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
that niggers fuck buffalo?” (Alexie 118) which not only creates tension between Junior and Roger but puts down Juniors race.
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
we Spokanes made lots of money because we had a casino. But that casino, mismanaged and too far away from major highways, was a money-losing business. In order to make money from the casino, you had to work at the casino. And white people everywhere have always believed that the government just gives money to Indians" (Alexie 119). Based off of Junior's perspective, it is clear, that kids and parents at Rearden think that Indians are wealthy because of the government and the unorganized casino. Subsequently, Junior's reaction to Roger lending him 40 dollars created a perspective of wealth. Junior in shock, asks himself a rhetorical question, asking "what kind of kid can just hand over forty bucks like that?" (Alexie 126). Junior was raised on the Reservation, a poor community, so forty dollars was a big deal whereas Roger, raised in a rich community, didn't think forty dollars was a lot. Following this event, Junior confesses to Penelope that he's poor, which he expresses in his diary: "I guess poor guys don't get kissed on the lips" (Alexie 127). This shows Juniors perspective on the idea of gold diggers and creates an excuse for why he didn't get a kiss on the lips by Penelope. Although society has a lot of perspectives on the physical features like race and wealth, there are psychological perspectives about life and what we think is more important.

At the end of the day, we all aspire to do something.
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
than others and has an extremely high ego by showing the reader the perspective of Penelope. To conclude, different perspectives on aspirations, race and wealth can be learned in existing in two cultures.

In conclusion, everyone has a different perspective on things whether it is aspirations, race or wealth. These endless perspectives can be learned by existing in two cultures and understanding how and why they feel a certain way. Although different perspectives can lead to conflict, it allows humans to grow and evolve to work together as it is an important factor in leadership skills.