Junior's grandmother's greatest gift was tolerance towards others. In the chapter "Red versus White", Junior goes on and on how he isn't in love with white people. How he hasn't turned into a white person. That he still loves things about the Rez that Reardan doesn't have. One of which is his grandmother's sense of tolerance. He talks about how she is so popular around the powwow conventions and how everyone knows her. Not just her name and what she looks like, but actually what she likes to do, her personality, if she likes the Packers or the Bears. Even in her dying moments, she shows tolerance for what has happened and has sympathy for the man that ran her over. "Yes," the surgeon said, "she said' Forgive him.'" That's how subtle she was toward tragedy and struggles. She didn't want any harm to come to others, even those who had brought harm to her. You're probably thinking, "Well everybody has some sense of tolerance," and you're probably right, but on the Rez everyone has lost any sort of tolerance towards white people and people like them. It happened because the white people came into the land and started taking control over everything. So you can't blame them for hating white people. For example, the way they acted at the basketball game. The people on the Rez went absolutely ballistic before and during the game. That's what makes Junior's grandmother so special. She can deal with people of other race/ethnicity without lashing out, even if she hates the person from the bottom of her heart, she shows respect and kindness towards them.
So, if you were junior's grandmother, and you had gone through all of the bad times(not saying that you have), how would you handle yourself in terms of tolerance towards these terrible tragedies? Do you think you would be able to stay so calm in the face of injustice? Could you have given Gerald your forgiveness after he ran you over? If not, would you keep your hatred bundled up inside, or would you express it towards others? Do you wish everyone had tolerance like Junior's grandmother?
In the life of Arnold's grandmother she experienced many hardships and probably learned that if you are not tolerant during these situations they will not work out for you. Arnold's grandmother was able to stay calm during these situations because she knew that others would soon follow and in her foot steps. For me if I was in the face of injustice like Arnold's grandmother, I would not be able to be so tolerant and forgiving. I also would not have been able to forgive Gerald. What she has is a true gift and if everyone had the gift of tolerance the world would be a better place. Do you think his grandmother's tolerance rubbed of on Arnold.
ReplyDeleteIn response to James' question, I do think that this tolerance has rubbed off on Arnold. Since he was born with a defect in the brain and mouth, he has also had to tolerate the bullying that has been aimed in his direction. Though little tolerance has been passed down, I believe that Arnold has definitely learned a great deal from his grandmother because of his acknowledgment for her feats. The tolerance from Junior's grandmother must be very pure with all the scenarios that she has had to use it with. For example, each time that somebody does a certain thing, over the many times that she has lived that situation, she has found the best response or thing to say in order to have the best outcome. Do you agree with my reasoning for Arnold's grandmother's pure tolerance, why or why not?
ReplyDeleteIn all honesty I don't know if I would have been able to have as much tolerance as Junior's grandmother had after all these tragedies and hard times had occurred. Junior's grandmother is so amazing that she doesn't let her anger take over her and that she doesn't hold grudges against innocent people. If I had been in the same situation, I don't think I would have been able to be so forgiving towards the man who killed me. I would have been extremely angry and full of hatred. A question I would like to ask is do you think Junior's grandmother ever wanted to be less tolerant than she was?
ReplyDeleteIn response to Laila's question, I think at times she probably did want to be less tolerant, less forgiving. Maybe even in her final hours she wouldn't have wanted to forgive the man who murdered her, but she knew it was the right thing to do. She could have decided to let her son in law get revenge, for people to condemn the one who killed her. But her age had made her wiser and this gave her the discernment to know that Gerald deserved forgiveness. Alexie did a powerful thing having the grandmother totally sober. It was to show that she didn't deserve to die the way she did, that bad things happen to good people in real life. We don't choose our destiny. Do you think anything positive will come out of the death of Arnold's grandmother? If so what?
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