The story tells about Indian and American cultural status. The Indians were not ready to accept the change in their culture and adopt the new culture. The Whites believed that they could be lured into the new culture if they were presented with good incentives. The realization of this treachery opened the way to the seizure of land that belonged to the natives. The American government disposed of the cultures of Indians to cut their cultural ties and their rich histories hence losing their cultural track.
In the story, Fitzgerald actively supports the preservation of Native American traditions. The report allows the community to express itself through the main characters of the tale, Bernice and Marjorie, her cousin. Marjorie has brown hair and a skin color that is light, and that of her cousin is red or, as the author describes it, “high color.”
Marjorie is described as having a cold personality, and she is never frightened of anything. She is also described as having negative features in society, giving Bernice a hard time. On the other side, Bernice is described as having a good personality and being friendly. “Pretty, with dark hair and high color.” The story shows the specific aspects of the Indian natives’ cultural inferiority.
Marjorie underrates Bernice’s native American heritage from the start of the story. She uses negative terms even when she is describing her. She says that “it’s that crazy Indian blood in Bernice. Maybe she is a reversion to type. Indian women all just sat around and never said anything.” She describes the Indian heritage as inferior and says it is not supposed to be considered a decent society. The term crazy in this context is used to refer to Bernice as being of the lower social class group in society.
It also depicts that most Americans thought of the Indians around them negatively. The story tells negatively about the natives living in the Western countries through Marjorie, who emotionally tortures Bernice by making her feel unwanted. Even when Marjorie’s cousin decides to protect her, she is prevented and told that she must start to get used to the modern culture and leave behind the ways that she was brought up to fit in with them.