American Indians in Chapter 18

Attitudes towards American Indians shown in Chapter 18 

Chapter 18- The Tall Indian 

-Description of the American Indians as shown in Chapter 18 

"Thin, brown and bare". "Sat up straight", "black eyes glittered". " The Indians' faces were like the red brown wood that Pa had carved to make a bracket". "Bare chest", "wore fringed leather leggings".  

"They had not heard a sound", "went away without a sound" 

"Dirty, scowling and mean" 

Always seem to be calm, no sudden movements, quiet, no emotions shown 

-Attitudes towards them 

"Jack hated Indians". " He stood stiff, his back bristled and all his teeth showed".  

Ma- " I declare, Indians are getting so thick around here that I can't look up without seeing one" 

"Laura felt Ma's heart beating" 

Pa- "That Indian was perfectly friendly". " I wished I had picked up on some of that lingo 

Laura and Mary remain close to each other and were curious about the Indians, especially Laura, " They couldn't take their eyes from that Indian". 

Differences between the first tall Indian and the other two later in the chapter 

Pa present for with the first but not the latter 

Jack chained up after first occasion 

First Indian did not steal anything, seemingly expected something- "came in and squatted down by the fire" 

"Well it's his path. An Indian trail, long before we came". Pa very sympathetic, perhaps too much 

"The government is going to move these Indians farther west, anytime now" 

Michelle McClellan, Historian- "Some of the characters express views that are profoundly racist toward American Indians, especially Ma, Laura's mother. Importantly though, Laura's father, Pa, disagrees with his wife and offers an alternative view, insisting that Indians should be judged as individuals and that they often have skills and knowledge that whites lack."  

They take the Indian's land without permission, they are presented as good and the Indians bad. 

Descriptions of them, savages, wild