1. Identify which story you enjoyed the most and explain why.

2. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven contains a significant amount of humor. Provide several examples and discuss the impact of this humor. Why might the author have included it? What role does humor play for the characters, the plots, and the themes?

3. Alexie uses intriguing and unconventional titles for his stories. What effects do these titles have on you? Describe the impact of the following titles and how they relate to their stories: "Crazy Horse Dreams," "Somebody Kept Saying Powwow," and "The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn't Flash Red Anymore." Also, consider "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven." Do you find any symbolic meanings in these titles?

4. Being Native American in modern society is challenging. Provide evidence from the following stories that supports the accusation of racism against white society: "Amusements," "A Train Is an Order of Occurrence Designed to Lead to Some Result," and "Indian Education."

5. Compare and contrast the characters of Victor and Thomas.

6. The point of view in the stories varies. Sometimes it is first-person, narrated by one character and then by another in a different story. At other times, it is limited third-person. In one or two stories, the point of view is difficult to determine. How does this shifting point of view affect you as a reader? Why do you think the author changes the point of view as he does?

7. One of the themes of The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven is the significance of memory. Illustrate how memory, both personal and tribal, influences the lives of two or three characters.

8. Dreams play an essential role in Native American life. Discuss how dreams are integrated into Victor's life.

9. Norma Many Horses is a significant presence on "the rez." How would you describe Norma? What role does she play in the stories? Is she a realistic character?
10. Alexie often manipulates time in these stories, not always presenting a straightforward, chronological narrative. Provide examples of flashbacks and visions of the past (Thomas has several) from the stories. Why do you think the author does this?

11. Why is basketball so important on the reservation and to characters like Victor?

12. Do you find the dialogue in the stories to be realistic? Why or why not? Provide three examples of realistic or unrealistic dialogue and explain your reasoning.

13. The author frequently uses poetic language to express thoughts or emotions. This type of language demands interpretation. What concepts or feelings might be conveyed by the following excerpt from "Imagining the Reservation"? What metaphors or imagery evoke these responses? "I am celebrating Tony Swaggard, sleeping in the basement with two thousand dollars' worth of fireworks when some spark of flame or history touched it all off. Driving home, I heard the explosion and thought it was a new story born. But, Adrian, it's the same old story, whispered past the same false teeth. How can we imagine a new language when the language of the enemy keeps our dismembered tongues tied to his belt? How can we imagine a new alphabet when the old jumps off billboards down into our stomachs?"

14. The characters often harbor significant anger in their lives. How do they manage this anger? How do they deal with despair and poverty? What aids them in surviving on "the rez"?