The land of Red Apples represented the land of the white man. It promised many things to the Indians, but once the Indians got there, everything was taken away. This was represented in Gertrude's identity being stripped by the staff. Her long braids were cut. She lost her spirit and power. The cutting of her braids symbolized a submission to the white man. Gertrude was fully immersed in a white man's world. There was no way out. The school served as a microcosm for America. It symbolized the Indians' plight as the persecuted upon their own land.