Interpret/explore/explain the context and the significance of the quote “I don’t know if hope is white. But I do know that hope for me is like some mythical creature” (51).
When Arnold says “I Don't know if hope is white. But I do know that hope for me is like some mythical creature” (51). He is referring to how he views hope in the moment. Because he is surrounded by rich white kids who are smart, athletic and dressed nicely. In that moment he feels worthless compared to them in all of their glory. But overall he does have hope, he like Mr. P said to Arnold “You won’t give up. You threw that book in my face because somewhere inside you refuse to give up” (43), has hope.
Arnold is just referring to hope as money, and to him and the whole reservation hope is money. With money you can go to college and have a nice home and without it you become what Arnold is now, a poor kid going to a rich school where half of the class goes to college. He in that situation feels sorry for himself and resorts to telling himself that he is horrible and has no hope. That is why he feels that hope is non-existent in his life.
Questions:
How would you feel if you were in this situation? What would you tell yourself?
I agree that Arnold wants to have hope, like the "white kids" at Reardan do. One thing that I would like to add to what Thaddeus said, is that I think that Arnold does want the hope, but it is really hard for him to grasp it because he feels as if everyone dislikes him and think that they are better than him. If I was in that situation, I think that I would definitely not have as much hope as Arnold does. You can only have hope if you think that there is a chance that you might succeed, and because Arnold doesn't have much confidence in what he's doing, he does not think he is going to succeed. He no longer has anyone to back him up, because his best friend has left him and his other best friend was a dog and died, which means that he now has no one to fall back on, so he can't turn back. He knows he will be beaten up a lot if he goes back, and with that as his motivation, it is hard to be courageous and hopeful. I, on the other hand, would have hope because I always assume the best. I believe that there are some people who hope for the best, and there are some people who prepare for the worst. Arnold prepares for the worst, while I hope for the best. That is why I would have more hope than Arnold. If there was one thing that I would be able to tell myself, and comfort myself with, I would tell myself that I would be ok, even though everyone else was rich and white, there must be somebody that will see the inside of me and accept me. I believe that is a mindset that would help Arnold as well.
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