the novel.
Music
Aside from the obvious music of the band, music resides in everyday life of the Coyote Springs group as well as the Spokane people as a whole. To exemplify this, at one point the band members throw out anything which might create music in their house, including a squeaky pair of cowboy boots. Music is used to describe the feelings of the town, and is even shown to provide healing powers.
Read more about this topic: Reservation Blues
Famous quotes containing the word themes:
“In economics, we borrowed from the Bourbons; in foreign policy, we drew on themes fashioned by the nomad warriors of the Eurasian steppes. In spiritual matters, we emulated the braying intolerance of our archenemies, the Shi’ite fundamentalists.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)
“I suppose you think that persons who are as old as your father and myself are always thinking about very grave things, but I know that we are meditating the same old themes that we did when we were ten years old, only we go more gravely about it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)