The Education of Little Tree Summary

Before reading the third chapter of “The Forest and the Trees”, I remember learning in the second chapter about symbolism, ideology and the construction of life in different cultures and societies around the world. For example, something interesting I remember learning was how every social system has a culture, consisting primarily of symbols (including words), ideas and practices. I believe this also connects and refers to how we tend to build our own sense of reality through the words and ideas that we use to mean something and people may use to name interpret what they experience and how cultures consist of symbols of ideas or words being portrayed. Based on what I read in the second chapter and the title of the third chapter, “The Structures

Context: Based on the speech, how do you think farmers and workers were feeling about business and industry? Find a quote to support your answer.

Another element that is often overlooked in many short stories is theme. Theme is overlooked because it sometimes closely mirrors the plot or it is hard to find throughout the story. However, in “Indian Education” the theme is recognized without being overly complicated or difficult for the reader to grasp. The theme in this short story is something that not often seen in literature except by authors who also have direct experience with discrimination against Native Americans in the education system. Throughout this story the theme is persistently depicted without saturating the writing or disappearing and reappearing. From being told things such as “You always look guilty” to being questioned on

Education —an institution for success, opportunity, and progress — is itself steeped in racism. In Sherman Alexie’s short story “Indian Education” from his book The Longer Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven is set in two places, the Spokane Indian Reservation and a farm town nearby the reservation. The story is written in a list of formative events chronologize Victor’s youth by depicting the most potent moment from each year he is in school. Alexie addresses the issue of racism in education by examining examples of injustice and discrimination over twelve years in a boy’s life. Victor faces his initial injustice in first grade when he is bullied by bigger kids, but his understanding of injustice becomes much more complex in grades two through twelve as he experiences discrimination against his American Indian identity. Familial experiences of a Native woman, Alexie’s style and humor, and Victor’s awareness of discrimination from grade one to twelve all reveal the grim reality of growing up and being schooled on an American Indian reservation.

In Allen Johnson’s “The Forest, The Trees, and The One Thing”, he expresses that in order to understand sociology we need to be able to understand the relationship between biography and history. To explain this, Johnson uses five rules to sociology called the sociological imagination. These rules explain how an individual relates to social systems.

(History.com) This quote

Initially presented as an autobiography by a Native American, The Education of Little Tree perpetuates the stereotypical roles of Native Americans as written by a seemingly former white supremist. At a first read – and should the reader be unaware of the truth about the author ‘Forrest’ Carter – it does not seem as though The Education of Little Tree does anything inherently racist. If anything, the story appears to be sympathetic to the plight of protagonist Little Tree, a five-year-old orphaned Native American boy, and his grandparents for the displacement they have from their culture into a society that does not accept them and perpetually oppresses them.

The essay I chose to read was “Planting a Tree” by Edward Abbey. To me, the most interesting part of this essay is the shift from describing the terrain, to describing the missile bases located in the area. The way the author describes the military is simply fascinating ,”The life expectancy of the average Tucsonan, therefore, is thirty minutes-or whatever it takes for an ICBM to shuttle from there to here.” Also, whenever the author describes the great contemporary empires ,”Like mortally wounded tyrannosaurs, they thrash out in frenzy, seeking enemies, destroying thousands of innocent lives with each blind spasm of reaction.” The author’s use of active verbs and language makes this story develop in such a way that the story will never fall

The book opens up to an adult Gene, visiting his old school years later. He comes back after fifteen years to get closure. He visits the buildings that were once so familiar to him, and reflects on how he’s changed, and the constant state of fear that had been so familiar then. But the main reason for his visit is to see the tree. There is a tone of regret as he remembers what happened so long ago, and how it all started.

Instead it is a gift. For instance, “…I told her about the little man and she gave me a hug and said everyone had bad dreams and not to be scared of them – they were just dreams, and they couldn’t hurt me” (21) expresses the interactions that Lisamarie encounters with the spirit world that she can not yet understand due to the dismissal from her mother Gladys. Later, Lisamarie’s curiosity influences her to seek the reason behind her visions and has the following conversation with her Ma-ma-oo, to define what is occurring: “…Ah, you have a gift, then. Just like your mother. Didn’t she tell you about it?... When Gladys was very young, lots of death going on. T.B. Flu. Drinking. Diseases. She used to know who was going to die next. But that kind of gift, she makes people nervous, hey?” (153).

Forrest Carter's The Education of Little Tree is a story about a young boy who learns about how people think alike and what you should know about them in order to survive alone. Words have impacts, people judge and people have power are some things he learned which has shaped his decisions. Words are not just words, they have huge impacts. For instance " What are you, a couple of foreigners?" (34).

“After the experience of the trade crisis, of being at the mercy of economic forces, now came the experience of being at the mercy of political forces, which was almost worse, since you could get used to the former and somehow do something for yourself, but there was nothing you could do about the other.”

Little Tree is an elementary-aged male living in 1920’s America. While this was obviously nearly a hundred years ago, many of the factors discussed still play a role in today’s society. Since his mother died (his father is unknown and out of the picture), he has been raised by his grandparents in the Appalachian Mountains. His grandmother is full-Cherokee and his grandfather is half-Cherokee, half-Scottish, but both grandparents are proud of their Native American heritage and work to pass on their Cherokee traditions and beliefs to Little Tree. In addition to teaching him about his culture and heritage, both grandparents also instilled in him the values of hard work and perseverance. Little Tree was raised in a very supportive environment that encouraged independent learning

There was once a boy who lived in a small village. The boy had blond hair and had very old clothes like hammy downs. Every single day he would wake up and feed his chickens. His father would always tell them if you see a fox kill it or it will kill you, so he did what he was told to do. If he saw a fox he would have to kill it. His mother, on the other hand, was not fond of what her husband would say to his son, so one night when it was silent and everyone was asleep she woke up her son and said, “come and I will show you the truth about these animals”, and so she did. Outside where the chickens were, there was this fox all alone under a willow tree. The boy could feel how cold it was because he could feel the icy wind on his face, so because

Growing up I have tender memories of watching the majestic oak tree go thru numerous seasons. Each change of time brought on another milestone in my life. Climbing the branches I learned so much about life and myself. Looking down from the tree I learned more about others then I would being stuck on the ground alone. At the age of 5, I can fondly remember my step father building a tree house in that oak tree and attaching a rope swing. The addition of the treehouse brought a new love into my life, but it never took away love of my tree.