Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

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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 Angered by the fact that the reservation is so poor that they have to use outdated books, he throws it and it hits his teacher.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....

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... 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.

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