In lieu of our interesting book discussion this past Thursday, I’d like to ask everyone to find one quote that was of particular significance from Reservation Blues, or one that just stood out. Additionally, please explain why you chose the quote.
Consider this a form of practice for our future blog usage:). Please let me know if you have any questions.
The quote that stood out to me was “Once Checkers saw a white man spit into a zombie’s(Indian man) open hand. Just spit in his palm. The zombie wiped his hand clean on his pants and offered it again(page 99).” because it showed how much Indians were suffering that they would endured the humiliation of someone spitting in their hand just for money.
The chorus of Betty’s and Veronica’s song stood out to me most . ” And it don’t matter who you are, You can be Indian in your bones.” (295) I like this qoute because it shows that we can be something totally different from what others expect us to be.
An interesting quote that I came across was “I’ve always had a theory that you ain’t really Indian unless, at some point in your life, you didn’t want to be Indian.” (169) Apparently, an Indian can’t be considered one unless he/she has hated being one in their lifetime. This could possibly hold true for almost all other ethnicities.
One quote that stood out for me was “Checkers always bought expensive tennis shoes, no matter how poor she was” (137). When Checkers was trying on tennis shoes at a supermarket, she was pitied by white people because the shoes were inexpensive and made of cheap materials. This shows that there is some form of superficiality in the way people look at each other, and it is evident even today.
The quote “I mean, he’s got a lot going for him. He’s got a job, he’s sober, he’s got his own teeth.” stuck out to me. It seems as if a good Indian man would be one who has a job, does not drink and does not get into fights. While in other areas of the U.S. these traits are common it is not so much in the reservations.
The quote/statement that I found to have a particular significance is “She hate Indian men who chased after white woman; she hated white women who chased after Indian men.”(Page 81). I chose this quote/statement because it show the belief of Indians who believe that they should marry and have sexual relations within their race.