Interpret/explore/explain the context and the significance of the quote “I don’t know if hope is white. But I do know that hope for me is like some mythical creature” (51). (Olivia)

The quote "I don't know if hope is white. But I do know that hope for me is like some mythical creature." (Alexie 51) shows that Junior feels so far from hope. Like a mythical creature, hope doesn't exist for Junior. This was when Junior was thinking about how "magnificent, beautiful, and smart" the white kids were.  He doesn't know yet if whites do have all the hope, because he's never experienced being around them, but he's pretty sure because of what his parents told him and past experiences. "'Who has the most hope?...'White people' my parents said...That's exactly what I thought they were going to say" (Alexie 45). Because Junior comes from the reservation, he has strongly been influenced that white people have more hope, and a bigger future. Also, the people Junior is with, like his family taught him that white people have more opportunities that he probably won't have. Because it's pretty clear to him that white people are "better", he thinks without a doubt that he's far from white people, far from doing what he wants. Junior doesn't believe in Indians having hope, which will make his whole journey going to Reardan even harder. It will also make his life harder because he thinks he knows that hope cannot be found for him. Junior is making things worse for himself because he doesn't realize that Indians are equal to whites. This won't be very helpful when he starts his new life.