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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Chapter 8 essay
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What would it be like to be a poor, non-white kid in a rich white school? Junior is a poor, outcast, kid from the Native American Reservation who chooses switches to a better school where he has a better future. Here, He goes through many changes, and grows in many ways. He changes his name to Arnold. He creates many new friendships and also becomes a star on the varsity basketball team. In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Arnold is stuck between two totally different worlds and he learns how to survive on both. Through this growth, Sherman Alexie teaches the reader that you can accomplish whatever you want no matter where you come from or your race, as long as you have the right mindset toward your goal. …show more content…
Arnold learns that what he was really missing at his old school on the rez was hope.
Arnold had a very fixed mindset toward change. He believed that his was put on this world poor, and he was going to be stuck like that. In the beginning of the novel Arnold says, “It sucks to be poor, and it sucks to feel that you somehow deserve to be poor. You start believing that you're poor because you're stupid and ugly. And then you start believing that you're stupid and ugly because you're Indian. And because you're Indian you start believing you're destined to be poor. It's an ugly circle and there's nothing you can do about it” (p.13). This is relevant because Arnold believes that he is poor because of his race, and that there is an unbreakable cycle when being both poor, and Indian. Towards the end of the novel, Arnold 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.” This is meaningful because Arnold is learning that people aren't who they are because of what “tribe” they come from. This relates to the claim because Arnold learns that the people of the world are not defined by their race or wealth, but by their
disposition. When Arnold first left the “rez”, he had very little confidence and a very low self-esteem. He didn't believe he could do many things, like make the basketball team. He says to the reader, “I almost didn’t try out for the Reardan basketball team. I just figured I wasn’t going to be good enough to make even the C squad. And I didn’t want to get cut from the team. I didn’t think I could live through that humiliation.” (p.135) This is important because Arnold wasn't going to play basketball because he was worried he wasn’t going to make a team. He thought that he was nothing more than an average basketball player. Arnold says to to the reader, “Do you understand how amazing it is to hear that from an adult? Do you know how amazing it is to hear that from anybody? It's one of the simplest sentences in the world, just four words, but they're the four hugest words in the world when they're put together. You can do it.” (p.189). This quote is very meaningful because it shows how easy it easy to make somebody feel good about themself. This relates to my thesis because it shows that once Arnold believed that he could be a star on the team, he started to play with confidence. Arnold learns how valuable friendships can be. He says “If you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing.” This is important because arnold realizes that he can open up to people and he doesn’t have to hide his indian self to his friends. Arnold tells the reader, “I think Rowdy might be the most important person in my life. Maybe more important than my family. Can your best friend be more important than your family?” Rowdy and Arnold were best friends since they were very little. Rowdy was the friend that would stand up for Arnold when people would pick on him. When Arnold left the rez, Rowdy felt betrayed and began to hate Arnold. After their championship basketball game, Arnold and Rowdy became best friends again. This is important because it teaches the reader that it is possible to be able to have friends of all different race, wealth, and gender. Throughout the novel, Arnold accomplishes many things that he would never have thought were possible for a kid from the rez to accomplish. Arnold was able to make the varsity basketball team and even became a starter. He was also able to maintain his friendship with Rowdy while also making new friends at his new school. Most importantly, Arnold learned to have hope. He learned that just because he comes from a poor family, doesn’t mean he has to be poor forever. Take a lesson from Arnold Spirit, The place that you come from shouldn’t put restrictions on what you do in your life.
Native Identity issues are a common theme throughout both Perma Red & The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (ATDPTI). In ATDPTI we see Arnold Spirit Junior struggle to find his place in both the reservation where he lives, and the primarily white Reardan High School where he attends school. When Arnold transferred from the school on the reservation to Reardan High his fellow tribe members from Wellpinit called him a traitor and didn’t bother to acknowledge his attempts to escape the cycle of poverty and oppression that is often associated with reservation life. They call him names like “apple” (Alexie 131), meaning he may be red-skinned on the outside, but he wants to be white on the inside.
Indian culture has been disappearing for centuries since the Native Americans were forced to migrate from their original homes. In the book, The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian, an Indian boy displays 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. The Native American boy Arnold is able to show toughness, courageousness and the capability to overcome obstacles, by illustrating comics and playing basketball. For Arnold, drawing comics and playing basketball is a way to build his character and self-esteem. Without the freedom in writing comics and the self-confidence builder in playing basketball, Arnold would act
The novel The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian and the movie Smoke Signals both originated from the mind of a man named Sherman Alexie. The novel and the movie have some similarities, but each similarity has a subtle difference. Some subtle differences between the topics in the novel The Absolutely True Diary of A Part Time Indian, and the movie Smoke Signals is the emphasis the author puts on each of the topics. There are a few topics that are shown in both the novel and the movie such as racism, identity, and loss. These topics are expressed very strongly in the novel but are vague in the movie.
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.
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.
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
“Children are not blind to race. Instead, like all of us, they notice differences” and the character of Ellen Foster is no exception to the rule (Olson). Ellen Foster is the story of a strong willed and highly opinionated and pragmatic child named Ellen, growing up in the midst of poverty and abuse in the rural south. Her life is filled with tragedy from the death and possible suicide of her mother to the abuse she endures at the hands of her alcoholic father and his friends. Despite her hardships as such an early age, she never gives up hope for a better life. In addition to her struggles with poverty she is surrounded by a culture of racism in a society that is post Jim Crow
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.
Growing up on a reservation where failing was welcomed and even somewhat encouraged, Alexie was pressured to conform to the stereotype and be just another average Indian. Instead, he refused to listen to anyone telling him how to act, and pursued his own interests in reading and writing at a young age. He looks back on his childhood, explaining about himself, “If he'd been anything but an Indian boy living on the reservation, he might have been called a prodigy. But he is an Indian boy living on the reservation and is simply an oddity” (17). Alexie compares the life and treatment of an Indian to life as a more privileged child. This side-by-side comparison furthers his point that
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.
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
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.
Every day, people live their lives without deep thought about the health and wellness of their community. When faced with harsh living conditions or situations, it is easy to become stuck in a negative mentality which doesn’t allow room for positive thoughts in order to create positive change. In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, it explores the areas and factors of public health that ordinary people may or may not be aware of. The main character in the story, Junior, says “There’s always time to change your life”, a statement that can be true for anyone who is still young, has a decent amount of support, and hope to pull them through tough situations.
During his childhood, Eric Liu had difficulty coping with the fact that he was an Asian-American living in a predominantly white community. His appearance and his home life, among other things, made him feel out of place. Living in a middle-class suburb that was dominated by “whiteness,” Liu was disoriented by his role in school and society.
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.