The Different Perspective On People From The Reservation By Sherman Alexie

When reflecting our ancestors’ history or our current conflicts, the majority of the conflicts occur due to the different perspective of race, religion, and culture. In the novel, Mr. Dodge denies Junior’s knowledge about Petrified Wood because Junior was an “Indian” from the Reservation. To eagerly be correct, Mr. Dodge sarcastically mentions how "there’s so much amazing science on the reservation” (Alexie 85). By using a mixture of sarcastic tone and a rhetorical question, Alexie shows Mr. Dodge’s perspective on people from the Reservation (Indians) and how they are less educated in the field of Science than Rearden. Furthermore, different perspectives of race are shown when Roger says to Junior “Did you know that Indians are living proof
This supposed joke was extremely harmful and expresses Rogers opinion on Indians, putting them in a hierarchy of race superiority. In addition to his derogatory statement, he uses racial slurs that are not only offensive, but derogatory to classify black-skinned individuals. Perspective on controversial topics like race can be quite overwhelming. Although an individual's race can alter someone's perspective on someone, it is not the only thing that can be learned in living in two cultures.

In today's society, the majority of the population judges people based off of their wealth, appearance and their materialistic possessions. For example, when individuals see someone that is supposedly a millionaire, many people would typically think that they would be wearing S class clothing from Louis Vuitton. The materialistic possessions create different perspectives on people that can possibly spout into a stereotype, which is the reason why we depict millionaires to be wearing a tailored suit. This was expressed in the novel when Junior briefly clarifies the misunderstanding in his diary saying that "Everybody in Reardan assumed
Although we may have different perspectives on it we all end up having an ambition of achieving something. Whether it is becoming an astronaut or becoming the first trillionaire, we all have an end goal. However, these aspirations can be contradicted with the limitations that we have. This is explored in the novel when Mr. P visits Arnold during his suspension as result of Arnold throwing a textbook at Mr. P. Instead of having an argument or holding grudges, Mr. P talks with Arnold. Mr. P tells Arnold his perspective informing him that he's "going to find more and more hope the farther and farther you walk away from this sad, sad, sad reservation." (Alexie 42) Mr. P, a teacher that lived on the reservation for years, presents his perspective to Arnold, telling him to leave the Reservation for the opportunity to find hope. In short, Mr. P has a perspective that the Reservation is hopeless in comparison to other places far away. Another essential point is when Junior speaks to Penelope one day after school without any context given to the reader. Penelope gives her perspective and mentions how she "hate this little town." (Alexie 111) She then mentions how "the people here have small ideas. Small dreams. They all want to marry each other and live here forever."(Alexie 111) Alexie uses literary devices to show Penelopes perspective on her aspirations and life. This statement shows the readers that Penelope is different