Topic > The problem of stereotypes in "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian"

One of the many problems today concerns stereotypes. It can affect many people in many different ways. Cultural stereotypes can be a sensitive topic because people outside the culture will try to categorize a culture that creates stereotypes. While some stereotypes can be positive, most stereotypes are negative and seem created to attack the person. This can be seen when comparing Native Americans and Caucasians. Both cultures are very different and the norms of other cultures seem like something strange. These differences cause conflicts between cultures. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Stereotypes can affect people in real life. According to Dwanna L. Robertson, when it comes to stereotyping Indians, people who portray Indians in a Thanksgiving play or Columbus Day celebration are misrepresenting them. The worst part is that so much has been done that when the average person in the United States sees it they see nothing negative about it. But for indigenous people it can be offensive and misrepresented. Indigenous people feel like many people in the United States think of them as lazy drunks. Conflict of Stereotypes Between Native Americans and Caucasians In the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, when Arnold, the narrator and main character, first moved to an all-white school, he felt that everyone would judge the his identity. Even the teachers judged him just because he was Indian. On page number 85, Arnold wanted to correct his teacher but the teacher took the correction personally and decided to discredit him by sarcastically saying that the science on the reservation was so "amazing." And the teacher only recognized that he was wrong when another boy confirmed that Arnold was right. In the story Arnold had a stereotype about how good his education was because his previous school was on the reservation. Another big stereotype that whites see in indigenous people is the violent nature. When people portray Native Americans, they usually portray them with weapons in their hands. This shows that many Americans see them as violent or cheats for always needing a gun. But if you think about it, Native Americans didn't really show signs of violence compared to Euro-Americans. In the history of the United States, it has been Euro-Americans who have shown more violence than natives. For example, mass genocide or enslavement and land grabs from natives. In the story, Arnold admits that the people of his tribe can be violent because they like to fight whenever they can, but he also shows how they do it out of honor. When Arnold turned to Reardan and was about to fight, he was surprised when he threw the first punch and won. Not because his opponent had been knocked out, but because fighting wasn't an option in Reardan. This created conflict in the transition to another culture because he now looked like a savage and that "fight" contributed more to it. But at least he was later respected. Something that many people don't know, is that most Native Americans living on reservations do not live in good living conditions, some people have even said that the living conditions are "comparable to those of the Third World". ”. Arnold's life could be considered poor in the story. Arnold was even afraid to let his Reardan friends know that he was poor. He even refused to receive free lunch because he didn't want to know being "the only Indian and a sad sack in need of charity." This leads him to do everything to prevent.