Arnold Spirit

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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. In the beginning of the book Arnold does not believe he will ever get …show more content…

“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) This quote shows that Arnold is starting to change. He makes the decision to go to Rearden in hopes that he can get a better education and be able to someday make a better life for himself. This choice is a major turning point in Arnold’s life just as flying to the moon would be for an astronaut. Arnold also shows he changing when he states “Getting to school was always an adventure. After school, I’d ride the bus to the end of the line and wait for my folks. If they didn't come, I’d start walking. Hitchhiking in the opposite direction. Somebody was usually heading back home to the rez, so I’d usually catch a ride. Three times, I had to walk the whole way home. Twenty-two miles. I got blisters each time”. (87) Arnold is willing to go through all this trouble to get to school which shows that he is starting to change from a boy who had no hope of ever leaving the rez into one that will make sacrifices, such as making the long trek to school, in order to provide himself with a better

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