She was a child who would “lie under trees” and hide “in the treetops” with her friends (1, 9th line and 2, 18th line).
This girl had an active, happy, and social upbringing, despite living on a reserve. As a child she couldn’t have been any happier. The girl and her friends would “laugh at teachers and tourists” who thought of their bush as “forests or woods” because those “were places of fairy tale text” (3, lines 1-6).
As a child, the girl did not understand the view of the outsiders. For them the reserves have been stereotyped as horrible places.
Keeshig-Tobias has shown us that the negative stereotypes that surround Native American reserves should be taken with a grain of salt. Stereotypes are found in every facet of life, even in the traditional American family farm. In Trainer’s poem the child “was never afraid of the night”, and would “sit on the farmhouse step (and) count 5 up from the Big Dipper to find the smaller one. The one with the bent handle” (lines 1-5).
When one thinks of a family farm thoughts of wholesome values come to mind, not one of a child using the night sky as an escape from their reality.
The child says, “nobody throws the stars” “even the spaces belong” (lines 18, 20) for the only peace the child will find lies far away from the family farm. Like the previous poem, this one too shares the common theme of confronting stereotypes, except in this case, not so lightheartedly. Both poets have used irony to defy two common stereotypes. Although stereotypes have been formed from previous experiences and events, one should never take pre-conceived notions lightly into any engagement. No matter how hard one may try, stereotypes have been programmed into our brains, the same as our hunger for food.
The Term Paper on Children Parents and Family needs
E1 Explain the needs of families which may require professional support. Families may have a variety of needs, in which they need professional support. Families with a large number of children may not have the required amount of living space, this could mean that children are sharing beds, or parents are not sleeping in a room. Children will lack of sleep are proven to concentrate less and develop ...
