“Every white person on this res should get smashed in the face. But let me tell you this. All the Indians should get smashed in the face, too.” (42)

Irfan Chaudhuri
Part - time Indian
    

                When Mr. P says, “Every white person on this res should get smashed in the face. But let me tell you this. All the Indians should get smashed in the face, too.” He is trying to tell Junior that all of the people of the town have given up hope on having a better life and getting out of the Indian reservation. The white people in this story including Mr. P a teacher at the local school, are trying to get the Indian heritage out of the children, “We were supposed to kill the Indian to save the child” (35). In this sentence he shows that he was getting the Indian heritage out of the children. The reason that Mr. P also includes that the Indians should also get smashed in the face is because they have given up on themselves and their culture to become like the white people and be normal. The whites in the story, especially in Junior's new school Reardan are disrespectful towards Indians and have a law in the town called DWI: Driving While Indian. For these reasons and because of Junior's academic excellence, Mr. P takes pity on him and forgives Junior for throwing a book at him. Through this time of talking to Mr. P, Junior realizes that he must make a difference in his community, and have hope. Even though Junior is half Indian and half white it is his Indian heritage that Mr. P tells him about that makes him unique and exceptional.