Legless Joe Versus Black Robe Analysis

Every story is told from a perspective, whether it’s from first, second, or third person. However, different perspectives impact the content of the story in their own ways. For one, stories that are told from the first person are advantageous because it allows the reader to get a closer look at the main character as a whole. This makes the information provided in the story valid for the character that is being focused on. The story, “Legless Joe Versus Black Robe” from the book Born with A Tooth by Joseph Boyden, helps demonstrate this analogy because the reader is able to read the story and see things from an indigenous perspective. This allows the reader to intrude on the main character’s thoughts, giving a valid source about indigenous culture, rather than relying on stereotypes being spread across the media. …show more content…
Some stereotypes to be discussed include how Indigenous people are viewed as greedy drunks, as the Devil who doesn’t care about their actions, and as savages who don’t care for anyone but themselves. Furthermore, it is clear that Indigenous people are subject to essentialism, where they are often all looked upon in the same way. An example of this is present in the text when the main character, Joe says, “The priest is smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee at the Sky Ranch, staring at Elise the waitress, my relation, who he calls Pocahontas” (195). This gives subject to the fact that the Priest sees all Indigenous people as the same as they are presented stereotypically in movies. Therefore, the story being told in a personal and an Indigenous point of view will have a good impact on the content of the text because the true analogy’s will show the reader that not all Indigenous people are the same as how they are presented in movies and the