Imagine being put in a horrible situation that one has very little chance of escaping from. This happens to people all over the world and even occurs in Canada and the United States. Often this inability to escape horrible things is faced by many Native American populations. Sherman Alexie the author of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian made this very clear through plot, characters and the themes. Certain points in the novel stuck out which clearly represented how hard it is for Native Americans to escape poverty. Native Americans often believe that they have no control over being in poverty so they do not try to get themselves out of it. When Native Americans try to overcome poverty, they are often unsupported by tribe members and considered outcasts. Finally money on the reservation is often mismanaged, so the people of the reservation are unable to benefit from it. Although some people believe that being born into a Native American tribe has advantages the reality is that it is often near impossible for Native Americans to escape the poverty their reservations are plagued with. Sherman Alexie makes it clear in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian that Native Americans believe that they are in no control of their financial situation. As a result of believing this, Native Americans will not try to overcome being in poverty. This creates an infinite circle of impoverishment. The main character of the novel, Junior, makes the hardships of being in poverty clear in this statement: “It sucks to be poor, and it sucks to feel that you some- how deserve to be poor. You start believing that you’re poor because you’re stupid and ugly. And then you start believ- ing that you’re stupid and ugly and be... ... middle of paper ... ...elieve that they have no control over being in poverty so they do not try to get themselves out of it. Secondly, when Native Americans try to overcome poverty, they are often unsupported by tribe members and considered outcasts. Finally money provided to the reservation is often mismanaged, so the people are unable to benefit from it. Poverty is something that affects millions of people around the world. To help people overcome poverty we must not only provide them with sufficient funds to maintain an adequate lifestyle, but also create programs to help them find jobs to support themselves. Poverty is not something that should be taken lightly, and society must truly band together to help impoverished people overcome the boundaries of poverty. Works Cited Alexie, Sherman. The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. Groningen [etc.: Noordhoff, 2011. Print.
To conclude, in the book The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian an Indian boy shows how to escape the poverty of his Indian Reservation by going to a wealthy white school, as well as keeping his Indian Culture alive when living on the reservation.
“But we reservation Indians don’t get to realize our dreams. We don’t get those chances.” (p. 13) In The Absolutely True Diary of A Part Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, Junior, the narrator, is an Indian teenage boy living on a reservation, where no one's dreams or ideas are heard. The Indians on the reservation feel hopeless because they are isolated and disenfranchised. Junior learns how to cope with his hopelessness and breaks through the hopeless reservation life to find his dreams. Examining his journey provides important examples for the reader.
In the fictional story, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian written by Sherman Alexie, a Native American author, describes the problems of a teenager living between two different cultures; one Native American, and the other white. Alexie uses figurative language elements to convince teenagers to be aware and support people living between two worlds in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. By using these literary elements, Sherman Alexie guides the audience to respond emotionally and act upon about the book’s message. Throughout the story, Alexie uses juxtaposition to show the differences between the two worlds the protagonist lives in.
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.
Alexie, S. (2009). The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.
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.
Alexie, Sherman. The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Hachette Book Group, 2007. Print.
To begin, in “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” Sherman Alexie describes a moment in
More than 1.3 billion people in our world live in extreme poverty as stated by Explore Campaigns. Struggles that come with poverty are shown in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Arnold Spirit, an Indian who is growing up on a poor reservation, is used to a poverty stricken lifestyle where it seems impossible to create a better life. His whole family has grown up on the reservation with little money and little education. Arnold, who is determined not to end up like the other indians on the rez, changes over the course of the novel from having no hope of ever leaving to becoming a brave, ambitious, and confident person who knows that he has a bright future.
Although poverty rates on some reservations are getting better because of gambling enterprises and natural resources, most reservations have unusually high poverty rates. In 2000, the poverty rate of the entire United States was about 11.3%. Compare that to a 25.9% poverty rate for Native Americans living on reservations. The poverty rate of Native Americans in 2000 was higher than the peak of the poverty rate of the Great Depression, which was 21.7% (Native American Statistics”). This statistic alone shows that Native Americans are not doing well financially.
“The Absolutely True Diary Of an Part Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie is a novel in which the Main Character is searching for hope. Through the Use of Dialogue, Alexie’s novel reveals that in times of drought hope can be always found.
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.
The circumstances the Native American people endured clarify their current issues. American Indians have poor education and a high percent are unemployed when equated to “U.S. all races” (Spector, 2009, p. 205). Many American Indians still live on reservations and work as a
Adjusting to another culture is a difficult concept, especially for children in their school classrooms. In Sherman Alexie’s, “Indian Education,” he discusses the different stages of a Native Americans childhood compared to his white counterparts. He is describing the schooling of a child, Victor, in an American Indian reservation, grade by grade. He uses a few different examples of satire and irony, in which could be viewed in completely different ways, expressing different feelings to the reader. Racism and bullying are both present throughout this essay between Indians and Americans. The Indian Americans have the stereotype of being unsuccessful and always being those that are left behind. Through Alexie’s negativity and humor in his essay, it is evident that he faces many issues and is very frustrated growing up as an American Indian. Growing up, Alexie faces discrimination from white people, who he portrays as evil in every way, to show that his childhood was filled with anger, fear, and sorrow.
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.