How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
An Indian? Matt felt a curl of alarm against his backbone. He stood waiting, his muscles tense. (3.4)
When Ben first arrives, Matt fears that he'll be a scary Indian. Turns out being Indian isn't what makes someone scary though, which is an important lesson for Matt to learn, even if he has to learn it the hard way from Ben.
Quote #2
When the cabin door opened and the Indian entered, Matt hastily pulled himself up. Now, with clear eyes, he saw there was nothing in the least strange about this man. (6.2)
Matt's heard plenty of scary stories about Indians, but he realizes right away that they aren't really so different from white folks after all. Saknis and Matt's dad even have similar fashion sense. Who woulda thunk?
Quote #3
What had possessed him to give a book to an Indian? How could he possibly teach a savage to read? (7.1)
Here Matt's prejudice creeps in a bit. How? First he assumes the Indians can't read, and then he assumes it would be difficult to teach them. Next he calls them "savages" in his mind. Turns out later that these prejudices are completely off base.