Arnold Spirit

The rawness and crudeness in Arnold's narration of his life on the rez makes his story believable, but lightens the mood of the issues presented. We see the facts shown in a very straight-foward and almost carefree manner with help from the cartoons and sketches that give Arnold such a unique quality. His humor and thoughtfulness is especially endearing when he uses it to take care of problems that come his way. Arnold's determination is uplifting even though his story is filled with plenty of grief and controversy. However, we do not see Arnold react to his problems by remaining moody and sulking and feeling desolate for long. The teen angst that is characteristic of most young-adult novels is replaced by a strong sense of pride and hope despite Arnold's disabilities.

Storyteller

So far I like that this book is a compilation of many stories, because it shows off different perspectives by using various methods of storytelling. I noticed that some of the stories seem to be myths and legends that depicts a past for the native people, and shows the origin of elements such as rain and evil. I get a sense that there are bits of fairy tales and fables incorporated, mainly because some of the stories give me a sense of morality that is open to further interpretation. The pictures in the book provide a realistic image of historical landmarks that the people pride themselves on. While some of the stories may seem confusing at first, they are soon explained by the succeeding stories that have some of the same characters and ideas.

Testimony

I feel that the regime in power takes advantage of indigenous villagers because it is threatened by the sheer number of people. Because the natives have peaceful living habits, they cooperate easily and can theoretically overthrow any government if they are disturbed enough to try to organize a rebellion. I think that the case in Guatemala is similar. The army is afraid of the knowledge that the native Mayan have of their terrain and lusts for the rich resources that the land offers. There is power in numbers, and by turning natives against each other (such as forcing natives to join the army), the government is successful in dividing and conquering. People will do horrible things when there is all to lose and much to gain, but Montejo was never swayed by this idea. Even though the acts committed by the army were atrocious, and Montejo witnessed all this, I greatly admired that he kept his composure and acted honorably in each situation he found himself in.