#1
Interpret/explain/explore the context and the significance of the quote
"We were supposed to kill the Indian to save the child" (35) (Luis)
To rephrase what Mr. P meant is he
was suppose to stop the children from being a stereotypical Indian, to save
them so they could become someone. A stereotypical Indian being a crazy,
partying, hopeless drunk. Mr. P states "We
were supposed to kill the Indian to save the child" (Alexie 35). Even though it seems like a simple task to
stop the children from being something they shouldn’t, it’s not. As you can
tell from the whole reservation. Even the brightest students give up after
school. Needless to say, most of the children in the reservation don’t even
try. These children don’t only do badly in school but harm and bully others. Even
though Mr. P tries to save his students the only thing that could save them are
themselves.
When Mr. P said this do you
think he was stereotyping Indians?
I agree, the teachers at the reservation were trained to obliterate whatever small piece of Native American culture was left within the students. Their goal was to convert them, to make them like other children outside the reservation. They thought they were doing the right thing for them, although it may not work like that. Mr. P has realized his error, and tells this to Arnold: “I deserved to get smashed in the face for what I’ve done to Indians” (Alexie 42). This raises a question: what if the government had white people working at the reservations not to teach the Native Americans, but to slowly force their culture to die? If they killed the Native Americans, the government would only look bad, and that could be a disaster. So maybe they used this as a way to kill their culture in a less obvious way.
ReplyDeleteTo paraphrase what Mr. P. is saying to Junior is to not be the typical Indian, which is a lost cause in his eyes. The book says, "All Indians should get smashed in the face to...the only thing you guys are being taught to do is give up" (Alexie 42). This quote suggests that Mr. P. thinks that Indians are not determined and don't try their hardest which gives a negative impact. Despite what Mr. P. thinks of Indians generally, he has hope for Junior, as stated in this quote: "You threw the book in my face because somewhere inside you refuse to give up" (Alexie 43). This shows that Mr. P. has optimistic about the future for Junior and the fact that he can be a positive influence, but at the end of the day only you can control your decisions.
ReplyDeleteI think that instead of trying to help the children, they were trying to crush their culture. Sort of like what the spanish did to the Aztec empire. You cannot truly defeat a nation until you've crushed their culture. "It aaas a different time...A bad time. Very bad. It was wrong." (36 Alexie) Said Mr. P when he was admitting to Junior about the wrongs he had committed to the Native American personalities he had crushed. (thinking that it was right to do so)
ReplyDeleteTo rephrase what Mr. P said, he said that Junior has a lot of potential. "You are a good kid. You deserve the world," (Alexie 41). When Mr. P admits to what he had done and said in the past, he clearly regrets and is ashamed of his actions."I'd never seen a sober man cry," (Alexie 43). I think that before he had met Junior, he was stereotyping Indians, but now that he met such a great kid and Junior's sister, I bet he will never stereotype another Indian again.
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