The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is a story of a boy who both runs away and copes with his problems. The boy in the book, Junior, has been bullied all his life and throughout the book he tells his stories using humor to make light of his depressing stories. The humor he uses is what helps him cope with his problems, those problems include: his smaller stature, his friendships, and lastly, death. The first of Junior’s problems is one he was bullied for since he was a young child. Junior was born with water on the brain, which caused him to have seizures. Not only was he born with brain damage but he was smaller than the rest of the reservation kids, and for this he was greatly picked bullied. The way Junior copes with this particular problem is by hiding from everyone on the reservation. In fact, when he’s at the white school, Reardan, he lets them bully him. Junior writes, “So, weak and poor and scared, I let them call me names while I tried to figure out what to do” (Alexie 64). Eventually …show more content…
Junior solves his problem by standing up to the bullies. This did not completely stop them from bullying him, but it did lessen their acts. The second problem that Junior faces is his conflict with Rowdy, his best friend.
Him and Rowdy have been friends for 14 years. In fact, they “have spent 40,880 hours in each other’s company” (Alexie 24). But, when Junior makes the hard decision of attending Rearden, an all white school, Rowdy does not take the news well. Consequently, when Junior informed Rowdy of this, Rowdy punches Junior in the face and leaves him behind. Because Rowdy and Junior have been friends for so long, Junior continues to pursue and attempting to regain Rowdy’s friendship. Junior had sent numerous emails and hand drawn cartoons to Rowdy, but Rowdy did not reciprocate the same actions. After trying to regain Rowdy’s friendship throughout the entire school year, Junior and Rowdy played a game of basketball and they “didn’t keep score” (Alexie 230). Because Junior was persistent in interacting with Rowdy they eventually became friends
again. The problem Junior faced that affected him the most was the deaths of his family members and friends. Because the majority of the Spokane Indian Reservation are alcoholics, there has been a multitude of deaths where alcohol was included. Eugene, Junior’s family friend, was shot because he was fighting with someone over the last drink of a bottle of wine. This was not the only time he lost someone dear to him, his sister Mary “passed out in the back bedroom. And somebody tried to cook some soup on a hot plate. And they forgot about it and left. And a curtain drifted in on the wind and caught the hot plate, and the trailer burned down quick” (Alexie 205). The way Junior copes with the death of his sister is by running “out of the graveyard and into the woods across the road” (Alexie 209). Junior usually solves his problems but he had too many difficult things happening all at once to solve all of them so he ran and hid from them all. Junior has plenty of problems but these are a few of the most influential. He has overcome enough difficult things to last a lifetime at the young age of 14. The only way he was able to defeat his battles was by doing things he loved that helped distract him from the depressing things around him. Junior says “There are all kinds of addicts, I guess. We all have pain. And we all look for ways to make the pain go away” (Alexie 107). This is significant because if Junior was classified as an addict he would fall under the category of being a hard worker. Junior is only able to overcome his struggles because he is hardworking and does not give up easily.
To conclude, in the book The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian an Indian boy shows 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.
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.
In the fictional story, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian written by Sherman Alexie, a Native American author, describes the problems of a teenager living between two different cultures; one Native American, and the other white. Alexie uses figurative language elements to convince teenagers to be aware and support people living between two worlds in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. By using these literary elements, Sherman Alexie guides the audience to respond emotionally and act upon about the book’s message. Throughout the story, Alexie uses juxtaposition to show the differences between the two worlds the protagonist lives in.
It creates a statement that is made of judgement and changes the overall feeling of an individual, therefore resulting in alienation. Junior, an Indian who transferred for his own hope into a new perspective. He is facing prejudice as he enters into Reardan,a white school as someone from a different tribe. He was overseen by who he is by looks and opinions of others.In the book The Absolutely True Duary of a Part-Time Indian, the main character says,”After all, I was a reservation Indian, and no matter how geeky and weak I appeared to be, I was still a potential killer. So mostly they called me names. Lots of names” (Alexie 63). Alexie shows how Junior is defined as someone who isn’t like his peers and he was affected through the use of their one word descriptions. Junior is described as “geeky and weak” to the point whene he believed he was this label. He made himself be let down for what he is and the remarks being made. He thought he was someone that influenced people to what they think he is. Junior saw that he was a target of stimulating stereotypes based on him, yet he wasn’t able to cope with these. His feelings overlapped with getting through a school day at Reardan. Junior is being weighed down by the stereotypes implied to him that causes him to be divided. Jin who is chinese in relation to Junior’s experience has a stereotype against him.
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
Junior is constantly being told that white people are better, white people have more hope. Junior sometimes believes these expectations himself, but through all of that negativity he perseveres and demolishes those expectations:
Hardship is everywhere but Sherman Alexie’s “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian” is an amusing and intelligent novel that clearly provides the reader with perfect examples of poverty and friendship on an Indian reservation. Alexie incorporates those examples through the point of view and experiences of a fourteen year old boy named Arnold Spirit Jr.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is a novel about Arnold Spirit (Junior), a boy from the Spokane Indian Reservation who decides to attend high school outside the reservation in order to have a better future. During that first year at Reardan High School, Arnold has to find his place at his all-white school, cope with his best friend Rowdy and most of his tribe disowning him, and endure the deaths of his grandmother, his father’s best friend, and his sister. Alexie touches upon issues of identity, otherness, alcoholism, death, and poverty in order to stay true to his characters and the cultures within the story. Through the identification of the role of the self, identity, and social behavior within the book, the reader can understand Arnold’s story to a greater depth.
Alexie, Sherman. The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Hachette Book Group, 2007. Print.
I can relate to this, not as far as race, but in a different way. At my school, there were stereotypes about the “volleyball girls”, and I was part of the volleyball team. At one point people thought this group of girls was all about partying and not school. Although, I was only focused on school and ended my high school career with only two B’s. Although this is not as an extreme case as Junior, I can still relate. In more of an extreme case, after Junior finally overcame his fear of leaving the reservation for a new and more positive life, he was not treated fairly. In the beginning of his experience at Reardan he writes, “After all, I was a reservation Indian, and no matter how geeky or weak I appeared to be, I was still a potential killer” (Alexie 2007:63). This is a perfect example of how easily people believe things they hear. Junior was literally a weak fifteen year old that could never hurt a fly, yet people looked at him as a killer because that was a stereotype about Indians. This idea goes along with Johnson’s thoughts of symbols, “symbols go far beyond labeling things” and “Symbols are also what we use to feel connected to a reality outside ourselves” (Johnson 2008: 36).
Ever wondered what gets readers hooked on a book? In “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie, the authors have many ways to grab the reader's attention by using many techniques from humor to emotional and traumatic suspense. In the book, the main character named Junior is an Indian boy growing up on a reservation. By growing up on the reservation junior makes a choice to leave the reservation and go to a white school which gives Junior obstacles in his life. There are many obstacles that happen even before Junior decided to go to another path with his life.
I decided to do my book report on the Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. This book is about a Native American boy who has to deal with various issues like racism, bullying, loss, health issues, and other more adolescent issues.
Sherman Alexie grew up on a Spokane Indian reservation, in fact Junior and the story as a whole is based on his childhood; as he also struggled with the effects of poverty, alcoholism, identity, and social injustice. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is follows the life of Junior; a fourteen year old, Spokane Indian boy, who lives on an Indian reservation filled with poverty and addiction. The story begins when Junior decides transfer to a high school called “Reardan,” which is located outside the reservation in a rich white farm town. At first, Junior is a misfit at his new school; he has trouble making friends, mainly because he’s Indian. His transition to Reardan also causes a fight and other conflicts between him and his best friend, Rowdy, who feels betrayed by Junior. In fact, the whole reservation sees him as traitor.
Alexie, Sherman, and Ellen Forney. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. N.p.: Little, Brown, 2007. Print.
As one develops maturity, the valuable mentor and mentee relationship is critical for the mentee to overcome barriers and to move towards success. In the novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie proficiently portrays the integral role of mentors and their influence that allows the protagonist to prosper and mature. First, Junior’s parents mentor Junior through their immense love by making sacrifices to allow Junior’s life to blossom with hope. Next, Mr. P, Junior’s teacher directs Junior towards hope through his forgiveness. Furthermore, during Junior’s toughest times at Reardan, Junior’s coach teaches Junior about the rewards of life with perseverance through his encouragement. Thus, in the novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Junior’s mentors are instrumental to Junior overcoming his struggles through their unconditional love, forgiveness and encouragement, ultimately assuring his success.