“This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” by Sherman Alexie follows the story of two young Indian men who live on a reservation in Washington state.  The main character, Victor, has just lost his job and has received word that his father has just passed away in Phoenix, Arizona.  The other young man was once a close friend of Victor: Thomas Builds-the-Fire.  Thomas and Victor had left their boyhood friendship behind them because of Thomas’s odd persona. 

Since Victor only has one hundred dollars, Thomas offers to pay the way to Phoenix. Victor needs to pick up his father’s things. There is one condition: Victor has to allow Thomas to go also. Victor had to think about letting Thomas help him.

Thomas was a story teller.  There were stories constantly going on in his head.  He also knew things that were going to happen.  When they were seven, Thomas had told Victor about his father leaving.  His father wanted to run away and hide. Eventually, this is what the father did.

When they were fifteen and no longer friends, the two had a fist fight. Victor was drunk and beat up Thomas for no reason.  One of the girls stopped the fight and helped Thomas.

When they were ten years old, Victor and Thomas went to the July the 4th fireworks show.  Afterwards, Victor has Thomas tell him a story.  He told of two boys that wanted to be warriors.  There were no more horses.  So they stole a car and parked it in front of the police station. When they returned home, they were considered heroes and everyone cheered for them.

Another incident occurred when the boys were twelve in which Thomas saved Victor’s life. Victor stepped in an underground wasps’ nest.  He could not get his foot out.  Thomas pulled Victor’s foot out and told him to run.  Victor counted his stings.  Only seven--this became Victor’s lucky number.

Their lives were inextricably intertwined throughout their youth.  During the trip to Arizona, Victor discovers that his father had once helped Thomas.  When Thomas was thirteen, something had told him to go to Spokane and wait for a sign.  He walked all day and night.  He waited by a bridge for an hour until Victor’s father came along and picked him up.  He took him to eat and drove him home to the reservation.  From this encounter, Thomas was told in his head that he and Victor were to take care of each other. The father had made Thomas promise that he would watch out for Victor. 

Toward the end of the story, Thomas explains his story telling and why he talks to himself.

We are all given one thing by which our lives are measured, one determination.  Mine are the stories that can change or not change the world.  I have only my stories. My father died at Okinawa. My mother died giving birth to me.  I learned a thousand stories before I took my first thousand steps. They are all I have.

After their trip, Victor promises that he would let Thomas tell him a story and Victor would actually listen.

Initially, the stories Thomas told Victor pushed the latter away, either out of fear or embarrassment of his friend's odd powers. But by the resolution of this tale, Victor finds comfort in Thomas' storytelling and recognizes how the two boys, now young men, are inextricably linked.

How do the settings in "This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona" influence Victor and Thomas?

After Victor and Thomas exit the plane, Thomas notes that the white gymnast they met (Cathy) was nice. Victor says: 

"Yeah, but everybody talks to everybody on airplanes," Victor said. "It's too bad we can't always be that way." 

The idea of rising and flying are significant to the story. The two of them are traveling to "Phoenix" to settle Victor's father's affairs. The phoenix was a mythological bird which was said to be able to rise from its ashes. It is fitting that while they are literally rising (flying in the plane), the two Indians (Native Americans) find something in common with a white girl. In this state of rising (metaphorical and literal in this case), there is the idea of transcending. 

Thomas once had a dream that inspired him to go to Spokane to wait for a vision. Victor's father showed up and took him out to eat and then brought him home. Thomas concluded that Victor's father was the vision he was waiting for. Since Victor's father took care of him, Thomas concluded, "Take care of each other is what my dreams were saying. Take care of each other." Victor's father then asked Thomas to look after Victor. So, Spokane represents a place of vision and insight for Thomas. It is a reminder to care for one another.

When Victor gives Thomas some of his father's ashes, Thomas says he will take them to Spokane. "And your father will rise like a salmon, leap over the bridge, over me, and find his way home." The theme of rising from the ashes emerges again here. These visions and experiences are tied to certain places. For Thomas, Spokane has this aura of community and rising up. 

In Phoenix, they retrieve Victor's father's ashes. This is a clear allusion to the mythological Phoenix. Victor also plans to take his share of the ashes to Spokane. Although Phoenix is their destination and has the significant tie to the myth, Spokane has become symbolic of tribal connection for Thomas and Victor. "Spokane" means "children of the sun" or "children of the stars." This supports that idea of being reborn of fire and the idea of rising (the sun being in the sky). It suggests a place where this kind of transcendent and unifying "rising" can occur.