One of the worst feelings in the world is the one you get when it seems like you're trapped in the life you're living. It's the feeling when the routine of your life becomes so repetitive and tired that it becomes stifling, and the city you live in becomes a boring, inescapable prison. For many Native Americans, this feeling can be heightened tenfold, especially by living on a reservation with the same people their entire lives. There isn't much to do and getting off the reservation is both terrifying and difficult. The outside world may offer a variety of opportunities, but many lack the skills to take advantage of these opportunities, and many more are at risk of encountering the forms of racism embedded in American life. It is this rational fear that, based on contemporary literature, prevents so many Native Americans from breaking through the constraints of the reservation and moving on with their lives. Victor's life is the perfect example of this scenario. In the short story “The Only Traffic Light on the Reserve No Longer Flashes Red” by Sherman Alexie, Victor and his friend Adrian seem to be caught in an endless loop. The entire story projects the feeling of imprisonment that Victor experiences through various symbols such as the broken traffic light and the rising basketball stars. Victor is a lost character, desperate for change; however, he is a follower and too afraid to break the routine and face the unknown before anyone else does. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Victor doesn't know what he wants to do. In fact, he knows what he wants but not how to free himself from his routine. The story begins with Adrian and Victor playing a form of Russian roulette with a BB gun. When Adrian pulls the gun into his mouth and the BB is fired, Victor asks if he's dead yet. “No… not yet,” Adrian replies before asking for a beer, having forgotten that they have both stopped drinking (44). This part of the story immediately gives the reader an unsettling feeling. The “not yet” implies that death is something Alexie’s characters anticipate. The immediate demand for beer is so automatic that it seems routine. They are not used to change and are so lost in the same old cycle that they don't even think twice. What makes this cycle so stifling and permanent is how the story ends. A year passes, and Victor goes on to say that this year has passed and they have done things like "eat, sleep, and read the newspaper" (50) in the meantime. It's basically the same scene from the beginning of the story. Not only does the repetition of the scene close the circuit of routine that the two seem to live through, but the meaningless nothings are also the only thing that Victor mentions happening between the two. Clearly, nothing exciting enough has happened in this entire year to give him a different view of anything. He's bored. He feels trapped. The broken light on the reservation can be seen as a symbol used to parallel Victor's character. The fact that it's broken is a huge indication of how Victor feels. He feels broken, just like the light. However, because it has been this way for so long, no one really notices. And if they notice, they don't care. The light doesn't do much because there aren't many cars. “About only one car passed per hour” (48). So what was the use of light, anyway? How useful does Victor feel if he does the same thing over and over again?.