Examples Of Stereotypes In A Seat In The Garden By Thomas King

Davin Johnston
Professor Lloyd Dubois
English 100: Critical Reading and Writing
2 October 2014
“A Seat in the Garden”: An Observation on Stereotypes Stereotypes, which often is the foundation of racism, has negative effects on cultures all over the planet. These cultural generalizations are harmful and prove to be negative and untrue. The North American culture appears to be generally ethnocentric, which is clearly shown in this short piece. The short story “A Seat in the Garden”, a narrative by Thomas King, is a fictional piece which makes one realize how these interpretations are in many ways narrow-minded understandings of human experience. King’s piece touches the concept of stereotypes in a variety of ways. He speaks of the overall negative generalization of Aboriginal culture, the impact of the media regarding stereotypes, and how mainstream society continues to uphold these stereotypes. The story is about two “white”men, Joe and Red, whose day is suddenly disturbed by a large First Nations man standing in the corn section of Joe’s garden. The man stands still with his arms folded, reciting

Before confronting three local First Nations men for advice, Red says to Joe, “Come on. Can’t hurt to talk to them. Grab a couple beers, so they know we’re friendly.” (King 287). Red is blatantly judging the men, saying that all they do is drink alcohol and they will likely feel more comfortable if there is alcohol present. Red and Joe were caught off guard entirely by the fact that the three men do not drink alcohol and were actually drinking lemon water instead. In this case, King displays that the stereotypes that are applied to First Nations in our society are untrue. In fact the complete opposite appears to be the case. Joe and Red assume these First Nations men are the degenerate alcoholics, but the reader will soon come to realize that Joe and Red themselves could be portrayed as the lazy