“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Alexia Sherman is a novel that takes place at a Indian Reservation called Spokane, located northeast of Washington.Where we’re introduced to a character named Junior. The character takes us into his everyday world where he encounters battles such as his identity,losing love ones,dealing with hope in Rez and poverty in the Rez.Though his struggles he decides to find hope and leaving Rez and in that hope he develops friendships,a future,dreams and happiness that he could've never imagined.
In the beginning Junior introduces us to one of his biggest battles he deals with which is physical chanllage.At six months year old Junior had to undergo a surgery due to a condition called cerebrospinal fluid.His conditions did not allow him develop a normal size body because of the physical challenge junior did not have the nicest childhood in rez or in school like said he belongs to “Black-Eye-of-the Mouth Club”(Alexie 4). Facing his physical struggles he also endures poverty in the Rez.He believed the reason why his family stayed in Rez was because of poverty. He pictured his family to be important people in life ,doing big things but poverty keep them in rez. He grew up seeing people doing the same old same old thing and going nowhere in life. His town Rez was his home, but it had no hope.that’s how he felt with his education it was going nowhere, when he realize his math book belong to his mother when she was a student there.Causing Junior to throw the book at Mr.P and getting himself suspended.Later that night Mr. P gave junior a decision to make for his life,Even thou Junior was going through his battles Mr P saw hope in Junio...
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...oint.Juniors mission that night was to beat rowdy and that's exactly what junior did that night. it was great night for the team, but for junior he felt little guilty because that’s not what he wanted in returned. all he wanted was for his tribe to love him and accept him .Junior had to experiences other heart breaking news back home, his sister passed away due to alcohol. Junior wasn't surprised of the cause of his sister’s death but he was sad that everyone he loved die for that same reason alcohol. It gave junior the confirmation why he was chasing his dreams . The passing of junior sister brought him close to his family and reconciling with rowdy, finally Rowdy accepting Junior to follow his dreams.Junior was finally comfortable in his skin. finally realizing he was going to be ok.Rez was not just his only tribe, that he belonged to many tribes
The importance of “hope” in The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian can be explained through turning points for hope in the story. Junior had no hope when he was on the reservation; however, he had hope when he left. When Junior left, it helped him realize he could do more when he pushed his
In "thinking outside the idiot box", Dana Stevens responds to Steven Johnson's New York Times article in which Johnson believes that watching television makes you smarter. Indeed, Steven Johnson claimed that television shows have become more and more complex over the years in order to follow the viewers need for an interesting plot instead of an easy, linear story. However, Dana Stevens is opposed to this viewpoint. Stevens is not against television, he does not think it makes you smarter nor that it is poisenous for the brain, he simply states that the viewer should watch television intelligently. That is to say that, viewers should know how much television they should watch and what to watch as well.
Picture yourself in a town where you are underprivileged and sometimes miss a meal. In the novel, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” Sherman Alexie wrote the book to show hardships that Native Americans face today. Alexie shows us hardships such as poverty, alcoholism and education. In the novel, Junior goes against the odds to go to an all white school to get a better education to have a better life
Alexie, S. (2007). The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Hachette Book Group, Inc.
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
“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.
The novel “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” was written by Sherman Alexie, as he depicts the struggles and challenges faced by a Spokane Indian boy, Arnold “Junior” Spirit as he travels through his first year in high school. Alexie’s adolescents inspired him to write this National Award Book winner. This novel was “banned in schools nationwide” (Alexie). “The novel was No. 2 on the American Library Association’s list of most frequently challenged books in 2010. The association listed offensive language, racism, sec education, sexually explicit material and violence as reasons for the challenges” (Alexie). Opportunities were slim to none at the Spokane Indian reservation and Junior exhibited a great
Meyer compares poems to songs. He says that we have to listen several times a song before we hear it all and before we understand it. The title of a poem provides a sense of what the poem is about. It can tell you about the poem’s subject, tone, and genre. While reading poetry we need to pay attention to elements such as speaker, image, metaphor, symbol, rhyme, and rhythm. Also, Meyer defines doggerel as a “derogatory term used to describe poetry whose subject is trite and whose rhythm and sounds are monotonously heavy-handed”. It is characteristic of children’s game rhymes. In addition, by characterizing poetry as “undefinable” and “unmistakable”, Robinson says that it can have different purposes, subjects, emotions, styles, and forms.
Sherman Alexie's comic novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, follows Junior, a 14 year old Indian boy, who lives on a Spokane Indian Reservation with his two parents and his sister, Mary. Junior, a young cartoonist, was unfortunately born with many medical issues and is picked on by many people on the Rez, except his best friend Rowdy. At first, he seems to be this shy, little boy who would do anything to not be made fun of. The novel shows him getting beat, teased and tormented on his Reservation. Eventually, he takes a stand in his life and decides to better his education by enrolling in an all white school in Reardan. Despite being called a traitor by his own kind, Junior continues to live a double life, balancing both
Through history, Native Americans have faced a lot of discrimination and difficulties and there has always been soldiers in confrontation with those struggles. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, written by Sherman Alexie, is a novel about a fourteen year-old Native American boy who lives on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Junior has a number of physical problems due to the fact that he was born with a brain problem, called Hydrocephalus. Furthermore, he struggles with several social problems in his family, on the reservation, and in school. Each time he tries to solve these problems in different ways. Junior encounters many different forms of loss in
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.
Vast majority of Indian reservations are suffering from chronic poverty. According to American Indian Relief Council, the reservations have been cited as, “Comparable to Third World”, in terms of living conditions. In the novel written by Sherman Alexie, entitled, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”, the main character, a fourteen year old, Native American teenager, which belongs to the Spokane tribe named Junior; stated that, “Poverty does not give you strength or teach you lessons about perseverance. No, poverty only teaches you how to be poor.” This indicates that poverty can turn an individual to become a pessimist. On the contrary, poverty is not a destiny. Instead, it is a source of power, an encouragement that through hard work, patience and dedication, a person can succeed in every aspect of life.
Sherman Alexie’s powerful novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, investigates the concealed complexity of the Spokane Indians world. Sherman Alexie illustrates jovial humor, brutal reality, and sadness through the pragmatic main character, Arnold Spirit Junior, to allow the reader to understand what the Native Americans are experiencing. Indian reservations ― although home to some of the most culturally rich and spiritual people ― have had a long history of being more prison-like than a place of peace and comfort.
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.