Why I Draw...Chapter 1

[J-Lynn Van Pelt]

I thought the below exerpt was really powerful and central to several of the themes in the book. Any thoughts? What does it mean to you?

"I draw all the time.

I draw cartoons of my mother and father; my sister and grandmother; my best friend Rowdy; and everybody else on the rez.

I draw because words are too unpredictable.

I draw because words are too limited.

If you speak and write in English, or Spanish, or Chinese, or any other language, then only a certain percentage of human beings will get your meaning.

But when you draw a picture, everybody can understand it.

If I draw a cartoon of a flower, then every man, woman, and child in the world can look at it and say, “That’s a flower.”

So I draw because I want to talk to the world. And I want the world to pay attention to me.

I feel important with a pen in my hand. I feel like I might grow up to be somebody important. An artist. Maybe a famous artist. Maybe a rich artist.

That’s the only way I can become rich and famous.

Just take a look at the world. Almost all of the rich and famous brown people are artists. They’re singers and actors and writers and dancers and directors and poets.

So I draw because I feel like it might be my only real chance to escape the reservation.

I think the world is a series of broken dams and floods, and my cartoons are tiny little lifeboats."

[Angie, YA lovin mod!!]

I really like this part. It is so true that you can draw a picture and everyone understands. When you write or say something people began to judge... they listen to your accent, what part of America are you from, sometimes they listen to your race, or they read that you have broken English. And then stereotypes may come out. But when you draw people just see a picture. It is sad that this boy feels this way but I do believe it is sorta true.

[Terri]

I think the drawing made the feelings even more real. And I loved that description as well.