"Tony's Story" - Shannon Walsh (Week 8)

Certain words used throughout the story work to reveal the culture of the characters as well as the specific setting. Tony often refers to his neighborhood and home as the peublo. From this, the reader can infer that the characters live in a community of Native Americans in the Southwestern part of the United States. Because Tony and Leon live here, the reader can infer that they are of Native American descent. Tony also refers to the "sandstone mesas" (583) near the higway, which reinforces this Southwestern Setting. He also briefly talks to "Siow and Gaisthea," characters with traditional Native American names. The use of these cultural words collectively works to reveal the culture and setting of the story.

The narrator also refers to many different American brand names throughout the story. He refers to "the smell of Doublemint" (581), "little kids crying for Kool-Aid" (582) and "Grants" gas station (580), a common gas station found in the Southwest. The incorporation of these widely known brand names serves as a reminder of the larger setting outside their Native American pueblo world, and also reinforces the tension between the two worlds in the plot between the boys and the white policeman.