...You can overcome anything with the support from those around you. “If you let people into your life they can be pretty...amazing”-Sherman Alexie. In the Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, Junior faces many obstacles. Many things help him overcome his challenges, including his love for drawing, his family, and friends. Undoubtedly, Junior’s love for drawing cartoons helps him overcome many of the challenges he must face. For example, after his grandmother dies one of the ways he greves is through drawing cartoons. Through what he calls his “ceremony of grieving” he drew cartoons and made lists of what he liked. He slowly overcame his grandmother's death through this process, which drawing was a main part of. Furthermore, his family...
Words: 389 - Pages: 2
...Arnold’s Determination Arnold is a boy born with many brain problems, despite his brain problems he turns out to be one of the most determined people in his community. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian is a book by Serman Alexie about a boy named Arnold and his life. Arnold grows up with two undependable parents, and his dad was an alcoholic while his mother was an alcoholic. He grows up having a hard life because of his brain damage, so if he gets hit in the head he will suffer severe consequences. Also his parents do not have much money that would help get treatment for his condition. Arnold lives on a reservation with his best friend Rowdy, one day Arnold decides he wants a better life and decides to switch to an mostly all white school called Rearden, with this decision he lost many friends and community members but stays devoted to stay at Rearden. Arnold with his brain damage stays insistent to go to Rearden, make the basketball team at Rearden, and eventually beats his...
Words: 972 - Pages: 4
...How can somebody persevere through racism, poverty, and death? What if they're only fourteen years old? Is the struggle even worth it? In the semi-autobiographical novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, the main character, Junior, learns that through perseverance, hope, and the gain of new knowledge, life can get better for anybody (white or otherwise). He overcomes a major school change, abandonment of friends, and the death of family members, but in the bittersweet end, things have started to look up for him. There is evidence of this occurring throughout the book, starting with Junior's (former) pet dog Oscar. On page 15, the quote "After Oscar died, I was so depressed that I thought about crawling into a hole and disappearing forever" tells us that Junior maybe doesn't deal with grief in the healthiest way. However, by page 215, Junior writes "We Indians know how to celebrate our with our dead. And I felt okay" showing that at this point, he's learned how to get through the struggle of the death of his grandmother. Through time, and with the new lessons he's learned, he gained the gift of acceptance....
Words: 522 - Pages: 3
...Great decisions come with great thought and time. In Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, Junior had a dilemma that would ultimately affect his life. Although, the pressure was building up Junior made the right decision to leave the Rez and attend Reardan because of the environment and the opportunity to grow and prosper. There was a greater opportunity for growth in Reardan mostly because of their white middle-class population.According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, nearly 9.2% of Native Americans ages 12 and older were current heavy alcohol users, the highest rate of any ethnic group (Hanes 1) while at Reardan a typical middle-class neighborhood almost “more than half of the graduating class...
Words: 440 - Pages: 2
...Racial Discrimination in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian In our world, many of us have either experienced or witnessed the harmful acts of racial discrimination. This includes the use of racial slurs, and slavery. Today, people are more accepting of all faiths and backgrounds. This is one theme that is explored in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. The protagonist in this novel is a 14-year-old boy named Junior. He is a member of the Spokane Indian Tribe. Throughout the novel, Junior and the people around him, are being abused through racial slurs. Because of the false accusations that usually form racial discrimination, it has the ability to pose a changing impact, directly or indirectly to our society. In this novel, Junior decides to attend a school featuring students from a dominant white culture. The following quote is an example of how racial discrimination can have a direct impact on our society. “(W)hat was I doing at Reardan, whose mascot was an Indian, thereby making me the only other Indian in town” (56). This describes Junior’s reaction towards seeing...
Words: 582 - Pages: 3
...Indians have been stereotyped and discriminated by many for abusing alcohol, so people don’t believe they can achieve anything. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, is a young adult book about a boy named Junior who decides to leave the reservation to attend an all white school to better his education. This book has been challenged quite frequently, but it has not been banned as often. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian should not be banned because Junior shows humor, determination, and criticism from others. The main character Junior likes to use a great deal of humor because he likes to make life enjoyable. On the first day of high school Junior was in Geometry class and he starts to talk about...
Words: 589 - Pages: 3
...While reading the book, The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian, the main character Junior is living in an undersized Indian Reservation. Within the society, many Indian adults do not get treated equally and don't have as many job opportunities. Which creates a low-income for all the children they might have. Many Indians within the culture grow up poor and have to live every day hoping for food and praying that they don't get sick, Like Junior. Since Junior is poor he has some different characteristics as other “white kids”, “if I turned sideways I would disappear”(3). Junior has to suffer from limited food because his family can afford much, also the fact that he has more than “a few” siblings does not help because they'll have to...
Words: 332 - Pages: 2
...The Absolutely True Diary of Part-Time Indian: a Journey of Hope “There is another world, but it is in this one” (W.B Yeats), this is how Sherman Alexie managed to begin the journey of his eye-opening novel, The Absolutely True Dairy of Part-time Indian. It is a magnificent story of overcoming the obstacles of being an Indian teenager while stepping outside of the reservation world and striving for better opportunities in the world. Junior, who carries the Native American blood in his roots, gives an insight into Native American culture, encompassing all of its sacred and astonishing details. Through Junior’s experience and between the storylines, various aspects of the Spokane Indians community are revealed, such as poverty, alcoholism, and kinship that make the novel stand as an unique Indian literature piece....
Words: 1324 - Pages: 6
...If it wasn't for three significant events in Juniors first year of high school he might be dead. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, recounts the life events that an Indian boy named Junior goes through, his struggles, and the critical decision he makes to change what would otherwise be a disastrous life. Against all odds he must somehow find a way to raise himself above the many obstacles that he will face. It is the choices he makes in several critical circumstances that allow him to escape the clutches of this dismal system. It all started when Junior was in school on the Indian reservation. "I couldn't believe it" (Alexie 31) Junior thought to himself. Junior was fed up with the old book that belonged to his mother and took action on his impulse and blasted the ancient object at his teacher, Mr.P. He was dying to start geometry and his expectation and hopes were completely shattered. If this didn't happen Mr.P wouldn't have later apologized and advised Junior to leave the hopeless reservation. This clearly was a significant event that begins to change his life and forces him to think about...
Words: 604 - Pages: 3
...English 113B 20 Apr 2015 Identity Crisis and Resolution in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian It is natural for every person that he finds himself in a conflicting situation where he thinks that he has no identity. In such a situation of crisis, he asserts himself through different means though it may be a bitter truth or he himself gets insult in response. Arnold in The Absolute True Diary of a Part Time Indian faces the same situation, but he does not leave the truth. Whatever he has encountered in reservation or at Reardan, he has plainly told it in a very simple language that it seems touching obscenity and crossing the limits of decency. However, the struggle Arnold waged in order to...
Words: 1473 - Pages: 6
...quality of a man's life is in direct proportion to his commitment to excellence, regardless of his chosen field of endeavor [sic].” e novel “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” (2010) page 49-51 written by Sherman Alexie, the narrator Arnold Spirit also known as Junior claims that Indians were worst of times because they have forgotten how to dream and hope while the whites are best of times because they have full of hope which is what makes things happen. The Indians never care to dream because they are surrounded by hopelessness, they have forgotten how to dream and hope. But the Reardan kids who represent the whites, they dared to dream because they were surrounded by beauty, they were smart, magnificent and ambitious. Although sometimes Arnold also lies and plays some tricks, he works hard to prove himself, to gain respect and to make friends. It’s a big challenge, but well worth the effort. On the other hand, the internal conflict is the difficulties of creating Arnold’s own autonomy while being faithful to his tribe. Arnold refuses to give up but at the cost of losing his best friend and being considered to betray his tribe. I don’t think this conflict can be resolved only through Arnold’s hard work; it also relies on others’ understanding. I’ll never forget what Rowdy says to Arnold, “You’re an old-time nomad.” It seems Rowdy finally forgives Arnold but I think Rowdy has never really get mad at Arnold. They’re truly best friends. unior transforms...
Words: 344 - Pages: 2
...as far as to banning books for their controversial content. Books such as The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie has been banned from many high schools. The story is about Arnold Spirit Jr. who lives on the Spokane Indian Reservation and endures many challenges while searching for hope. Although The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian remains banned from some high school for its “unsuitable content,” it should actually be added to the curriculum instead. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian should not be banned for it’s positive messages. In the chapter “How To Fight Monsters,” Junior stands up to Roger who had been bullying him: “Did you know that Indians are living proof that n****** f*** buffalo?...that was the most racist thing I’d ever heard in my life...So I punched Roger in the face...I felt brave all of a sudden...I was telling the world I was no longer a human target.” (Alexie64-65). Teens should be able to read this book in school because it reveals an inspiring story of how a weak boy with health deficiencies overcomes a larger worldwide problem: Bullying. Maybe violence isn’t always the answer but what is there to make of the situation when another option of salvation isn’t given. Banning this book would deprive young readers from an encouraging and uprising novel. Many people argue that The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian should indeed be banned in high schools for its violent content. For example in...
Words: 687 - Pages: 3
...book, The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian, tells the story of a boy who betrays other Indians and chooses to go to an all white school, called Reardan, not knowing if his decision will kill him or make him stronger as a human being. In writing The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian, Alexie wants to teach the readers that if you do not attempt, you will not attain. Junior deciding to fight the stereotypes and making a commitment to going to Reardan, show he is willing to succeed no matter what the consequences may be. Additionally, Junior took every small moment of his life seriously, he knew that something as small as making the school basketball team or climbing a frightening pine tree will make a huge impact on his future. Junior knew that if he stayed a coward and didn’t try to change anything for the rest of his life, the misconceptions about Native Americans would be true....
Words: 900 - Pages: 4
...Anyone and everyone can make friends. Some you may not of even thought of happening. In the book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, there are many friendships. Some you know already know of but some come out of the strangest circumstances. There are many themes present in the book, one particular theme that is present throughout the story is friendships can come out of the strangest circumstances. In the story Junior makes multiple friends in the strangest circumstances.These quotes are part of the most compelling evidence that can be found in the book. The first one is when Junior and Roger start to respect each other and grow closer together. “ Wow, he didn’t kick my ass. He was actually nice. He paid me some respect...
Words: 343 - Pages: 2
...In the book The Absolutely True diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, the main character Junior faces many hardships. However, Junior’s personality allows him to fight through these hardships. Junior lives on a Native American Reservation where he encounters poor education and intimidation from the other children because of his disabilities. Nevertheless, Junior grasps the chance to pursue a life beyond the reservation when he throws a book at his geometry teacher, resulting in Junior to move to Reardan High School. Furthermore, Junior is the only Indian at Reardan High School. This cultural conflict between his Indian side and white society results in a rift. However, this rift is reduced by traits common between his life on the Reservation...
Words: 1293 - Pages: 6
