Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Racial Discrimination in Literature
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The Absolutely True Character Traits of a Part-Time Indian
“I was half Indian in one place and half white in the other. It was like being Indian was my job, but it was only a part-time job. And it didn't pay well” (118). This quote comes from book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. In this novel, Junior, the main character who says the previous quote, betrays his tribe by leaving his reservation to get a better education in nearby small white town. Junior faces great hardships and tragedies as he struggles to both achieve his dreams, and discover where he fits into society. Junior shows strong character traits throughout the book, including his determination, aspiration, and wise perception of the world.
…show more content…
Junior strives to be more than what everyone expects him to be, he wants to follow his dreams. Junior starts to show this quality to hope and dream big when he decides to leave the rez and tells his parents. “ ‘I want to go to Reardan’ I said again. I couldn't believe I was saying it. For me it seemed as real as saying ‘I want to fly to the moon.’ ”(46) Junior knows he is dreaming far beyond what any Indian on the rez ever has and gone to achieve it. Another example of Juniors aspiration shines through when he talks to Penelope, “And I couldn't make fun of her for that dream. It was my dream, too. And Indian boys weren't supposed to dream like that. And white girls from small towns weren't supposed to dream big, either. We were supposed to be happy with our limitations. But there was no way Penelope and I were going to sit still. Nope, we both wanted to fly” In this quote, Junior accepts he is reaching towards something that may be unreachable, Junior however, wants to touch the sky. Juniors aspiration and high hopes and dreams are a strong part of what makes up his …show more content…
Junior himself experiences much pain in his life, and he says, “There are all kinds of addicts, I guess. We all have pain. And we all look for ways to make the pain go away”(page 107). Junior understands that all people, no matter ethnicity, race, religion, experience different forms of pain, and we all try to forget about it. This is a topic that many people, especially Juniors age, would ignore. Junior also has a wise view on poverty, and experiences it himself. Junior says, “ Poverty doesn't give you strength or teach you lessons about perseverance. No, poverty only teaches you how to be poor” (page 54). Junior faces the issue of poverty directly, and doesn't try to romanticize it. Junior also has a unique view of people. Throughout the book Junior makes reference to his idea that the world is divided into tribes, and not just ones relating to subjects including race, ethnicity, and religion. However, Junior says, “I used to think the world was broken down by tribes,' I said. 'By Black and White. By Indian and White. But I know this isn't true. The world is only broken into two tribes: the people who are assholes and the people who are not”(176). Junior can see past his original outlook of people and realize something. The world divides itself into groups, yet what defines us is how we behave. In the book, Juniors
Modern day Native American are widely known as stewards of the environment who fight for conservation and environmental issues. The position of the many Native American as environmentalists and conservationists is justified based on the perception that before European colonists arrived in the Americas, Native Americans had little to no effect on their environment as they lived in harmony with nature. This idea is challenged by Shepard Krech III in his work, The Ecological Indian. In The Ecological Indian, Krech argues that this image of the noble savage was an invented tradition that began in the early 1970’s, and that attempts to humanize Native Americans by attempting to portray them as they really were. Krech’s arguments are criticized by Darren J Ranco who in his response, claims that Krech fails to analyze the current state of Native American affairs, falls into the ‘trap’ of invented tradition, and accuses Krech of diminishing the power and influence of Native Americans in politics. This essay examines both arguments, but ultimately finds Krech to be more convincing as Krech’s
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.
“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.
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.
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?
Junior was born in a desperate, hopeless place. His parents and community were withering in despair. However, Junior did not choose to languish like the rest of his community; he boldly left his comfort zone for a better education—facing obstacles from losing
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.
Often at time’s society forces us to make choices we would rather not make, mainly because one is different or a different color. The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, is about how a teenage Indian who lives on Spokane reserve moves to a white school and gets shamed for being Indian, for making this decision his tribe has disowned him for leaving the rez and moving to the city. The main ideas are the rez, school, and family/friends. Jr’s dad is a drunk, but he loves his son. He has never missed a basketball game,Dad is an alcoholic who will disappear for days to drink. Rowdy is the toughest kid on the rez and all the other kids are afraid of him, but he always protects Junior from bullies. In return Junior helps
What drives people to work hard? Where does determination come from? What causes us to want to make something of our lives? These questions are answered through two prominent themes that run through this book. In reading Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, the character of Junior helps explore these questions through the power of expectations and hope. These themes give people drive, determination, and passion for their lives. When one or both of these important elements are taken away, that determination, passion, and drive goes with it.
Ever wondered what gets readers hooked on a book? In “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie, the authors have many ways to grab the reader's attention by using many techniques from humor to emotional and traumatic suspense. In the book, the main character named Junior is an Indian boy growing up on a reservation. By growing up on the reservation junior makes a choice to leave the reservation and go to a white school which gives Junior obstacles in his life. There are many obstacles that happen even before Junior decided to go to another path with his life.
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.
In American Indian Stories, University of Nebraska Press Lincoln and London edition, the author, Zitkala-Sa, tries to tell stories that depicted life growing up on a reservation. Her stories showed how Native Americans reacted to the white man’s ways of running the land and changing the life of Indians. “Zitkala-Sa was one of the early Indian writers to record tribal legends and tales from oral tradition” (back cover) is a great way to show that the author’s stories were based upon actual events in her life as a Dakota Sioux Indian. This essay will describe and analyze Native American life as described by Zitkala-Sa’s American Indian Stories, it will relate to Native Americans and their interactions with American societies, it will discuss the major themes of the book and why the author wrote it, it will describe Native American society, its values and its beliefs and how they changed and it will show how Native Americans views other non-Natives.
God and the Indian is a two person play written by Drew Hayden Taylor. In this play we have a man named George that was a former priest at a residential school. We also have a lady named Johnny Indian that was a former student at said residential school. In the play Johnny accuses George of having molested her as a child. George tells Johnny that she is delusional and will not admit to his wrongdoings. The author tells the story from both George and Johnny’s sides. I think what the author is really trying to portray here is the denial of the people that worked in the name of the church at residential schools years after they had left and/or been shut down.
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.
Racism, stereotypes, and white privilege are all concepts that affect all of us, whether we believe it or not. If an adolescent of a minority can distinguish these concepts in his society, then we all should be aware of them. These concepts are all clearly demonstrated in “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”. Anyone and everyone could clearly understand this novel, but the intended audience is middle school to college level students. The novel’s goal is to help white students understand the effects of white privilege in an easier, more understandable way.