They are bitter about its effects on the men of the reservation, seeing this need to feign invincibility as part of what leads many to alcohol when they, inevitably, can’t live up to the impossible ideal, and then as a result face a persistent sense of unfulfilled potential. The novel’s main female characters, Chess and Checkers, ascribe this drive in male Native Americans to the macho need to fit the image of the fearless Indian warrior. This fatal drive toward heroism displayed by the young Samuel is typical of other male characters on the reservation, and bitterly mocked by others. Now he lies on the table, drunk and defeated in a deeper sense: he totally succumbs to despair. Against all odds, and in line with the macho Native American drive toward heroism, Samuel nearly emerged victorious, but then he too was defeated. This underdog tale is mirrored in the memory of Samuel Builds-the-Fire’s basketball match against the tribal police. When, on the verge of success, they fail so completely, their failure feels expected-even inevitable. Thomas tirelessly drives the group forward with his optimistic belief in their potential. The community invests, against its better judgment, in the sort of desperate optimism that comes with forming a band-entering into a very competitive field with little hope for success, either in terms of fame or money. The story of this ragtag band of misfits is in many ways a classic underdog tale, but without the traditional happy ending. Hope survives, barely, in spite of sustained adversity. Throughout Alexie’s novel, hope battles with despair in the lives of each member of the band and the reservation as a whole-and the Blues become a way of converting despair into something that can build, rather than destroy, community.
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