I decided to do my book report on the Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. This book is about a Native American boy who has to deal with various issues like racism, bullying, loss, health issues, and other more adolescent issues.
In the beginning of the book Arnold tells us of his complicated birth and how he was born with too much cerebral fluid. This led to him having an abundance of physical issues as he got older, like poor eyesight, a rather large head, speech impediments, and seizures. Because of these issues he is frequently bullied and it is usually up to Arnold’s best friend Rowdy to protect him. Rowdy’s father abuses him and as a result he is very volatile and short-tempered. On Arnold’s first day he is excited to learn geometry but when he inspects the books he finds his mother’s name in it. Angered by the fact that the reservation is so poor that they have to use outdated books, he throws it and it hits his teacher. He ends up getting suspended and during this time his teacher visits him and encourages him to leave the reservation and become successful. Arnold decides to transfer to Reardan High School which is where the white country kids go. The Indians on the reservation see this as a traitorous move and the bullying intensifies, Rowdy also decides to bully Arnold as well. The kids at the school also decide to bully him but when he stands up for himself they chose to ignore him. Arnold starts to develop a crush on Penelope, the most popular girl in school. At first she doesn’t give him the time of day but when he is understanding about her bulimia, as well as her other insecurities, she begins dating him. They become really close and Arnold even opens up to her about how poor he really is....
... middle of paper ...
... to try to bully the ambition out of him. After his first game against Wellpinit he insisted on playing against them again despite their hostility, and his coach told him he was the most dedicated player he’d ever seen.
I’ve never been really good at writing conclusions, but I feel this is a good time to conclude or else I pose the risk of rambling (and who wants to read the ramblings of a teenager?). I suppose that a sufficient lesson to learn from this book is to not allow others to dictate your life. We always have parents, friends, teachers, and a number of other people giving their unwanted opinions of what the feel you should or shouldn’t do. There has to come a point where you just say, “Screw your opinion” and just go for your dreams. At the end of the day it’s your life to live, and you have to deal with the consequences of your decisions or lack thereof.
Imagine being put in a horrible situation that one has very little chance of escaping from. This happens to people all over the world and even occurs in Canada and the United States. Often this inability to escape horrible things is faced by many Native American populations. Sherman Alexie the author of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian made this very clear through plot, characters and the themes. Certain points in the novel stuck out which clearly represented how hard it is for Native Americans to escape poverty. Native Americans often believe that they have no control over being in poverty so they do not try to get themselves out of it. When Native Americans try to overcome poverty, they are often unsupported by tribe members and considered outcasts. Finally money on the reservation is often mismanaged, so the people of the reservation are unable to benefit from it. Although some people believe that being born into a Native American tribe has advantages the reality is that it is often near impossible for Native Americans to escape the poverty their reservations are plagued with.
What do the following words or phrases have in common: “the last departure,”, “final curtain,” “the end,” “darkness,” “eternal sleep”, “sweet release,” “afterlife,” and “passing over”? All, whether grim or optimistic, are synonymous with death. Death is a shared human experience. Regardless of age, gender, race, religion, health, wealth, or nationality, it is both an idea and an experience that every individual eventually must confront in the loss of others and finally face the reality of our own. Whether you first encounter it in the loss of a pet, a friend, a family member, a neighbor, a pop culture icon, or a valued community member, it can leave you feeling numb, empty, and shattered inside. But, the world keeps turning and life continues. The late Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computers and of Pixar Animation Studios, in his 2005 speech to the graduating class at Stanford, acknowledged death’s great power by calling it “the single best invention of Life” and “Life’s great change agent.” How, in all its finality and accompanying sadness, can death be good? As a destination, what does it have to teach us about the journey?
Picture yourself in a town where you are underprivileged and sometimes miss a meal. In the novel, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” Sherman Alexie wrote the book to show hardships that Native Americans face today. Alexie shows us hardships such as poverty, alcoholism and education. In the novel, Junior goes against the odds to go to an all white school to get a better education to have a better life
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie and Bastard out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison, tell stories about troubled adolescents and their desire to live a life more meaningful than the one society had predetermined for them. On the surface, Junior and Bone seem very different but when they are analyzed through the themes of discrimination, poverty, and friendship, these two protagonists become reflections of each other. This paper will compare the struggles faced by the characters and the effects of social inequality on their lives.
Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, not-so-subtly shows the reader that despite those who bring you down, especially if you fall within a minority, you can pursue and come out with great achievements. Sherman Alexie portrays this with scenes including Arnold getting beat-up by his childhood best friend, a popular group of racist white people who laugh at his heritage, and the degrading encounter with people on the rez.
Often at time’s society forces us to make choices we would rather not make, mainly because one is different or a different color. The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, is about how a teenage Indian who lives on Spokane reserve moves to a white school and gets shamed for being Indian, for making this decision his tribe has disowned him for leaving the rez and moving to the city. The main ideas are the rez, school, and family/friends. Jr’s dad is a drunk, but he loves his son. He has never missed a basketball game,Dad is an alcoholic who will disappear for days to drink. Rowdy is the toughest kid on the rez and all the other kids are afraid of him, but he always protects Junior from bullies. In return Junior helps
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 by Sherman Alexie is a novel about Arnold Spirit (Junior), a boy from the Spokane Indian Reservation who decides to attend high school outside the reservation in order to have a better future. During that first year at Reardan High School, Arnold has to find his place at his all-white school, cope with his best friend Rowdy and most of his tribe disowning him, and endure the deaths of his grandmother, his father’s best friend, and his sister. Alexie touches upon issues of identity, otherness, alcoholism, death, and poverty in order to stay true to his characters and the cultures within the story. Through the identification of the role of the self, identity, and social behavior within the book, the reader can understand Arnold’s story to a greater depth.
What is the value of one’s culture? Native culture is an integral part in a person’s life. A person consists of many different characteristics, such as personality and appearance; however, what makes a person more unique would be his own culture. Native culture is what a person grew up with and identifies him as, thus losing or forgetting it would mean losing himself. Although it is important to remain with one’s culture, many people end up losing it. This is the consequence of living in America, where people with diverse cultures exist. Often times, diverse cultures feel the need to adapt to the more mainstream culture. Because of this, many people tend to forget their own native culture in attempt to assimilate to a different one. Similarly, Beth Piatote illustrates this idea of western assimilation through her short story, “Life-Size Indian.” Throughout the story, Piatote describes how Nathaniel felt necessary to assimilate to another culture, but eventually, the realization of his native culture results in a greater value. Piatote also includes many characters in her story. One of them is Bean, who is a direct contrast of Nathaniel. Nathaniel also meets Jen, who tells him a story of a life-size Indian that pushes Nathaniel to embrace his native culture. Lastly, Mel is use to symbolize the Native American culture. Piatote uses Bean, Jen, and Mel to help Nathaniel on his journey in deciding what his identity is. Nathaniel has always been indecisive, but through the experiences of these four characters, he finally realizes what it means to be Native American, and that his own judgment results to be very important.
Alexie, Sherman. The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Hachette Book Group, 2007. Print.
Many books have multiple life lessons that people can learn to. One of the life lessons that this book indicates is
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.
This book report deal with the Native American culture and how a girl named Taylor got away from what was expected of her as a part of her rural town in Pittman, Kentucky. She struggles along the way with her old beat up car and gets as far west as she can. Along the way she take care of an abandoned child which she found in the backseat of her car and decides to take care of her. She end up in a town outside Tucson and soon makes friends which she will consider family in the end.
Have you ever wanted something really badly, but couldn’t afford it? This is a common occurrence, but what about food? Have you ever went to be hungry because you couldn’t afford to eat? Unfortunately, Junior, the main character in the book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, felt exactly this way for food. Even though Junior didn’t have as many resources as the other “white kids,” he still chose to look at the positives. This novel shows that even in times of great hardship, people can still choose to have hope and look at the good in their lives.
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. By the end of the book, Arnold experiences a lot of deaths of people who mean a lot to him but he still found hope. Arnold becomes a warrior for leaving the reservation and going to Reardan.