A short presentation the short-story collection you
have started reading. There is a movie based on these stories which you can watch as well, but it is not
required.
This assignment is about presenting reflective and investigative speech on the stories you have so far
experienced.
Required reading
Pick and Mix 2: How to make a presentation. (Extra material).
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven: What I mean when I say Phoenix, Arizona
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven: Every little hurricane
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven: A drug called tradition
Optional Extra Material: Smoke Signals (the movie). Note that your teacher cannot help you find the movie if
you cannot find it by yourself.
Topic
The short stories in The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven and Smoke Signals, the movie based on
the story “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” are to a great extent centered around the lives and
experiences of a Native American.
Based primarily on the stories you have read and the movie you have seen you are to deliver a speech on your
perception of the life of modern Native Americans and how it contrasts with your own experiences. Try to be
clear on why you believe certain things, rather than just saying that you do.
The following questions may be useful to structure your speech:
- How do the people from the reservation treat each other?
- What is your view of the reservations themselves? It might help to investigate their nature online.
- When Victor and Thomas leave the reservation, what did you expect would happen to them?
- In contrast, what did they actually experience in the ‘world outside’? When you discuss the story, focus on
presenting events that are relevant to your discussion – do not summarize the entire story. - Can you see any parallells between the Native Americans and groups of people in Sweden?
- In contrast, are there relevant differences between the situation of Native Americans and other minority
groups’?
Structure and Style
The speech should be explorative in nature, and need not be especially formal in tone.
What is important is that it is clearly structured, if you are to make a clear and interesting statement you need
to think about how you order your topics. In Pick and Mix 2 you will find instructions for both making speeches
and writing texts under the chapter labeled “Extra Material” .
Introduction: Say what you will talk about.
Following the introduction, bring up the examples, arguments and questions you wish to talk about in order of
importance. Start with the most important element, and let everything else follow from it. If possible, make it
clear how the things you bring up afterwards are connected to what you have already said.
Conclusion: Based on what you have already said, what is the listener supposed to take away from the
speech; what do you want them to understand?