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How culture affects beliefs and attitudes
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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. By the end of the book, Arnold experiences a lot of deaths of people who mean a lot to him but he still found hope. Arnold becomes a warrior for leaving the reservation and going to Reardan.
Although there is hardly any hope on the reservation, Arnold knows that there is hope outside of the reservation. The reservation has a horrible education and on page 3 when Arnold was at school Arnold says, “My school and tribe are so poor that we have to study from the same dang books our parents studied from.” This shows that the reservation is too poor to buy new textbooks for the students to study from. The teacher gave Arnold some advice to find hope on page 93. Arnold and Mr.P were sitting in the porch of Arnold’s hous...
Professor and poet Deborah A. Miranda, pieces together the past and uncovers and presents us with a story--a Californian story--in her memoir, “Bad Indians.” Her use of the Christian Novena, “Novena to Bad Indians,” illustrates the irony of using the form of her oppressors as a call out for help, not to God, but to her past ancestors. We tend to think of religion as a form of salvation and redemption of our lives here on Earth, in which we bare down and ask for forgiveness. But by challenging this common discourse using theological allegories and satirical terminology, Miranda turns her attention away from a Deity to call the reader out for help. It is crucial to recognize the struggles that the Native community currently face. Californian Indians are often not given recognition for their identity and their heritage, and are also repeatedly stereotyped as abusive, alcoholic, uncivilized, and “freeloaders” of the United States government. Such generalizations root back from European colonization, nevertheless still linger in our contemporary society. Miranda has taken the first step forward in characterizing few of these stereotypes in her Novena, but she’s given her story. Now what are we going to do with ours? It’s up to us to create our
What do the following words or phrases have in common: “the last departure,”, “final curtain,” “the end,” “darkness,” “eternal sleep”, “sweet release,” “afterlife,” and “passing over”? All, whether grim or optimistic, are synonymous with death. Death is a shared human experience. Regardless of age, gender, race, religion, health, wealth, or nationality, it is both an idea and an experience that every individual eventually must confront in the loss of others and finally face the reality of our own. Whether you first encounter it in the loss of a pet, a friend, a family member, a neighbor, a pop culture icon, or a valued community member, it can leave you feeling numb, empty, and shattered inside. But, the world keeps turning and life continues. The late Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computers and of Pixar Animation Studios, in his 2005 speech to the graduating class at Stanford, acknowledged death’s great power by calling it “the single best invention of Life” and “Life’s great change agent.” How, in all its finality and accompanying sadness, can death be good? As a destination, what does it have to teach us about the journey?
The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration, written by Mary Rowlandson describes the events that she was taken captive alongside a number of people by Native Indians. The story is written in first person; therefore, it has details on the happenings during and after the captives. Mary narrates her experiences and highlights her views of her captors and the Native Indian community at large. The narratives indicate Mary Rowlandson's position as a female in her society during her time.
Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, not-so-subtly shows the reader that despite those who bring you down, especially if you fall within a minority, you can pursue and come out with great achievements. Sherman Alexie portrays this with scenes including Arnold getting beat-up by his childhood best friend, a popular group of racist white people who laugh at his heritage, and the degrading encounter with people on the rez. Rowdy’s reaction to the news of Arnold leaving pained him as he left for Reardan. Arnold described Rowdy’s scream as “It was pain, pure pain.” (53).
“I’m never going to act like my mother!” These words are increasingly common and yet unavoidable. Why is it that as children, we are able to point out every flaw in our parents, but as we grow up, we recognize that we are repeating the same mistakes we observed? The answer is generational curses: un-cleansed iniquities that increase in strength from one generation to the next, affecting the members of that family and all who come into relationship with that family (Hickey 13). Marilyn Hickey, a Christian author, explains how this biblically rooted cycle is never ending when she says, “Each generation adds to the overall iniquity, further weakening the resistance of the next generation to sin” (21, 22). In other words, if your parents mess up you are now susceptible to making the same mistakes, and are most likely going to pass those mistakes to your children. In The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie shows the beauty of hope in the presence of a generational curse. Even though the elders are the ones who produce the curses, they are also the ones who attempt to break Junior from their bond forming mistakes. The curses that Arnold’s elders imprint on him lead him to break out of his cultural bonds and improve himself as a developing young man.
It starts early morning “adiós, adiós México querido, yo nunca olvidarte podré” (bye, bye dear Mexico, I can never forget ) my mother carries small boxes out our bright blue front door as we walk and get in a rusty old truck. The engine purrs and the truck jumps up and down because of the rocks that make up the road. My small turquoise house starts to fade way along with the trees, and mountains. That’s how it starts early morning leaving the memories of my childhood that influenced my character.
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
“The fact that we were unconsciously part of a plan to weaken and cross out the Indianness in you, to pattern your land with our grain and beets and corn and alfalfa now clearly hits me. It is like a blow to the gut to learn that the years spent on the reservation, the times wading in the Wind River, were not the free years of childhood, but the manipulations of a power hungry to exonerate itself, to free itself, to purge the treaties of any real meaning or responsibility. They stole from me my innocence, leaving me a co-conspirator, an enemy to the children I grew with ton the prairie, drove us apart when we could have and should have forged an alliance for our own survival. The force of this unremitting design has killed many of my friends and acquaintances and left me forever with a feeling of unintentional complicity and sadness.” (Wind River, Wunder)
The role of hope in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was to show that there are much better things beyond the reservation. That there is more to see and experience when you look at other places. Without hope then Junior would not have thought about going to a different school. Junior was able to learn more than he did on the reservation because they had a better education system. He was able to join the basketball team and score a lot of points because he believed that he was one of the top players on the team.
November; the time when Thanksgiving rolls around and schools begin to display decorations of leaves, cornucopias, turkeys, pilgrims, and Indians. To elementary aged children this time means little to nothing except a week of no school, plenty of food, and loads of time with family. America has begun to train children from elementary school age to only associate Native Americans with Thanksgiving and pilgrims. America breeds children from day one to view Native Americans as a Thanksgiving tale or a page in a textbook but never takes the time to teach them about the day to day struggles that Native Americans still suffer from.
When a native author Greg Sams said that the reservations are just “red ghettos”, the author David disagree with that. He thinks there must be something else beyond that point. After his grandfather died, he somehow changed his mind. Because he could not think anything e...
Although the work is 40 years old, “Custer Died for Your Sins” is still relevant and valuable in explaining the history and problems that Indians face in the United States. Deloria book reveals the Whites view of Indians as false compared to the reality of how Indians are in real life. The forceful intrusion of the U.S. Government and Christian missionaries have had the most oppressing and damaging effect on Indians. There is hope in Delorias words though. He believes that as more tribes become more politically active and capable, they will be able to become more economically independent for future generations. He feels much hope in the 1960’s generation of college age Indians returning to take ownership of their tribes problems.
The book I chose to read was The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian written by Sherman Alexie. The this novel focuses on is Indian culture. Although I don’t believe I have any biological ties to this culture, I was interested in learning about the culture because a few of my friends are Indian. I am not very aware about much of their culture and I felt that was something I should be more culturally aware of.
Although the work is 40 years old, “Custer Died for Your Sins” is still relevant and valuable in explaining the history and problems that Indians face in the United States. Deloria’s book reveals the White view of Indians as false compared to the reality of how Indians are in real life. The forceful intrusion of the U.S. Government and Christian missionaries have had the most oppressing and damaging affect on Indians. There is hope in Delorias words though. He believes that as more tribes become more politically active and capable, they will be able to become more economically independent for future generations. He feels much hope in the 1960’s generation of college age Indians returning to take ownership of their tribes problems and build a better future for their children.
Imagine walking 22 miles to school every single day. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a book by Sherman Alexie following the life of Arnold, also known as Junior, and his struggles as a poor Native American boy going to a wealthy white school. Being poor throws challenges at Arnold in and outside of school, and he must hold onto hope, new friends, and perseverance to escape the cycle of poverty.