#4. What is "absolutely the saddest in the world" (31). Explain why Junior says this and the implication. (Max Ambris)

    The fact that Junior and the rest of the school have to use thirty-year-old books is the saddest thing in the world. Junior says this because it is a huge example of the poverty that the entire reservation faces. The entire story so far has been talking about the big problem of poverty. This point was just piling on more. Junior says, "...A geometry book that was at least thirty years older than I was....How horrible is that?"(Alexie 31). It also shows how little the outside world cares about the community because no one funds them properly. Their education isn't important enough for the government to give them proper books. This point is supported when Junior says that the reservation is "one million miles north of Important" (Alexie 30) and "the world has declared nuclear war on you,"(Alexie 31). As I said, this shows the reservation's lack of importance to anyone, but also Junior's unhappiness. Junior say that this incident destroyed his dreams. The age of the books has ultimately crushed Junior's hopes and blew up the poverty problem in his face.