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When Two Feathers Fell from the Sky


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How is Two treated in comparison to the other women at Glendale? Although Two acknowledges that she is treated differently because of her race, does she ever challenge this? Why or why not?

Created: 10/18/21

Replies: 16

Posted Oct. 18, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
davinamw

Join Date: 10/15/10

Posts: 3442

How is Two treated in comparison to the other women at Glendale? Although Two acknowledges that she is treated differently because of her race, does she ever challenge this? Why or why not?

How is Two treated in comparison to the other women at Glendale? Why didn't Helen Hampton "feel like she could get as familiar with Two as she could with the other residents" (10)? How does Two cope with this? After she is injured, why doesn't Two want her parents to have to travel on the train to get to her? Although Two acknowledges that she is treated differently because of her race, does she ever challenge this? Why or why not?


Posted Oct. 21, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
janines

Join Date: 11/21/16

Posts: 102

RE: How is Two treated in comparison to ...

Two is treated with a sort of hands off approach by the other women. Helen’s trepidation has a lot to with myths that became associated with indigenous people, especially that they weren’t Christian. Helen over time learns that her “prejudices” were unfounded and eventually treated Two as an equal. I think Two has a stoic approach toward how she’s treated. Her Cherokee heritage - let’s not forget the trail of tears- perhaps gave her the fortitude to take what life dealt her make “lemonade” rather than just being angry.


Posted Oct. 21, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
janet.t

Join Date: 10/21/21

Posts: 5

RE: How is Two treated in comparison to ...

The landlady isolated her. She had some status because she was an attraction and later was helpful in setting up the new turtle races.


Posted Oct. 22, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Laura C

Join Date: 04/30/21

Posts: 26

RE: How is Two treated in comparison to ...

Throughout the story, Two straddles the race issue in a no-win situation. She fits in with no group. When she is injured, the only hospitals available are ones for whites and one for blacks, of which she is neither. No one really knows how to approach her, plus the other characters all have preconceived notions about Indians that inform how they treat Two.


Posted Oct. 24, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
peggyt

Join Date: 08/10/17

Posts: 215

RE: How is Two treated in comparison to ...

She was put into a sort of separate but equal situation in the dorm. She had her own room but it was mainly because Helen thought others might be afraid to room with her. This was a time when if she had complained she likely would have lost her job and she did not want to go home and be a farm wife.


Posted Oct. 24, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
janeh

Join Date: 06/15/11

Posts: 222

RE: How is Two treated in comparison to ...

She was very much treated differently. I don't think she worried about it very much because ... that's just the way life was in that particular point in time. She had learned
to live her life around some of the prejudices she encountered and didn't let them
rule her life. I believe as she matured more and times changed, she would become
more strident in her belief in herself and for herself.


Posted Oct. 24, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Maggie

Join Date: 01/01/16

Posts: 434

RE: How is Two treated in comparison to ...

Helen Hampton had only seen the Indians from the Wild West Shows. They were thrilling and performed well. She knew Two was on loan from 191 which was a Wild West Show. She figured Two was a wild Indian and did not know if she should be treated like a white or a Negro. Standard had to be maintained as she was a daughter of the confederacy!
Two does not want her family to travel on the train as her mother would not be treated well because of her race.
Two never challenges the fact that she is treated differently then the other women. She is there because she loves her horse and enjoys doing the jumps. She has Hank as her good friend and the zoo animals she visits and talks to. I am glad that finally Helen comes around and helps Two.


Posted Oct. 25, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
gerrieb

Join Date: 09/03/19

Posts: 208

RE: How is Two treated in comparison to ...

Just to add a bit to the other excellent answers- There is a passage where True discusses being treated differently and she notes at times it works to her advantage such as having her own room with two windows. She also notes she doesn’t like conflict and she does enjoy the status she has a main attraction. She mentions her pride and how her grandmother does not see that as an admirable trait.


Posted Oct. 26, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
jazzming

Join Date: 03/19/21

Posts: 28

RE: How is Two treated in comparison to ...

I think not only being a woman but also not being white, she was used to the oppression of not annoyed by it. I think she was able to have more independence than most woman like in that time due to her position (which afforded her a second look to see her humanity through) and she just took what she could get and played it smart.


Posted Oct. 26, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
teacher reader

Join Date: 02/14/18

Posts: 64

RE: How is Two treated in comparison to ...

I have always thought of the Cherokee as having a more advanced civilization and being less warlike. Trying to determine if I was completely off base, I did a little reading about this idea on the Internet. I read one essay that proposed that the Cherokee adapted more quickly to the culture imposed on them. This is in no way an attempt to say that they were not treated horribly in the 1800's. However it explains a bit about how stoic Two Feathers was in the face of tragedy. She also had a great deal of confidence in her own abilities so it was hard to make her feel "less" than her contemporaries.


Posted Oct. 27, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
reene

Join Date: 02/18/15

Posts: 497

RE: How is Two treated in comparison to ...

Two is treated somewhat delicately by Mrs. Hampton. Mrs Hampton is not sure of her own mixed emotions and is doing her best to maintain a peaceful living space for all. She gives Two a private room, which seems to satisfy all, mostly her own confusion as to what is right. Two is aware of Helen's feelings, but doesn't challenge them because she also sees how this confusion can also benefit her.


Posted Oct. 28, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
patriciah

Join Date: 12/11/17

Posts: 11

RE: How is Two treated in comparison to ...

She is given the upstairs corner room because Helen didn't think the other girls would want to mix with her. It was to Two's advantage to get that room with a view and a breeze so I feel that's why she didn't challenge it.


Posted Oct. 29, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
josephinej

Join Date: 05/11/15

Posts: 95

RE: How is Two treated in comparison to ...

Two knew how badly Native Americans could be treated, so didn't feel she was that bad off.


Posted Oct. 29, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
gwenc

Join Date: 07/14/12

Posts: 94

RE: How is Two treated in comparison to ...

I really like the other comments. Two was definitely self-reliant. I did wonder at the end how she could casually (or so it seemed) date Edgar (lunch at Woolworth's, movies, holding hands on the trolley.) We don't know of the public's reaction around them but she seemed willing to put herself in the limelight once again but as part of a couple. She "wanted to resurrect the parts of her that had been dormant..." and seems to be ready to face the public on her terms. The ending struck me as abrupt. Perhaps a sequel?


Posted Oct. 29, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Sunflowersky1982

Join Date: 10/09/19

Posts: 22

RE: How is Two treated in comparison to ...

Two was treated differently due to her Native American heritage, but I think her being isolated also indirectly gave her more freedoms than the other women. She sometimes tried to use her difference as an asset.


Posted Oct. 29, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
BuffaloGirl

Join Date: 01/13/18

Posts: 208

RE: How is Two treated in comparison to ...

My perception was that Two is tolerated and allowed some latitude that others of her race would not have been because she was a valuable commodity for the Glendale Park. The very nature of her act also set her apart, even if she had been white. Two is lonely and isolated, but learns to open up to the kindness and help of others.


Posted Dec. 07, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
julianna

Join Date: 10/10/13

Posts: 41

RE: How is Two treated in comparison to ...

Because she was a celebrity, Two was treated better than other native American women, I'm sure. However, racism whether intentional or not, isolated her. Amazingly though, it seems she drew strength from her heritage to handle life quite well and have a positive influence on people and animals around her.


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