Human beings rely on the power of storytelling to maintain hope, this hope allows them to continue to believe that one day, they’ll be able to achieve their dreams. Sherman Alexie explores the idea of hope and dreams by reminiscing about the heroes of the reservation. In “The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn’t Flash Red Anymore” by Sherman Alexie, Alexie demonstrates the hope the characters have by sharing their memories of the heroes they’ve lost, as well as discussing their hope that they have that the younger heroes will do what no one else has and make it all the way, achieving their dreams.
Victor and Adrian share their stories of reservation heroes, hopeful that Julius Windmaker will make it all the way. Julius is the star basketball player on the reservation. When he and some of his friends walk by, Victor and Adrian think about how talented Julius is. Then Victor asks Adrian a question that causes them to think about the other heroes that didn’t make it. Victor prompts, “‘you think Julius will make it all the
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Julius gets drunk before a game and is a completely different player on the court. After the game, instead of people talking about Julius like they might have done normally, the crowd talked about a third grader, Lucy, playing for the sixth-grade basketball team. Later Adrian and Victor see her walking toward another basketball game, and Victor says to Adrian, “‘God, I hope she makes it all the way,’ I said. ‘Yeah, yeah,’ Adrian said” (14). In a way, the reservation has lost another hero now that Julius has started to fall into the long-running cycle of addiction. Now they are beginning to talk about Lucy who is very talented for her age, and will very likely be the next reservation hero. The boys hope that she will make it all the way and achieve her dreams, whatever they may