Indian culture has been disappearing for centuries since the Native Americans were forced to migrate from their original homes. In the book, The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian, an Indian boy displays how to escape the poverty of his Indian Reservation by going to a wealthy white school, as well as keeping his Indian Culture alive when living on the reservation. The Native American boy Arnold is able to show toughness, courageousness and the capability to overcome obstacles, by illustrating comics and playing basketball. For Arnold, drawing comics and playing basketball is a way to build his character and self-esteem. Without the freedom in writing comics and the self-confidence builder in playing basketball, Arnold would act …show more content…
To represent a way he overcomes obstacles in basketball is when Arnold says, “I don’t know what happened. But for once, and for the only time in my life, I jumped higher than Rowdy. I rose above him as he tried to dunk it. I TOOK THE BALL RIGHT OUT OF HIS HANDS!” (192) This represents overcoming obstacles because Arnold had to work hard to be more exceptional than Rowdy. He also had to overcome being the underdog on the basketball team and an underdog in the all white school. Arnold was able to overcome being the underdog in both situations. He even overcame being one of the underdogs on the reservation who would get bullied. At the very ending of the book Arnold gets his best friend back, even though Rowdy may be angry and want Arnold to go to school with him Rowdy lets it go. To conclude, in the book The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian an Indian boy shows how to escape the poverty of his Indian Reservation by going to a wealthy white school, as well as keeping his Indian Culture alive when living on the reservation. In the novel, he shows toughness, courageousness, and the ability to overcome obstacles. Arnold shows these three components by writing comics and playing on the high school basketball team. He uses these traits to be the person he is in the book. Arnold proves that even when the odds may be against you, you can still fight for what you
Encountering struggles in life defines one’s character and speaks volumes about their strength, ambition, and flexibility. Through struggles, sacrifice, and tragedy, Junior in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, adapts to survive difficult situations and faces his problems head-on. As he makes life changing decisions, adapts to an unfamiliar culture, and finds himself amongst misery and heartbreak, Junior demonstrates resilience to overcome adversity and struggles.
“But we reservation Indians don’t get to realize our dreams. We don’t get those chances.” (p. 13) In The Absolutely True Diary of A Part Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, Junior, the narrator, is an Indian teenage boy living on a reservation, where no one's dreams or ideas are heard. The Indians on the reservation feel hopeless because they are isolated and disenfranchised. Junior learns how to cope with his hopelessness and breaks through the hopeless reservation life to find his dreams. Examining his journey provides important examples for the reader.
is a historic, non-fiction book written by Steve Sheinkin , an “Arnold fanatic”. Published by Roaring Brook Press on November 9, 2010, this piece of literature contains 285 pages with complete sources, and references. In addition, this book won the YALSA Award in 2012 for its literary impact on young adults. With this biography, Steve Sheinkin seeks to describe all aspects of a crucial figure in the history of America.
One symbol that portrays Arnold Friend as a savior figure is music. Music symbolizes Connie’s happiness. Throughout the story, music gives Connie a sense of contentment and serenity. When Connie goes with
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian showed all of the problems that arose in Junior’s journey. From poverty and alcoholism to bulimic semi-girlfriends, he had so many excuses to stop, but the passion of his dreams pushed him forward. Like a hero, Junior continued, determined to do well and build a greater future for himself. An example that showed Junior’s passion for education and desire to achieve his goals was when he threw an old geometry textbook at his teacher: “My school and my tribe are so poor and sad that we have to study from the same dang books our parents studied from. That is absolutely the saddest thing in the world…My hopes and dreams floated up in a mushroom cloud” (Alexie, 31). Junior clearly understood his disadvantaged education and he was very upset about it. He longed for a better education. Junior was passionate about education, because it would allow him to achieve his goals and break the depressing pattern he was trapped in. Bravery and determination are caused by passion, and heroes are very passionate about their actions. Passion clearly drove Junior when he walked to school, since he said, “Getting to school was always an adventure…Three times I had to walk all the way home. Twenty-two miles. I got blisters each time” (Alexie, 87). Putting all of this effort into simply going to school, Junior must have had
Adolescents experience a developmental journey as they transition from child to adult, and in doing so are faced with many developmental milestones. Physical, cognitive, social and emotional changes are occurring during this tumultuous stage of life, and making sense of one’s self and identity becomes a priority. Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian addresses the challenges of adolescence in an engaging tale, but deals with minority communities and cultures as well.
“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” is a humorous and intuitive novel written by Sherman Alexie. The reader gets an insight into the everyday life of a fourteen year old hydrocephalic Indian boy named Arnold Spirit, also referred to as Junior Spirit. He is living on the Spokane Indian reservation and is seen as an outcast by all the other Indians, due to his medical condition. Against all odds, Arnold expands his hope, leaves his school on the reservation and faces new obstacles to obtain a more promising future at a school off the reservation. The novel is told through Arnold’s voice, thoughts, actions, and experiences.
As Mr. P, Grandma, and Mary share a small piece of their lives with Arnold, they show him how hopelessness, insecurity, and disregard to curses can make people's lives miserable. Even though everyone in society recognizes this, they cannot break free because they do not have the opportunity of a higher power to break them from their generational curses. As Junior observes all of this, he decides to be the one who breaks free by using the hardships of the curses presented to him as a motivation. He is a symbol of hope in the midst of a generational curse.
Understanding poetry as a criticism of life, Arnold uses it as his platform to wage a battle against the personal havoc that was wrought by the new age. Thus, Arnold captures the essence of the Victorian Era through his poetry by addressing the intellectual concerns of his time, especially about religion, science, and the inner turmoil that believing in the two caused.
Sherman Alexie grew up on a Spokane Indian reservation, in fact Junior and the story as a whole is based on his childhood; as he also struggled with the effects of poverty, alcoholism, identity, and social injustice. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is follows the life of Junior; a fourteen year old, Spokane Indian boy, who lives on an Indian reservation filled with poverty and addiction. The story begins when Junior decides transfer to a high school called “Reardan,” which is located outside the reservation in a rich white farm town. At first, Junior is a misfit at his new school; he has trouble making friends, mainly because he’s Indian. His transition to Reardan also causes a fight and other conflicts between him and his best friend, Rowdy, who feels betrayed by Junior. In fact, the whole reservation sees him as traitor.
In Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, the main character Arnold, also known as Junior, has many health issues, and notably stands out in the crowd. It does not help that he is a poor Indian boy that lives on a reservation, and that he decides to go to an all-white high school. Many of his experiences at school, and on the Reservation, impact his identity. Experience is the most influential factor in shaping a person’s identity because it helps gain confidence, it teaches new things, and it changes one’s outlook on the world.
Sherman Alexie’s piece “One stick song” should be presented as an authentic Native American text in a high school classroom. Debbie Reese believes in a fair portrayal of Native Americans in modern day literature. In many stories, native Americans are portrayed as “primitive savages who merely grunt or speak in broken English” (Jeffer, 1991). Reese believes that they should be “portrayed as members of contemporary society who engage in the same activities mainstream Americans do, such as riding bikes, and playing video games.” (Reese 254). In Alexie’s story, he includes multiple instances that exemplify this requirement. It is a common stereotype that Native American’s culture does not coincide with modern day times however Alexie’s story proves
In the book Indians in Unexpected Places, written by Philip J. Deloria, Indians strive to redefine their place in American society through their involvement in athletic events, acquisition of automobiles, and early film performances. All of these factors plus the adaptation of Native American music by white people play a part in helping to connect Indians and non-Indians together in a modern world.
Can you imagine growing up on a reservation full of people with no hope? The character Arnold in the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie did. In the beginning of the book, Arnold was a hopeless Native American living on a hopeless reservation. In the middle of the book, Arnold leaves the reservation and finds out that his sister left too.
Racism, stereotypes, and white privilege are all concepts that affect all of us, whether we believe it or not. If an adolescent of a minority can distinguish these concepts in his society, then we all should be aware of them. These concepts are all clearly demonstrated in “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”. Anyone and everyone could clearly understand this novel, but the intended audience is middle school to college level students. The novel’s goal is to help white students understand the effects of white privilege in an easier, more understandable way.