An Analysis Of Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian

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A passage from, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie, contrasts Junior’s memory of climbing a giant pine tree next to Turtle Lake with Junior’s journey through his ninth grade year. Junior’s memory of tree-climbing reveals his perspective on the environment, the nature of his friendship with Rowdy, and his response to challenging opportunities, reflecting his journey through his 9th grade year.
Junior’s memory of tree-climbing reveals his conflicting feelings of wanting to escape his broken down hometown yet appreciating his life on the reservation as he contemplates his move to the thriving Reardon. Junior feels forever trapped on the reservation without a chance of another life. As seen, when Rowdy and Junior are on top of the pine tree “[they saw their] entire world up there.” Junior’s “entire world” was restricted to that reservation and as a result of his lack of knowledge about other parts …show more content…

Furthermore, when tree-climbing, Junior concludes that the great pine tree was “the only reservation skyscraper.” The phrase the “only...skyscraper” shows how Junior sees nothing else on the reservation come close to the size of the pine tree alluding to his fear of being exposed to other parts of your surroundings that he couldn’t necessarily see when on the ground. Since “skyscrapers” are usually referred to as entities that allow you to see the overall beauty of your surroundings, Junior’s perspective of the reservation is seen to change to an appreciation of its beauty. Even though Junior realizes there is no reason for him to continue staying on the reservation, he starts to appreciate the beauty of the reservation. Junior could see “[his] entire world, at that moment, [it] was green and golden and perfect.” Junior saw the reservation as “appalling”, but after climbing to the top of the tree, he becomes aware of how beautiful and perfect the reservation appeared. The fact that the

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