What does Mr. P mean when he says “we were supposed to kill the Indian to save the child” (35) Eric Bookwalter
Mr. P is Juniors Math teacher, during the 5th chapter Mr. P says to Junior “we were supposed to kill the Indian to save the child” (35). What Mr. P means is that the school was trying to eliminate the Indian culture. They are trying to “save the child” and kill the savages. The white teachers saw the Indians as rough people who fought and were uncivilized and that's all they knew, because they only knew one story. The teachers let the bullies pick on them and hurt them as a way to lower their self esteem. They were trying to make the Indian’s give up on their Indian heritage to try and stop the cycle of their unhealthy lives.
The Indian heritage that the teachers are trying to change is a lack of confidence in the children. The teachers want the children to understand the economic opportunities outside the reservation. The reservation is so isolated that it lacks jobs for the Indians and therefore leads to a life of poverty, drinking, and violence. Before Mr. P came Junior explained that kids began drinking at 14 and just like fighting is a retreat for Rowdy he wants other people to suffer just like him, and there are many more Indians just like him. What the white teachers don't understand is that there are ,any good things about the Indian culture that should be celebrated.
Questions: If the teachers succeeded in ridding the Indian from the child would that be good or bad? Do you think other teacher feel the same as Mr. P why, or why not? If more jobs were available on the reservation would it change the Indians unhealthy lifestyle? Do you think any other Indians have hope like Junior?
I don't think the other teacher's at the high school Junior went to on the reservation felt the same way about killing "the Indian to save the child" (35) because they didn't take the time to come up to Junior and warn him about the dangers of staying on the reservation. When Mr. P said that the goal of the teachers who work at schools on the reservation was to remove their culture, I think they were trying to help them and allow them more opportunity, as you said. But I also think that the other teachers didn't step back to look at the big picture and how taking away the students' culture and family background might affect them more negatively. Also relating back to how the other teachers would feel differently from Mr. P, because he actually did step back to look at the big picture and realized that although it was too late for the other kids on the reservation it was not too late for Junior, so he sought him out and told him all that he knew. Mr. P did this for Junior because he realized that advising him to leave the reservation was a kinder and more humane way of getting him a better education (which would lead to a better future) and still allowed him to maintain his Indian heritage.
ReplyDeleteMadison Bailey
I don't think that the teachers actually let the children bully the Indians, instead, I think that that was just an expression used to frighten away the aspect of being Indian. I agree with what you said about demolishing the Indian heritage and culture from a child to make them a 'better person'. To answer your question: 'If the teachers succeeded in ridding the Indian from the child would that be good or bad?' I think that if the teachers got rid of the Indian children then it would be a big mistake because the rest of the school children would not be exposed to different cultures, and they would be in their own little bubble world which is starting the whole cycle of ignorance. And to answer your second question: 'Do you think other teacher feel the same as Mr. P why, or why not?' I think that the teachers do not think the same way as Mr. P. All the other teachers have probably been influenced by the people around them to think that getting rid of the Indian in children is a good thing if they haven't already thought so themselves, but I strongly believe that the teachers are ignorant towards the good side of Indian culture which is why Mr. P was the only teacher who gave Junior this piece of advice.
ReplyDeleteIsabella-Marie
I don't think that more jobs offered on the Indian Reservation would help their situation much. They are already getting so little money and the government would likely not help with the financial aspect of it, due to racism, so jobs on the reservation would not be very realistic unless they were extremely low paying jobs. Also, even if jobs were offered on the reservation it would not help to diminish the racism they face, which is the root of how unhealthy their situation is. Jobs on the reservation might barely pull them out of poverty, but if they want to make a long lasting difference on how Indians are treated, they should aim for jobs outside of the reservation where they have a chance at a higher paycheck and for their dreams to get realized.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that Mr.P meant to get Junior mad when he said to kill the indian inside of the child. I think he meant that during that time teachers were taught to control the stereotypical "savage" indian person. He was confessing to Junior that he felt bad for the way he treated the other kids in the years before. He felt that when Junior hit him in the face was a way to release his forgiveness by not making a big deal of what Junior did. He also felt that telling Junior to leave the reservation and going elsewhere to become better is a way to reconcile for all the wrong he has done and have let him happen in the years past.
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