Alexie’s novel explores the struggles and injustices that are faced by the poor. One of the main consequences that he writes about is violence. A prime example of this is when Junior states, “A bullet only costs 2 cents, and anybody can afford that” (Alexie 14). This is stated right after Junior’s dog, Oscar, is shot by his father as it is their best option since they couldn’t afford a trip to the vet. This one sentence emphasizes how poverty can literally kill and shows that anyone can kill, but not everyone can heal. Another conflict faced by the poor is low-self esteem. For example in the novel Junior states, “It sucks to be poor, and it sucks to feel that you somehow deserve to be poor. ...It's an ugly circle and there's nothing you can
