Prejudice : A preconceived opinion not based on reason or actual experience. It means that somebody forms an opinion about somebody else that has no foundation to stand on. It has been expressed many times in modern culture and has either been shunned upon or embraced. It is effectively the cousin of racism and should be looked at in the same fashion. The books that were read in this class have all shared a common theme of prejudice of different but similar natures. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, for example, shows prejudice based on where or how you …show more content…
It was focused on a boy named Arnold (Junior). He had lived his whole life on a Native American reservation until he was convinced to leave to pursue a better life. He went to a different school in a town nearby. He had a hard time fitting in, and had to put up with all of the kids calling him names because of his heritage. Back at the reservation he didn’t have many friends to start out. Now that he has “betrayed” them, everybody hates him. Even his best friend thinks he’s scum.
Junior even starts to think about his race as well. He generalizes the Native Americans that he lives with as: Alcoholics, fight-prone, poor, and people that have just given up on life. It goes to show that people start to think of themselves as different. This way of thinking can be dangerous and is likely to make the person thinking it that there is no way to change it.
A mild example of prejudice/racism in the beginning of the book is when Junior goes to his first class in his new school. He meets a girl named Penelope. She asks him for his name and he tells her that it’s Junior. Later she learns that it is Arnold and gets angry. She then asks: “Where are you …show more content…
Even there where merchants most do congregate. On me, my bargains, and my well-won thrift which he calls “interest.” Cursed be my tribe if I forgive him!” He was describing the way that Antonio would bully him and his Jewish friends for providing money lending services that had interest. He’s not happy about being treated terribly for being a Jew. But this is what gave Jews a prejudice for liking money. It’s because they weren’t allowed to do many things for work so they lent money to people and charged interest to make some money to sustain themselves. This was against Christian belief, which caused some controversy within the Christian population. It caused them to depreciate the Jews more than they already