Journal #13

After reading this story, I realized that this is what most consider to be the American Dream coming true. All of the suffering that the author goes through in her childhood seemingly pays off in the end when she ends up winning awards in college. However, the real question here is does she really want to be educated and live like a "paleface"? Throughout the entire story she is very torn between getting an education and staying with her mother. The American Dream for her had come true, but the second to last sentence sums up her feelings about it. "The little taste of victory did not satisfy a hunger in my heart". It is clear that even though she is "civilized" and educated, she can't overcome her ties to her home and her mother. I think alot of this is a result of the treatment she received while she was just beginning school. It is riddiculous that the teachers would treat the girls so harshly right when they arrive because they can't understand what the teachers are telling them. This is most obvious in the incident when the writer's friend is spanked for saying "no". In the end I think the American Dream does come true for her, but it isn't at all what she thought it would be.