Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian Analysis

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Sathya Siddapureddy The Book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie shows the struggles a Native American teen faces growing up on a reservation and his attempt to leave it. Throughout the book there are many cartoons the illustrator Ellen Forney created. These cartoons help explain and broaden the meaning of the text for the reader. Towards the beginning of the book Junior is introducing his parents. In the picture it shows everything they could have been if someone had paid attention to their dreams. He reveals his mother's intellect as well as his father’s musical talent. He then says, “But we reservation Indians don't get to realize our dreams. We don’t get those dreams. Or choices. We’re just poor. That’s all we are.”(13). This shows that in the …show more content…

The cartoon shows that Junior understands what the reservation does to people's dreams and what is could just as easily do to his own. The cartoon also gives insight to the reader by foreshadowing to later in the book where this sad fact will be brought upon Junior and his life. Junior decided to go to Reardan which took lots of courage. When he got there he told himself he didn’t belong there as he filled with regret. Junior said Rearden was, “the opposite of me” (56). The drawing shows two sides, seemingly opposite with expensive clothes and accessories on the side labeled “White”, compared to the cheaper items side labeled “Indian”. Along with the expensive apparel came a bright future, positive role models and hope while the other side had a vanishing past, bad family health history, and bone-crushing reality. These qualities are truly opposites of each other as illustrated by Junior. This drawing explains to the reader, the disadvantages that junior sees for him and other Indians in comparison to the White people like he saw at Rearden. All in all, the illustration said that because of these disadvantages, the purpose in living is very minimal when one can’t

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