Six Kinds of Sky

For centuries minorities have been mistreated and pushed aside for white gain. Loewen forcibly points this out to us by showing the real history of the United States. Alexie takes a subtler approach by inviting us into his experiences in order for us to feel the cruelty that the American Indians have faced. And Urrea points out the minority struggle even less obviously than the other two authors. He draws us into the stories by using humor and wittiness but then as we are absorbed in the pages he shows us the real minority struggle. Nowhere is this as apparent as in the short story "A Day in the Life."

The family of Dona Juana and Don Manuel survives by "working" at a garbage dump collecting things that will help them live. They do not have much hope for moving past their current struggles and lean on neighbors and the missionaries to maintain their livelihood. This seems to be a recurring trend in these books; the white church members come to help the minorities but always show signs that, as white people, they are above the people they are helping. This theme shows up in Alexie's poetry as he critiques the church and what it stands for in "How to Remodel the Interior of a Catholic Church." Alexie points out that "God loves a circus which loves itself" (Alexie 85) and some "Christians" prove this quote right. They create a show in helping others without really trying to know the people they are helping. Some Christians sign up for missions to seem pious and good yet they leave the mission without gaining any knowledge about the world; they go back to their lives of luxury and forget the despair they have seen.

In "A Day in the Life" the missionaries come to help but are not wholly trusted by the native people. The missionaries do not ask what the Mexicans would like but instead give them what they think they need. Some of the food that the missionaries bring goes "to the pigs because nobody knows what to do with it" (Urrea 89) such as the escargot in a can. Urrea points out that the missionaries "seem to love Jesus, even when they don't always give evidence of loving the poor" (Urrea 87). They are there to be good Christians even if they do not really try to create change. The pastor works hard to make the Mexicans' lives easier but also shows signs of being annoyed with the burden that they bring to him. When Juanita approaches him he "tries to escape her grip" (Urrea 90) because he has two other orphanages to see that day. He also sighs and looks at his watch when he realizes he needs to go see Hermana Consuelo. Overall, the white missionaries seem to try to be working for Jesus but are not wanting to truly understand the Mexican struggle. In order to create change, these Christians need to know the culture before going on the mission. They need to talk with the poor to figure out what they need and want instead of assuming that, as white people, they know what is best. Like Doug said in class, I think that all missionaries should read this short story before completing a missions trip in Mexico.