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The Integral Bond to Overcoming Difficulties in Life in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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.
Firstly, the strong ties of
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love between Junior and his parents allow sacrifices to be made for the well-being and a hopeful life for Junior. When Junior seeks hope and asks his parents to go to Reardan, a place of success, Junior’s parents immediately agree with his decisions without a doubt. After telling his decision to his parents, Junior tells the reader, “And going to Reardan is truly a strange idea. But it isn’t weird that my parents so quickly agreed with my plans. They want a better life for my sister and me” (Alexie 46). Hence, no matter how unusual Junior’s decision is, due to Junior’s parents’ love, Junior is able to walk towards success. This is due to the fact that Junior’s parents do not want him to follow the same alcoholic and depressing path that they are currently living in. Therefore, it is evident that because of Junior’s parents’ endless love, Junior is mentored towards a hopeful life with their willingness to make sacrifices. Furthermore, Mr. P’s guidance to Junior through his forgiveness directs Junior to the desire to seek hope. Although Junior hits Mr. P’s face with a textbook, Mr. P forgives Junior because of the mistakes he made in the past which have negatively impacted the Indians at the reservation. Mr. P’s experiences in the past with the Indians at the reservation have made him realize the need to forgive Junior: ‘But I do forgive you,’ he said. ‘No matter how much I don’t want to, I have to forgive you. It’s the only thing that keeps me from smacking you with an ugly stick. When I first started teaching here, that’s what we did to the rowdy ones, you know? We beat them up. That’s how we were taught to teach you. We were supposed to kill the Indian to save the child.’ (Alexie 35) Thus, even though Mr. P doesn’t want to forgive Junior for breaking his nose, he forgives Junior due to the realization of the spark of hope left in Junior. Mr. P explains the cruel way he used to teach his students and the fact that he had taught the kids how to be hopeless. By killing the Indian in the children, Mr. P is metaphorically telling Junior that the reservation has no aspiration and that staying at the reservation will only dim the light of hope in Junior. Due to this, Junior comes to the realization of the hopelessness at the reservation and with the help of Mr. P; he begins his journey to seek hope. It is therefore evident that because of Mr. P’s absolution, Junior matures through his recognition of the extent of his community’s forlornness, which directs Junior to the path of hope. Moreover, in the face of obstacles, Junior learns the rewards that perseverance comes with, with the encouragement of his coach. The contrast between Junior’s progress and maturity in Reardan and Wellpoint are realized when Junior receives motivation from his coach and peers. Junior tells the readers, Overnight, I became a good player. I suppose it had something to do with confidence.
I mean, I’d always been the lowest Indian on the reservation totem pole-I wasn’t expected to be good so I wasn’t. But in Reardan, my coach and the other players wanted me to be good. They needed me to be good. And so I became good. (Alexie 180)
Hence, the encouragement from the coach allows Junior’s confident to prosper. With the growth of confidence, Junior sees how one future can change for the better with encouragement and a preferable education. Conversely, Junior is discouraged to join the basketball team, however, by persevering; he got the chance to meet coach who helps Junior become more mature by overcoming his obstacles. Thus, it is evident that because of Junior’s coach’s encouragement and belief in Junior’s abilities, Junior is able to overcome his endeavors with perseverance, allowing Junior to be successful in
life. Therefore, in the novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, in the face of difficulties, Junior’s mentors are vital to Junior breaking past his barrier through their strong ties of love, forgiveness and encouragement, eventually steering Junior towards maturity through his realizations. Firstly, Junior’s parents’ bond of love with Junior allow actions to be made to help Junior break free from the “cycle of poverty” (Alexie 11) no matter what barriers it may come with. Secondly, Mr. P’s act of forgiveness steers to the path of a hopeful future. Lastly, Junior’s coach mentors Junior about the rewards hard work comes when one perseveres during Junior’s times of difficulties, through his encouragement. Thus, one’s crucial relationship with their mentor is reflected by their growth in maturity and their journey towards overcoming their struggles as stepping stones to success.
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.
The author, Sherman Alexie, is extremely effective through his use of ethos and ethical appeals. By sharing his own story of a sad, poor, indian boy, simply turning into something great. He establishes his authority and character to the audiences someone the reader can trust. “A little indian boy teaches himself to read at an early age and advances quickly…If he’d been anything but an Indian boy living in the reservations, he might have been called a prodigy.” Alexie mentions these two different ideas to show that he did have struggles and also to give the audience a chance to connect with his struggles and hopefully follow the same journey in becoming something great. By displaying his complications and struggles in life with stereotypical facts, Alexie is effective as the speaker because he has lived the live of the intended primary audience he is trying to encourage which would be young Indian
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.
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.
“But we reservation Indians don’t get to realize our dreams. We don’t get those chances.” (p. 13) In The Absolutely True Diary of A Part Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, Junior, the narrator, is an Indian teenage boy living on a reservation, where no one's dreams or ideas are heard. The Indians on the reservation feel hopeless because they are isolated and disenfranchised. Junior learns how to cope with his hopelessness and breaks through the hopeless reservation life to find his dreams. Examining his journey provides important examples for the reader.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian showed all of the problems that arose in Junior’s journey. From poverty and alcoholism to bulimic semi-girlfriends, he had so many excuses to stop, but the passion of his dreams pushed him forward. Like a hero, Junior continued, determined to do well and build a greater future for himself. An example that showed Junior’s passion for education and desire to achieve his goals was when he threw an old geometry textbook at his teacher: “My school and my tribe are so poor and sad that we have to study from the same dang books our parents studied from. That is absolutely the saddest thing in the world…My hopes and dreams floated up in a mushroom cloud” (Alexie, 31). Junior clearly understood his disadvantaged education and he was very upset about it. He longed for a better education. Junior was passionate about education, because it would allow him to achieve his goals and break the depressing pattern he was trapped in. Bravery and determination are caused by passion, and heroes are very passionate about their actions. Passion clearly drove Junior when he walked to school, since he said, “Getting to school was always an adventure…Three times I had to walk all the way home. Twenty-two miles. I got blisters each time” (Alexie, 87). Putting all of this effort into simply going to school, Junior must have had
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
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.
In Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, the main character Arnold, also known as Junior, has many health issues, and notably stands out in the crowd. It does not help that he is a poor Indian boy that lives on a reservation, and that he decides to go to an all-white high school. Many of his experiences at school, and on the Reservation, impact his identity. Experience is the most influential factor in shaping a person’s identity because it helps gain confidence, it teaches new things, and it changes one’s outlook on the world.
Alexie, Sherman. The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Hachette Book Group, 2007. Print.
He goes through the struggles of deciding who he wants to be and who he is. He lived on a reservation with his family and attended the school there. He decided one day the only way he would go anywhere in life was if he were to attend Reardan, an all-white school. Here, Junior was forced to find who he really was. Junior experienced more struggles and tragedies than any white student at this school. He had to fight through the isolation he first experienced to building up the courage to play in a basketball championship. I believe that every event Junior wrote about throughout the novel had an important purpose, and even more importantly, could be related to sociology. As I read the novel, I constantly thought about questions such as the following: What importance does he have to write about this? Could I relate this to my life? Who is Alexie’s audience? Could anyone read this novel and learn something from it? By the time I completed the novel, I could answer all of these questions without a
“The odds of a high school basketball player making it to the “next level” to play college basketball (DI, II, or III) is slim. In fact, only 3.4% of high school players go on to play college basketball. Taking it even further, only 1.2% of college basketball players go on to get drafted in the NBA” (Winters, 2016). There are two types of players in the game. There are the kids who play basketball because they are athletic, and all they are seeking to gain is the recognition and awards. They want to be known. Those players are self-centered, they do not play for the team, and generally don’t play because they love the game. These are the types of players who don’t usually go on to play at the next level. On the other hand, there are the players that absolutely dedicate their life to the game of basketball just because they love the game. That is what coaches are looking for in a player, and that is the kind of player I am striving to be.
Everyone wants to get better at something, but some want it more than others. In “How to Transform an Everyday, Ordinary Hoop Court into a Place of Higher Learning and You at the Podium”, the narrator wants to get better at basketball, so he wakes up everyday at 4:30 to go with his dad to his work. Everyday, the narrator would wait 3 hours in his dad’s car until the gym opened, only to sit on the bench and watch the other men play basketball. Finally, one of the best players, Dante, tells the narrator he can play but he’ll get “smoked”. However, the narrator proved him wrong. The narrator learns that if you persevere, work hard, and have confidence, your dreams may come true. In How to Transform an Everyday, Ordinary Hoop Court into a Place