Analysis Of The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian By Sherman Alexie

Muhammad Ali once said, “He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.” Sherman Alexie makes this a big point in his novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. This book, Arnold “Junior” Spirit is faced with the decision of whether he should trade his familiar school life on an Indian Reservation for a slightly better education at an all-White school in a small town named Reardan. This is his only way to achieve a better future. Throughout the novel Junior has to fight against criticism for acting differently in order to protect his mindset. Outside forces such as discrimination of race or social status deeply impact one’s hopes, dreams and self-esteem.

Environment and lifestyle are factors that

can alter one’s personal hopes and desires. In the novel we find out that Junior and his family live on an Indian reservation where all the families are suffering from poverty. The poverty causes them to give up on their hopes because they feel like they cannot become as successful as others in the outside world. The author wrote about how the students in Wellpoint were never as good as the students in Reardan when it came to nearly everything. The author illustrates this point when Junior says “I don’t know if hope is white. But I do know that hope for me is like some mythical creature: white, white, white, white, white, white, white, white.” (Alexie 51) Junior is acknowledging that students in Rearden have more privilege because of their race and amount of money they have. This fact put an impact on his thinking and made him believe that people of this race. This ends in his self-esteem being lower and hope being not as high. This environmental factor can also have a good effect on one’s thinking. One instance is when Junior realizes that he needs to leave the reservation in order to find a better future. Junior states, “...I am running away because I want to find something.” (Alexie 46) Junior obviously understands the reservation’s conditions. This pushes him to want to leave to find something more. His surroundings are making him want to desire a better life more and more. This idea is also present with Junior’s sister, Mary. After finishing high school, Mary is stuck with no plan to help her move forward with her life. She decides to get married and move to Montana after doing nothing with her life for seven years. Junior even comments,
“She was trying to live out her dream. We should have all been delirious that she’d moved out of the basement. We’d been trying to get her out of there for years. … But I just kept on thinking that my sister’s spirit hadn’t been killed. She hadn’t given up. This reservation had tried to suffocate her, had kept her trapped in a basement, and now she was out roaming the huge grassy fields of Montana.” (Alexie 91)
Even though Mary spend far more time waiting than Junior did, she still was aware that there were no opportunities for her where she lived. This had made her want to move away and start a new life somewhere else, likewise what Junior did. Whilst one’s surrounding can deeply affect thinking, people as well can become obstacles.
People can often become a blockade for one’s personal success.

In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Junior is given the opportunity to continue his education at a better school. Though this opportunity may sound easy, Junior was forced to fight against criticism from his tribe. The people living on the reservation always stayed together no matter what, so there was never a time when someone left. Junior leaving caused the tribe members to become angry and ostracize him. He even admits when he is talking to his friend Gordy about him leaving, “The people at home...A lot of them call me an apple… They call me an apple because they think I’m red on the outside and white on the inside.” (Alexie 131) Another example of this occurs when the protagonist is collecting money for charity and gets beaten up and his money stolen. Junior says: “They didn’t beat me up too bad. I could tell they didn’t want to put me in the hospital or anything. Mostly they just wanted to remind me that I was a traitor.” (Alexie 79). The people on the reservation believe that Junior leaving for a better education is his way of being a traitor and forgetting about his tribe. Both of these incidents show how the tribe felt about him leaving and how their actions affected Junior. Asides from the bad treatment the members of his tribe gave him, Junior also had to fight against the treatment from the staff and students in Reardan. Since he was different than everyone else in the school he turned into an easy target. He was often ignored but especially bullied by the other students. For instance, after seven days of being at his school a group of boys started to verbally attack him and the main boy, Roger, said: “Hey, Chief, you want to hear a joke?... Did you know that Indian are living proof that niggers fuck buffalo?” (Alexie 64) The people at his school were unaccepting of his race and had decided to push him to the end as much as they could. This really affected Junior too. This is

proven when he says, “I felt like Roger had kicked me in the face. That was the most racist thing I’d ever heard in my life.” (Alexie 64) The things people said to Junior made him feel unwanted and upset. This event happened to him a second time after a few weeks of being in Reardan. Junior corrected his geology teacher and this made him angry at Junior. His teacher decided to embarrass and ignore his comment to listen to a different white student in his class. The author writes:
“[Mr.] Dodge stared hard at me. He was dangerously angry. ‘Okay, Arnold, where did you learn this fact? On the reservation? Yes, we all know there's so much amazing science on the reservation.’ My classmates snickered. They pointed their fingers at me and giggles. Except one. Gordy the class genius. He raised his hand… Gordy said, ‘Arnold is right about petrified wood. That’s what happens.’... ‘Well, isn't that interesting … ‘Thank you for sharing that with us, Gordy.”... Yeah, that’s right. Mr. Dodge thanked Gordy, but didn't say another word to me. Yep, now even the teachers were treating me like an idiot. I shrank back into my chair and remembered when I used to be a human being. I remembered when people used to think I was smart… used to think my brain was useful… maybe even a little bit beautiful and sacred and magical.” (Alexie 85)
Due to Mr. Dodge’s bigoted opinion on Junior race and lifestyle, he mistreated Junior and underestimated his intelligence. This makes Junior feel less than human and useless.
In conclusion, people’s opinions can change one’s thinking. One’s setting and situation can influence one’s hopes and wishes. People can also become an obstacle or blockade for one’s ambitions. Alexie uses his main protagonist to exemplify these points. For every goal set, there is always a broad and long path to take in order for one to get there.