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  1. AnonymousNovember 1, 2017 at 3:50 PM

    #1 What is “absolutely the saddest thing in the world” (31)? Explain why Junior says this and the implication. (Simon B)

    In The Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Junior says “absolutely the saddest thing in the world” (31), when he is talking about how poor his tribe is, and that they couldn’t afford new textbooks in the last thirty years. Junior thinks that being poor is horrible because he doesn’t have any of the privileges the average person in America has. In chapter two, Junior’s mom says, “‘Junior sweetheart,’ ... ‘I’m sorry, but we don’t have any money for Oscar”’ (10). Junior’s family’s lack of money is his limitation, his boundary. It holds him back to the point where he believes he “deserve[s] to be poor” (13). Junior’s reservation is unfairly poor, which is symbolized well when Junior finds out that he had the same textbook his mother had thirty years before him. Junior is so used to living poorly it seems to him he deserves it, and even though it is hard, it’s the life he was meant to live because he’s Indian. While Junior’s thoughts aren’t true and he doesn’t deserve to live this way just because he’s Indian; he does bring up a good point with his statement that implies he has this life because of his race. Indian people have been and still are treated unfairly for no reason. Just like other races, Indian people, especially in this book, have been mistreated a lot in both the past, and the present. I agree with Junior that being poor is one of, if not the worst thing in the world because of the way it limits what you can do.

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