He looked into the crowd for approval, saw his mother and father. He waved and they waved back. Smiles and Indian teeth. They were both drunk. Everything familiar and welcome. Everything beautiful.
Interpretation
This quote reflects the warmth and joy of familial connection, even in imperfect moments.
In this quote by Sherman Alexie, the author captures a moment of connection with his parents amidst a lively crowd, emphasizing the beauty of familial approval and love. Despite the imperfect context of being 'drunk,' the scene is portrayed as familiar and beautiful, highlighting how family bonds can bring comfort and joy even in chaotic situations.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a family gathering to celebrate the bonds within the family.
Gordie, the white boy genius, gave me this book by a Russian dude named Tolstoy, who wrote, 'Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.' Well, I hate to argue with a Russian genius, but Tolstoy didn't know Indians, and he didn't know that all Indian families are unhappy for the same exact reasons: the frikkin' booze.
My wife was the first romantic partner who understood both American and native parts of me - not so much the positive stuff, but the damage.
I draw because words are too unpredictable. I draw because words are too limited. If you speak and write in English, or Spanish, or Chinese, or any other language, then only a certain percentage of human beings will get your meaning. But when you draw a picture everybody can understand it. If I draw a cartoon of a flower, then every man, woman, and child in the world can look at it and say, "That's a flower.
We all have to find our own ways to say good-bye.
I write books for teenagers because I vividly remember what it felt like to be a teen facing everyday and epic dangers. I don't write to protect them. It's far too late for that. I write to give them weapons-in the form of words and ideas-that will help them fight their monsters. I write in blood because I remember what it felt like to bleed.
A lot of people have no idea that right now Y.A. (young adult). is the Garden of Eden of literature.
They are not royal. They just happen to have me as their aunt.
The door', replied Maimie, 'will always, always be open, and mother will always be waiting at it for me.
I am most anxious to give my own children enough love and understanding so that they won't grow up with an aching void in them--like you and I and Harold and Martha. That can never be filled, and one goes around all one's life trying, trying to make up for what one didn't get that was one's birthright, asking the wrong people for it.
When a father gives to his son, both laugh; when a son gives to his father, both cry.
When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body - it's a blessing.
Your family and your love must be cultivated like a garden. Time, effort, and imagination must be summoned constantly to keep any relationship flourishing and growing.
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