Rita Joe Part One questions

2) One example of Rita Joe getting degraded is when the policeman picked her up on the side of the road and gave her money. Once they did they brought out their handcuffs and arrested her for prostitution. All she wanted was a ride home and she some how got arrested for prostitution. If she were of different race and had different beliefs she would have been fine but since she was native the police didn’t care about her and wanted to put her in jail. The second example of an individual or individuals disrespecting and demeaning Rita Joe is when the two one beat her and then raped her. One man beat her and slapped and did not care one bit just because she did not have sex with him. The other individual disrespected her by raping her. Then after he had raped he tried to make the situation better by turning the rape in to prostitution by giving her 5 bucks. If anything it was just as being raped it surely did not make matters better.


3) Rita Joe has come in contact with one institution Mr. Homer and his centre in the city. It is like a homeless or help centre people go to and usually their, it’s the natives. He is in the court and in the court he is explaining to Rita Joe what he has done for Rita Joe and her Family and makes say to the court that he is a good man and has a good centre. The only reason he runs the centre is feel like he is giving back to the community but he’s really not. Just like in the Fisher King when Jack tries to help Parry by giving him Money it’s trying to help but not in the long scheme of things.


5) One symbol is the pigeons in the book. The pigeons represent the natives. There whole life the “ Pigeons” are given everything they need to, to survive. If one day they were given nothing they would not be able to fend for themselves. They wouldn’t be able to find food because it’s always been given to them. Most likely they will die. Just like the natives we have given everything to them their whole lives and since we have we can not stop giving them food and other supplies or else the natives will not know what to do and most like turn to drinking to get rid of their problems or go so far to death. The second symbol is the child on the side of the road. The child on the road represents Rita Joe. The child represents innocent so does Rita Joe. Rita Joe is a girl who is just trying to make a living. She trying to work to make a living and have a stead job and house but people make it so hard in the world. People see her as a different person because of her background and will not work as hard as others because of who she is and either will not hire her or they give her lowest end job there is. Also people do not care about her. The police give her money and then arrest her; guys hit her and rape her like she means nothing.


6) Rita Joe is tried of getting in trouble for all the things she has not done and because of that she just wanted to go home. Every time though she tried to get home there were events that were stopping her the events that she wanted to get away from. When she was looking for a way home she asked the police and they arrested her for prostitution. Other times she wanted to get home she was beat and raped. It’s ironic because the people of the city almost need people like her and others to survive to keep things in check. They feel like what ever they do to them will have no consequences. Unlike if they did these thinks to their own people the consequences would be different.

Rita Joe and the world around her

" So she went back to the reserve to catch fish an cut pulpwood."(Pg25)

She thinks shes going back to the reserve to make lots of money and do the work of her father, she doesn't realize that since people in the outside world out of the reserve people doen't appreate her for what she does. Individuals isoltated her because they felt that she was just child and that she didn't deserve to make a living. Citizens treated her as a child. She moved to the city to make money but the city people did not accept her due to her religion. Rita's sister was isolated due to her culture too.


"Kids feed popcorn to seagulls... an i think to myself... boy! Pigeons eat pretty good here."(Pg20)


When rita was on the reserve the government and every else on the reserve was givin everything and they servive on the government to function and stay alive. When she got out into the city she saw the kids and people feeding the pgeons and thought the same thing happened out her as in the reserve everything is given to you so she almost felt at home. She soon realize that the world outside is completely different to the world inside the reserve and she will struggle to understand and hopefully learn to servive on her own.




" And then i saw this child beside the road, dressed in a blouse and skirt, barefooted." (Pg26)

The magistrate still see's the people from the reserve as children. He thinks that they still need help to servive and thats why they are on the reserve. He thinks they need eveything given to them and nedd housing and work and little pay to stay alive. With the people of the utside world doing this the people living on the rerserve will never be able to live outside because they would be able to do things on there own. Like the pigeons with the help of the humans they would die smae for the people on the reserve.