Living on a reservation, Junior doesn’t understand the outside world as well as he thinks he does. He blames their poverty on the world not paying attention to their dreams. "But I can't blame my parents for our poverty... They dreamed about being something other than poor, but they never got the chance to be anything because nobody paid attention to their dreams." (11). They had visions of their own, but no one of influence could help them accomplish them, so Junior cannot blame his parents. Instead, he pushes his anger to the world, the side he doesn't understand. He hasn’t realized that everyone else has problems of their own. To get his dreams realized, he’ll have to get out of the reservation himself first, not to mention that he is having a hard time finding his identity, which complicates that task even further. It's going to be a hard road for him, but if he manages to succeed, he could possibly end their cycle of poverty and understand his real self.
How do you think he can get himself out of the reservation? Is this even possible considering that he thinks the world doesn't care about their dreams? If so, then why hasn't anyone on the reservation done it before? Could his problems with finding his identity possibly stop him from leaving forever?
I think Juniors troubles finding his identity definitely has/will have a big impact on his chances at success and escaping poverty. Finding hobbies or talents he is interested in and can be recognized for (i.e.; maybe academic, specific sport, or other) might help him get a scholarship to an outside school away from the reservation. However, the reason others before Junior had not fully attempted to escape the “rez” is because they felt they needed help to be accepted into the “outside world” and no one was willing to give that help. In other words, they thought “nobody would pay attention to their dreams.” In addition, Junior also said in the book that at times he feels he somehow deserves to be poor; this shows how many people are oppressed into giving up there dreams and struggle to deal with their poverty, like his parents. I think to succeed in escaping the rez Junior has to get past the negative image of himself being poor and push away the mindset there is nothing he can do about it; I agree that the next step is finding what kind of person he actually is, not just on the outside.
ReplyDeleteI also think junior’s identity has a big part because he is denied the chance to express his feelings. If he stands up for his community, he can make his way up and out of the reservation and continue to support his society. One more struggle would be his image. White people think of the indians as unintelligent and lower in standards. The way junior looks physically will make that stereotype even worse, ruining their reputation. It also seems like no one else had tried before because after so much abuse by the whites, they actually start to think they’re dumb and follow by it. They also mind their own business in their own society. Junior has a designated goal and he is determined to thrive in it.
ReplyDeleteJunior is indisputably struggling to find his identity. As an Indian on a rowdy and unstructured reservation, finding his identity is a key turning point for his development of character. The challenges he faces with coalescing his scattered pieces in life will definitely effect his chances of escaping the reservation where fate is uncontrollable. If he doesn't gather himself, he will face many difficulties in recognizing where life is taking him. He may blindly live. As a result, he won't have the asset discretion to help him choose what he wants to do with life (such as navigate a better one). Arnold would internally benefit from accepting what he was given. To take it a step further in his character growth, he should orient himself towards believing that nothing is permanent, and learn to defy the common belief that every Indian is "destined to be poor."
ReplyDeleteI think that Sherman Alexie is giving the reader a hint that something is going to change when Junior is struggling to find his identity. This event is going to be something dramatic that is going to change in Junior's life that will make him find his identity. Identity is about trying new things and figuring out who you really are. Are you a "sit at home" type of person or a "goes out and does stuff" type of person. With all of this in mind I think that Junior will leave the reservation by switching schools because it seems like the loser falls in love with the pretty white girl type of story. Not only that, the title hints that Junior is a part time Indian, that means that he is not on the rez for the whole day.
ReplyDeleteI think that Junior not finding his identity is an obstacle from him getting out. The reason nobody else has done it before it because they didn't try hard enough to get out of the reservation. Maybe the world might not care about their dreams, but if they want to make their dreams a reality they could work harder and make it real. That is how I think he can make it out.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Junior can eventually get himself out of the reservation by believing in himself. This will be an incredibly difficult task for Junior because he was stuck with a rough situation from the very get-go. He was born in a poor community with little resources to let his family's dreams flourish. However I believe Junior will get himself out of the reservation even if he thinks the world does not care about his dreams because all that matters is the individual. So if Junior believes in his own dreams, he can fufill all his ambitions.
ReplyDeleteI think that the struggling to find his identity is a bigger deal than him trying to get out of the reservation. I do believe that it is possible for Junior to get out of the reservationI, but he will have to overcome many obstacles. I believe that finding his identity is the first and hardest obstacle of his path out of the reservation, but I also believe that it will be harder than getting out. I think that once he finds his true self, getting out of the reservation will be a lot easier. Then, I think is the hard part. I believe he will struggle to accomplish his goal to become a writer. That will be another extremely challenging task that he must complete to finish his journey.
ReplyDelete