Analysis Of The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian '

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Growing up as an only child, I was everything to my parents. They were always overprotective of me and wanted to be sure that I was never in danger. When I graduated high school, they expected me to stay in my hometown, living with them, to further my education at the local University Center. Unfortunately, despite what they wanted, I chose to be independent by going away for college. In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Mary is in the same position I am. It is stated, "Ever since the Spokane Indian reservation was founded back in 1881, nobody in my family had ever lived anywhere else"(Alexie 89). Not caring about her family 's history, Mary decides to pack up and leave the reservation. She has a vision for …show more content…

She has a secret dream of writing romance novels that no one, except her teacher, Mr. P, had known about. The book explains, "People just don 't live and hide in basements if they 're happy" (Alexie 39). Mary was not happy where she was at, she would not let anyone read her pieces of writing. Skip downing states in his article, “ Victims are people who do not feel they are in control of the outcomes in their lives” (Downing 42). The way she acted made it seem like she was not confident in what she had been doing. Victims, like Mary, feel they are stuck and that they have to support which makes their ability to reach their goals fall short. Mr. P explains, "She always thought people would make fun of her" (Alexie 37). All this has shown that being in the basement and not pursuing her dreams had taken a toll on her. Mary never acted different than …show more content…

Doing this, she is labeled as a creator. In "Adopting the Creator Role" by Skip Downing, He explains, "When people change their beliefs and behaviors to create the best results they can, they are acting as creators"(32). Here, downing says to be a creator you must do something drastic in your life that improves it in a positive way. First, Mary was not on track for a good life. She went from being alone and sad in the basement to finding a man randomly at the casino that she would fall in love with. This man she meets triggers the spark in Mary that she needs. Downing exclaims, "The key ingredient of personal responsibility is choice"(33). Mary had seen herself in a tough spot, finding a way out, she took the opportunity enabling her to be a creator. When a person acts as a creator it enables them moving up on Maslow’s

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