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

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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian which was written by Sherman Alexie, combines humor and tragedy to tell a first-person narrative story of Arnold Spirit Jr., a 14-year-old Native American teenager, and the events in his life about pursuing his dreams. This book is a semi-autobiographical novel and it has won the 2007 U.S. National Book Award for Young People's Literature and the Odyssey Award as best 2008 audiobook for young people. The language in this book is simple, humorous and spontaneous, however, tragedies have played a more important part than comedies.

The famous novelist C. S. Lewis once said: “Out of all human events, it is tragedy alone that brings people out of their own petty desires and into awareness of other humans' suffering. Tragedy occurs in human lives so that we will learn to reach out and comfort others." Tragedy make people to care for others, and that’s one of the reasons why Sherman Alexie wrote this book. In the novel, when Arnold told the truth about being poor to Penelope, she didn’t mock him or stop being a friend with him, so did Roger. “But then I realized that she was being my friend. Being a really good friend, in fact. She was concerned about me.”(127) Real Friends care about each other. What’s more, when Arnold’s grandmother’s wake was held, “almost two thousand Indians showed up that they to say good-bye. And nobody gave my any crap.”(159) Even if he was still a “traitor” in his own people’s eyes, they also were aware of that Arnold was just a kid who has lost his grandmother. After Eugene died, Arnold seemed to go to pieces and he couldn’t bear any more losses, he even blamed himself for all the deaths. When one of his teachers at Reardan High School, Mrs Jeremy insulted him fo...

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...d to treasure what they have and stop complaining. Arnold’s miserable life can be an inspiration, and his bravery can encourage the readers to pursue their dreams no matter how impossible they seemed. Tragedies make this story convincing.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a book that is painful but joyful at the same time. Those tragedies of Native Americans make it unique. Sherman Alexie has provided young adults a meaningful and enjoyable reading experience.

Works Cited

Sherman Alexie, 2007, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

"National Book Awards – 2007", National Book Foundation (NBF). Available at

Lewis, C. S., public lecture, 1958, Oxford, courtesy of Professor Kip Wheeler

Countee Cullen, My Soul’s High Song: The Collected Writings of Countee Cullen, 1991, Anchor Books

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