So I’m supposed to write this paper talking about voice, but what is voice? It’s more than opinions or the sound that comes out of your mouth. Voice is also about expressing your voice as a personality.
In smoke signals Victor had a lot of voice coming out of him despite that Thomas was doing most of the talking. You could tell what Victor wanted in life, who he really was, and everything else just by his voice. Victor represented the warrior; he was never smiling, always reserved, and had kind of a grumpy outlook on everything. It was easy to tell when the warrior came out in him. He was a great basketball player in his tribe, and hated losing. When ever he got scored on he immediately called “Foul” and if any body argued he would respond, “when I say it’s a foul, it’s a foul.” This showed off his over competitiveness of a natural warrior. The biggest part though when the warrior came out is when he went to run to find help, and he ran for miles upon miles, fighting his desire to take a break, not wanting to give up or surrender.
Personality traits came into play also. When Thomas was talking with the 2nd team gymnast for the Olympics, Victor showed off this personality of shut out and reserved. He got upset with the Thomas learning more about this girl, and he yelled at her and pissed her off so she quit talking to them. Victor stays reserved through out the movie not wanting to hear Thomas’s stories, or listen to him talk at all. All that stays on Victor’s mind is the mission at hand.
Thomas has a completely different personality that comes out through his voice through out the movie. First thing you notice is the need for acceptance. Thomas wants to be accepted as a part of Victor’s life, mostly because he feels like they were brothers. Victor’s dad was like a father to Thomas because Victor’s dad saved Thomas’s life, and bought him a grand slam at Denny’s. When ever Victor would be around Thomas would always ask, “Hey Victor, what about your dad?” or something along those lines. This was Thomas’s socially challenged way of trying to be a part of Victor and his dad’s life. And when Thomas offers to put up his own saved up money to help Victor get to his dad’s house on the basis that Thomas gets to come to, it shows how loyal and dedicated Thomas really is to Victor and his dad.
The other trait you would notice is that opposite of Victor, the warrior, Thomas portrays the medicine man. I don’t think ten minutes went by and Thomas didn’t tell a story, or talk about how he can feel things by listening to the winds and the trees. Thomas is very spiritual and wants to be completely positive in every aspect of life.
Victor and Thomas’s name could also represent this. Victor’s name as you could probably guess represents victory. He never wants to lose or give up, like any warrior victor wants to achieve victory.
Thomas’s last name was Builds-a-fire. This name is a very ironic name since Thomas’s parents were killed in a fire. At the beginning of the movie, after the devastating fire, Thomas narrates that, “Some kids are made of fire and burn everything they touch; others are made of ash and burned by anything that touches them. Me and Victor were made of fire and ash.”
Builds-a-fire could go along with the medicine man idea that Thomas is there to help, and fire is known as a tool. But fire could also be the one thing that is referenced as the big symbol of struggle between Victor and Thomas. Since they were both made of fire and ash, they were the ones who could burn each other. Thomas’s constant fire building was what aggravated victor the most after Victor’s father left him.
Voice is more than just what you say, it’s more of how you act or the way you say something. Victor the warrior and Thomas the medicine man are great examples of voice by the way they approach life.
Voice shows up everywhere you look, everything you read, everything you watch, everything you listen to, and basically in almost anything. In my last English paper, “Johnny Dudeguy and the Radical Rangers,” you could find a lot of voice coming out of it.
One thing you will probably notice is the humor and fun that this story has, which represents a lot of my personality. There were many quotes from characters, and even the character name that really stood out with a fun personality of the story.
With in the story, the protagonist Johnny Dudeguy represented Robin Hood, for although he stole food one day, he gave it to poor kids starving in the cafeteria. Johnny is very selfless, carries around a sling shot that he is very handy with(like Robin’s bow and arrow), and always wants to help out those less fortunate than him.
The bad guy of the story was Notso Niceguy, who was not so much of a nice guy. Notso was the prince John of the story. Wrongfully put into power, Notso was enveloped in greed and demanded all he could. He even took away everything dear to Robin by stealing his girlfriend Mary Ann, showing how ruthless he was. Notso and Johnny used to be best friends when they were young, but Notso got rich and started rolling with a different crowd. He really showed how money and power can corrupt someone who used to be good hearted.
Of course in the end, Johnny triumphs over Notso. Which, you should be thinking to yourself right now, “Oh good, good triumphed over evil.” This is part of the story hugely represents the voice of it. For if you were to describe the voice of this story you would say that it’s about good triumphing over evil.
Voice is a tricky subject, mostly because it’s hard to define. You say something, and sounds come out your mouth, and then you say, “Hey, that’s my voice.” But in this instant voice is more than sound, for you can’t hear a story written on paper. Voice is the personality of stories.
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