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The Role Of Oppression In Sherman Alexie's The Damage

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The Damage done by Privilege and Oppression As human beings living on the face of this Earth, everyone has been subjected to privilege and oppression. Through tiny random moments or heart crushing, life changing events. It affects us whether we are aware of it or not. An intense example of this is found on the Spokane Indian Reservation, surrounding a boy named Arnold. The reservation is drowning in poverty and few people ever leave. Arnold makes an incredibly brave decision to transfer to a rich, white, off reservation high school and changes the course of his life. Shocking his family, the community on the reservation, and the wealthy white people at Reardan High School. As Arnold attempts to break free from the chains of oppression, privilege rears its ugly head in many …show more content…
Some of the racism is subtle like a teacher at Reardan assuming his answer to a question is wrong because the school he went to is poor and Indian. “Where did you learn this fact? On the reservation? Yes, we all know there’s so much amazing science on the reservation” (page 85). Some is blatantly racist like a comment from his white girlfriend’s dad. “Kid if you get my daughter pregnant, if you make some charcoal babies, I’m gonna disown her” (page 109). Saying directly to Arnold, if you have sex with my daughter I am so disgusted by your race that I will kick her out of my family. Even when having a heart to heart with his geometry teacher on the reservation racism is present. “We were supposed to kill the Indian to save the child” (page 35). Even systematic racism has a long lasting effect on the quality of Arnold’s life. The damage done by privilege and oppression creates supremacy and hatred, disguising systematic racism with things like economic class. This makes the chains of oppression that cling to people on the reservation even harder to

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