Rajiv's Story

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

The most apparent human right issue is the freedom of expression, whether it is of cultural and/or religious affiliation, through the physical display of their identity. The ban is illegalizing government employees from wearing this physical specimen of religious identity, being tha...

Furthermore, the opinion of the Supreme Court reveled that students can express their opinions anywhere even when the principal clearly made a rule banning armbands so problems would not be created. The disruptions from armbands could ca...

When comparing two young adult novels, one would never think that a wizard with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead and a poor Indian basketball player would have anything in common. However, this is not so as The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling are alike in many aspects. One might ask why a different novel from the Harry Potter series was not used, and the answer is that the main character matures quite a deal through the novel selected and seemed better fit for comparison with Alexie’s novel. Both boys, Arnold Spirit, Jr. and Harry James Potter, encounter some form of bullying. Both must also cope with tragic deaths that have impacted the way

There was a news which was about a school is being sued by Muslim parents after banning pupils from wearing the traditional Islamic headscarf in lessons. St Cyprian's Greek Orthodox primary in south London faces being hauled before the High Court amid claims that its uniform policy breaches children’s religious freedom. In this news, it shown that there are still has a great controversy whether the law or policy discriminated against Islam or the hijab breached the uniform policy.

If someone has been sexually assaulted in a college campus and he/she goes to the administrators to file a complaint about the assault and if the administrators decide to do nothing or tell the student that disciplinary charges might also be placed against them or even worse fails to deal with the situation, according to the Title IX law, if a student feels cheated on by their institution they have the option to file a lawsuit again the institution and a federal investigation soon follows as stated in the article, Sexual assault survivors challenge universities, written by Rajini Vaidyanathan: “Under the law, current or former students can submit a complaint against their institution if they believe it failed to properly report sexual assaults

Adolescents experience a developmental journey as they transition from child to adult, and in doing so are faced with many developmental milestones. Physical, cognitive, social and emotional changes are occurring during this tumultuous stage of life, and making sense of one’s self and identity becomes a priority. Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian addresses the challenges of adolescence in an engaging tale, but deals with minority communities and cultures as well.

Have you ever wanted something really badly, but couldn’t afford it? This is a common occurrence, but what about food? Have you ever went to be hungry because you couldn’t afford to eat? Unfortunately, Junior, the main character in the book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, felt exactly this way for food. Even though Junior didn’t have as many resources as the other “white kids,” he still chose to look at the positives. This novel shows that even in times of great hardship, people can still choose to have hope and look at the good in their lives.

When two major laws, safety and freedom of religion go head to head on which is more important. When a religious Sikh man got a $110 fine for not wearing a helmet on a motorcycle. Now the community is facing a moral dilemma of what right should come first when looking at this situation. In this opinion piece I will discuss what I thought of the situation and why I believe he should’ve wore a helmet in this scenario. I feel safety is a main concern when riding a motorcycle that helmet’s protect you from head injuries and there are many other ways of transportation if one prevents you from a certain religion standard.

“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.

“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” is a humorous and intuitive novel written by Sherman Alexie. The reader gets an insight into the everyday life of a fourteen year old hydrocephalic Indian boy named Arnold Spirit, also referred to as Junior Spirit. He is living on the Spokane Indian reservation and is seen as an outcast by all the other Indians, due to his medical condition. Against all odds Arnold expands his hope, leaves his school on the reservation and faces new obstacles to obtain a more promising future at a school off the reservation. The novel is told through Arnold’s voice, thoughts, actions and experiences. Alexie incorporates one point of view, different themes and settings, such as poverty, friendship, Spokane and Reardan within Arnold’s journey to illustrate the different hardships he must overcome to gain a higher education.

If compared to previous generations, the students living in the 21st century should have a bright future ahead of them. To create that future one must first go to school. Is the main purpose of school having to deal with oppression and injustice or is it to give children a proper education and an opportunity to learn? Mandatory school uniforms are a very controversial issue. Clothing impacts a student’s daily life. The clothes they choose to wear, makes them who they are. A student may choose to express who they are or who they want to become through the clothing they wear. It gives them a taste of freedom and choice; a feeling that every individual living in a democratic society should have. Uniforms in school oppose that feeling. Many private schools and some public schools require students to wear a uniform but the majority of schools do not. The school boards need to understand all the bad things uniforms have to offer. School uniforms are useless because they do not help fix any major problems, are very expensive for the less fortunate families, and oppose the rights every Canadian is entitled to; therefore, must not be mandatory to wear in school.

Equality and Human Rights Commission Guidance. Guidance on the wearing of Sikh articles of faith in the workplace and public spaces. 2010. Web. .

I lived in India for 15 years, since birth. I am not surprised that I was brought up in a rigid country. I was born in Patiala, a city of Punjab which is usually known for its antiqueness. Though I was born in Patiala, my upbringing was done in another town close to my birth city. My town was small but had a miscellany of people. One could find every kind of person in there. The first few years were not that hard; I used to go to school and then come back home. I enjoyed my life’s first few years but as it known that a coin has two sides my life was not totally a “Party all night”. I always had a bad gall bladder; it remained filled with urine all the time. My being shy always serves a great disadvantage for me. I had a hard time asking my teachers to use restrooms in case of urination. A teacher is not an omniscient who would know when I have to go to loosen myself. It would not be a surprise if I say I did it in my skirt all the time. Yes, I used to do that often and usually become a trouble maker for my teacher and the child care ladies who had to clean me. “She is a kid.” That us...