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

The book, The Absolutely True of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is light-hearted. It focuses on the life of Arnold Spirit, Jr., a character developed from Alexie’s experiences while maturing on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, WA. The narrator, Arnold itself, is a hilarious, sensitive, honest and talented fourteen-year-old Native kid who draws cartoons for his pleasure. He is unhappy with his poor life and dreams of something greater for himself, perhaps becoming an important artist. In addition to his dissatisfied life, Arnold is a hydrocephalic bullied kid.

In his book, Sherman Alexie’s main character “Junior” goes through innumerous highs and lows feelings and thoughts. In the first chapters of the book, Junior makes a comparison between the lives of the Indians in the reservation with the outside world, pointing out the enormous struggles he and his people

He narrates this disconnection by saying, “Zitty and lonely, I woke up on the reservation as an Indian, and somewhere on the road to Reardan, I became something less than Indian. And once I arrived at Reardan, I became something less than less than less than Indian” (Alexie 83). Junior’s transition from the reservation, where he knew the rules and socially belonged, to Reardan, where everything was foreign and puzzling, shows how he felt his identity slipped away as he entered an unknown area. However, he began developing a sense of self immediately after his peers accepted him.

“Because I got to hold hands with Penelope and kiss her […] all of the other boys in school decided that I was a major stud. Even the teachers started paying more attention to me. I was mysterious” (Alexie 110-111). Through this passage, Sherman Alexie highlights the importance of peer and community relationships in the process of forming an