The title of the novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian written by Sherman Alexie tells it like it is. The story addresses the journey of Arnold Spirit (Junior) who faces physical, social, emotional and psychological changes in the world of poverty and how he finds the inner strength in himself to follow his dreams. Arnold Spirit is born in the Spokane Indian reservation – the "rez" located in Wellpinit suffering from too much cerebral fluid in his brain which results to brain damage. Throughout the novel, Sherman Alexie effectively exhibits how various relevant people and the Reservation impact Arnold's life positively by showing him that at the end of very dark tunnel there is light. The Spokane Reservation and what the Native …show more content…
In this case, there is the bleakness of poverty and the inspiring role models that sprinkle the amazing effects upon Arnold Spirit. From the intense and horrific setting of how the Spokane Indian Reservation can almost completely destroy someone's future life but at the same time push that individual to bring out the positivity and flourish faith by achieving goals following up to Mary's adventurous, tragic, and inspiring career path helping Junior rise to power and popularity at Reardan High and then finally, Mr. P spitting out motivational advice and making Junior view his self-worth and embracing it along the way has ultimately done nothing but positively impacts Junior's future. Therefore, taking all the evidence this sums up that Sherman Alexie has given an alerting reminder that everyone should distribute kindness and understand that people are just like flowers because they grow with sunlight and they still need to grow with a bit of storm to help them succeed in life. With the society of impoverished people and what they have to tolerate, people and places like the Spokane Indian Reservation, Mary Spirit and Mr. P define the meaning of spreading hope and
Encountering struggles in life defines one’s character and speaks volumes about their strength, ambition, and flexibility. Through struggles, sacrifice, and tragedy, Junior in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, adapts to survive difficult situations and faces his problems head-on. As he makes life changing decisions, adapts to an unfamiliar culture, and finds himself amongst misery and heartbreak, Junior demonstrates resilience to overcome adversity and struggles.
Imagine growing up in a society where a person is restricted to learn because of his or her ethnicity? This experience would be awful and very emotional for one to go through. Sherman Alexie and Fredrick Douglas are examples of prodigies who grew up in a less fortunate community. Both men experienced complications in similar and different ways; these experiences shaped them into men who wanted equal education for all. To begin, one should understand the writers background. Sherman Alexie wrote about his life as a young Spokane Indian boy and the life he experienced (page 15). He wrote to encourage people to step outside their comfort zone and be herd throughout education. Similar to Alexie’s life experience, Fredrick
How White people assumed they were better than Indians and tried to bully a young boy under the US Reservation. Alexie was bullied by his classmates, teammates, and teachers since he was young because he was an Indian. Even though Alexie didn’t come from a good background, he found the right path and didn’t let his hands down. He had two ways to go to, either become a better, educated and strong person, either be like his brother Steven that was following a bad path, where Alexie chose to become a better and educated person. I believe that Alexie learned how to get stronger, and stand up for himself in the hard moments of his life by many struggles that he passed through. He overcame all his struggles and rose above them
Sherman Alexie’s character’s often struggle to release themselves from the stereotypes that have been forced upon them. The narrators of these stories all become the Indian that the white man wants them to be in order to tell their stories. This can leave the readers with a sense of discomfort, which is exactly what Alexie wants to do. He wants the reader to feel uncomfortable with these stereotypes so that they know there is something wrong with attaching a group of people to certain standards like that their all alcoholics, live on reservations, and spiritual. He pushes this feeling of discomfort onto his readers to make them aware of social injustice and immorality towards Native Americans and much of this discomfort is projected through the use of dark humor, cultural assimilation, and ceremony.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is a novel about Arnold Spirit (Junior), a boy from the Spokane Indian Reservation who decides to attend high school outside the reservation in order to have a better future. During that first year at Reardan High School, Arnold has to find his place at his all-white school, cope with his best friend Rowdy and most of his tribe disowning him, and endure the deaths of his grandmother, his father’s best friend, and his sister. Alexie touches upon issues of identity, otherness, alcoholism, death, and poverty in order to stay true to his characters and the cultures within the story. Through the identification of the role of the self, identity, and social behavior within the book, the reader can understand Arnold’s story to a greater depth.
At a point in time, Arnold and Rowdy become best friends once again. This friendship between Arnold and Rowdy that Alexie has integrated into the novel illustrates a hardship between personal companions and personal prosperity, perfectly. Hardship is everywhere, but Sherman Alexie’s “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian” is an amusing and intelligent novel that clearly provides the reader with perfect examples of poverty and friendship on an Indian reservation. Alexie incorporates those examples through the point of view and experiences of a fourteen year old boy named Arnold Spirit Jr.
Some people are so essential to making us who we are. People who encircle us play a big role directing our character change. They also impact us, affecting us for the rest of our lives. Throughout our lives, we are taught and influenced by many who have an enormous effect on the way we view events and problems. We might not even realize that they are the reason behind our changes. The women surrounding Grant and Jefferson in Ernest J. Gaines A Lesson Before Dying, are incentives in his eventual changes from doubts and bitterness. Tante Lou, Miss Emma, and Vivian even, if Grant doesn’t realize it, have a strong role helping Jefferson and pushing Grant to develop a relationship with him. Throughout Grant and Jefferson growing friendship brought by Tante Lou, Miss Emma, and Vivian, it showed Grant and Jefferson would never have contributed and changed the society they lived in.
With the obstacles that happen to Junior, it creates an emotional and traumatic impact on Junior as well as getting the readers hooked to turn the page and keep reading. To begin, in “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” Sherman Alexie describes a moment in Junior's life before he went to the white school. From comparing the death rates and even mentioning the deaths, Alexie shows an emotional impact on Junior from the deaths he has to go through. Alexie writes about how Junior being an Indian has impacted his life.
Sherman Alexie grew up on a Spokane Indian reservation, in fact Junior and the story as a whole is based on his childhood; as he also struggled with the effects of poverty, alcoholism, identity, and social injustice. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is follows the life of Junior; a fourteen year old, Spokane Indian boy, who lives on an Indian reservation filled with poverty and addiction. The story begins when Junior decides transfer to a high school called “Reardan,” which is located outside the reservation in a rich white farm town. At first, Junior is a misfit at his new school; he has trouble making friends, mainly because he’s Indian. His transition to Reardan also causes a fight and other conflicts between him and his best friend, Rowdy, who feels betrayed by Junior. In fact, the whole reservation sees him as traitor.
In Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, the main character Arnold, also known as Junior, has many health issues, and notably stands out in the crowd. It does not help that he is a poor Indian boy that lives on a reservation, and that he decides to go to an all-white high school. Many of his experiences at school, and on the Reservation, impact his identity. Experience is the most influential factor in shaping a person’s identity because it helps gain confidence, it teaches new things, and it changes one’s outlook on the world.
Jackson is a Native American living on the streets in Seattle. He is alone and no matter how much effort he makes to form his own tribe-like community, he is always left with only himself. Jackson is feeling the pressure of society to fall into the role that many Natives are today. Society stereotypes Natives to be alcoholics that are very fickle with their money. Jackson is subconsciously allowing these social pressures to control his actions with his effort to obtain his grandmother's ceremonial blanket. The man that owns the pawn shop gives him money to put towards reaching his goal, but he quickly spends it on alcohol for him and his friends. This is an example of positive social pressure becoming negative because he feels the pressure to have a tribal community around him, and this causes him to ignore the goal and focus on others. While this may seem posi...
Alexie displays this characteristic when he writes about his family, “My mother still makes quilts. My wife and I sleep beneath one. My brother works for our tribal casino. One sister works for our bingo hall, while the other works in the tribal finance department...My father is an alcoholic (Alexie 24).” Alexie displays himself as a brother and son, instead of as warrior or brave. By doing so Alexie tells the reader that he is not only a Native American, but his is loved just liked anyone
Can you imagine growing up on a reservation full of people with no hope? The character Arnold in the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie did. In the beginning of the book, Arnold was a hopeless Native American living on a hopeless reservation. In the middle of the book, Arnold leaves the reservation and finds out that his sister left too.
Sherman talks about how families now of days do not have both parents. Many families in the Golden Valley have many families without both parents. How important family values are and how they are effective. That many families without both parents have lower family values and that they are unstable. Talks about how it effects the poor children and that they should not have to deal with it.
The main character in this story is a Native American who lives on the streets of Spokane, Washington. The author has exaggerated all the stereotypes that exist of Native Americans in this story. He does this to show a point in the story; and if a person looks deeper into the story past the main plot, they will see the hidden meanings and signs that the author puts into the story. Some of the stereotypes that the author shows are homelessness, drinking, smoking, and gambling.