2. 3.Interpret/explore/explain the context and the significance of the quote “Every white person on this res should get smashed in the face. But let me tell you this. All the Indians should get smashed in the face, too.” (42)

Mr. P's actions and what he said to Arnold may have been a little more personal than the usual teacher would. The reason he wasn't so mad about this is because he has a guilty conscience. "I hurt a lot of Indian kids when I was a young teacher," he said. "I might have broken a few bones." (Alexie 30). Sometimes we let people get away with things because we have a guilty conscious of our own. What he says here is that he may have helped people strip away their culture. But in some ways staying on that reservation was stripping their own culture away from them. "It was a different time," Mr. P said. "A bad time. Very bad. It was wrong. But I was young and stupid and full of ideas. Just like you." (Alexie 30) Some ways they were choosing not to have dreams they were choosing to be poor and some odd and strange way they were to blame. In the story so far I have heard so many accusations against white people. Yes, they've done things to be on comprehensible to the human mind. Yes, they did start the suffering of many and mostly Native Americans throughout history. Poverty, systematic oppression, and even alcoholism is all white people's fault. Make it seem like they don't have a choice but to stay on the reservation but that is completely untrue. Everyone in their life is given a choice and opportunity. “After high school, my sister just froze. Didn't go to college, didn't get a job. Didn't do anything. Kind of sad, I guess.” (Alexie 22) No one told them that you have to stay with your tribe no one is holding you back from your dreams, but you. I think Mr. P shows that even people with privilege have problems too. It's important to realize that part of the people to blame are themselves.