The Absolute Truth Of A Part Time Indian Analysis

For our review of The Absolute Truth of a Part Time Indian, we were assigned to create a board game that reflects on the book. My group created a board game almost like life, but also almost like chutes and ladders. The game board has a series of good, bad, and question cards all depending on where you land. The good cards move your player forward, whereas the worst move you backwards like chutes and ladders. The struggles Arnold faces and represented in the game board as well, such as the question of his identity, his family life, and his school life.
The first struggle that Arnold faces is how he is constantly questioning himself and every decision he makes. I think this is a struggle because sometimes he doesn't know what to do or how to act because of how he questions himself. One quote that proves this is,”I didn't even consider what they would do to me if they knew” . This basically proves that he has a hard time thinking things through for himself at times. This ties into our board game because we created question cards. With the question cards, you select a card (or situation) and answer it to the best of your ability. If you get the wrong answer (make the wrong decision) it sends

you back, but if you make a correct answer you advance, which is why you have to think things through and ponder the answer.
Arnold also has struggled with many obstacles in his family and his school.

An example of this is alcoholism, poverty, and racism. An example of this is when he comes home and his dad is drunk, or when he is bullied at school because of his heritage, also how he himself is depressed as are most in his family . Evidence to back this reasoning up is provided by this quote “I suppose the whole family is depressed…they shoved me to the ground and kicked me repeatedly”. This reflects in the game board as well. There are cards in the game that have set backs on them and send you back a few spaces depending on the severity of them. This is used to demonstrate the downs and challenges he faces. Some of the cards for example mention his father's addiction or his sister's

death.
Lastly the game my group and I designed showed the good things in Arnold's life which sometimes are simple as can be. A few of these things include making the basketball team, dating Penelope, and lastly going to Reardon and letting himself make friends and let them into his life. One of these positive things that happened to Arnold is shown in the quote “it feels good to let someone into my life, someone who cares”. This is in the cards featured in the board game which include several things about new friends and new opportunities featured at Reardon.
In conclusion, the game and it's components accurately reflect on the book and its values. I feel as though it portrays all that is should, down to the point, and simply stated.