Journal 34: The pet of the class

Quote:
“The mission woman talked as she walked. She told Lae Choo that little Kim, as he had been named by the school, was the pet of the place, and that his little tricks and ways amused and delighted everyone” (Sin Far 886)

Summary:

This comment from the mission woman happens at the end of the story when Lae Choo is finally able to take her child back. This is happening in the school where “the little one” is being kept. The mission woman is leading Lae Choo to where her child is, while commenting about him.

Response:

After reading this story and reading “The School Days of an Indian Girl” by Bonnin, I can’t help but find a great similarity to the way both children are treated. First of all, “the little one” was taken to a school, was given an American name, Kim, and was “the pet” of the school. This means the baby is being assimilated into American society in ways that he cannot comprehend because he is merely a baby, and since children “so often forget”( Sin Far 886); it would be easier to assimilate him into American society. Maybe this was not the same case with little Bonnin, because when she was taken to the missionary school, she realized of what was going on and she fought against it for a while, but in the end both kids are evolving to be part of American society.

However, the real similarity is that these two kids are treated like animals. Of course in this story, Kim, the little one is “the pet” which is a more soft way of saying that they are using Lae Choo’s kid to amuse everyone and he is basically being reduced to a pet. But this is ok because he is just a little child, different from white American kids, which is so funny and entertaining for everyone. In Bonnin’s case, the logic was “kill the animal, save the man”, which is a harsh way to say that all Indian kids where little animals that needed to be converted into humans. Therefore, this similarity between both characters shows that there was a common belief about how strangers to white American society should be treated.