How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
An Indian? Matt felt a curl of alarm against his backbone. He stood waiting, his muscles tense. (3.4)
When Ben first arrives, Matt fears that he'll be a scary Indian. Turns out being Indian isn't what makes someone scary though, which is an important lesson for Matt to learn, even if he has to learn it the hard way from Ben.
Quote #2
When the cabin door opened and the Indian entered, Matt hastily pulled himself up. Now, with clear eyes, he saw there was nothing in the least strange about this man. (6.2)
Matt's heard plenty of scary stories about Indians, but he realizes right away that they aren't really so different from white folks after all. Saknis and Matt's dad even have similar fashion sense. Who woulda thunk?
Quote #3
What had possessed him to give a book to an Indian? How could he possibly teach a savage to read? (7.1)
Here Matt's prejudice creeps in a bit. How? First he assumes the Indians can't read, and then he assumes it would be difficult to teach them. Next he calls them "savages" in his mind. Turns out later that these prejudices are completely off base.
Quote #4
When Matt hunched himself onto the other stool, the boy's scowl deepened. Plainly he did not like having the white boy so close to him. (7.9)
Attean has some personal space issues, and he is so angry with white people that he can't even stand to be physically close to Matt. That there's some serious prejudice.
Quote #5
The real trouble was that Attean was contemptuous, that the whole matter of white man's words seemed to him nonsense. (9.16)
Though Attean's scorn is understandable given what he's experienced in his life, it's too bad he doesn't take Matt's lessons very seriously. The rough reality is that white people—and their words—are becoming an increasingly unavoidable reality.
Quote #6
He had never questioned that story. Like Robinson Crusoe, he had thought it natural and right that the wild man should be the white man's slave. Was there perhaps another possibility? The thought was new and troubling. (9.30)
Light bulb moment. Matt's whole perspective on life and people starts to change here. Perhaps everything he's learned is… gulp… wrong. That's a hard pill to swallow. Good thing Matt's not afraid to take a slurp.
Quote #7
Only, Matt thought, it would have been better perhaps if Friday hadn't been quite so thickheaded. After all, there must have been a thing or two about that desert island that a native who had lived there all his life could have taught Robinson Crusoe. (10.5)
Turns out reality is a lot different than fiction. The more Matt understands Attean, the more he realizes that his favorite book is actually biased—Daniel Defoe (the author) definitely swung the pendulum in favor of Robinson Crusoe, not Friday. Maturity props to Matt for figuring that one out.
Quote #8
Matt was ashamed of his suspicions. Attean had only meant to help him. If only he didn't have to be so superior about it. (11.48)
Do you think Attean truly feels superior to Matt while helping him? Or is that just how he comes off to others? If he does feel superior, do you think he's justified in that belief?