The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian Belonging

For many, finding where they belong is not always easy. Many feel as if they don’t connect with the people around them. They feel like outsiders because of their looks, skin colour or disabilities. The feeling of not knowing where you belong can leave you with an internal battle. In “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” written by Sherman Alexie, the main character, Arnold, struggles with the feeling of belonging. He feels as though he’s split between his new school, Reardan, and his home on the reservation.The novel develops the theme, “One may find where they belong somewhere unexpected.” through plot and character. After moving schools from Wellpinit, on the reservation, to Reardan, a predominantly white school, Arnold starts

to feel a sense of belonging, a feeling he never expected to feel at Reardan, a feeling he never felt on the reservation. Unlike on the reservation, where he was bullied ruthlessly, his friends at Reardan support him no matter what, even though Reardan is predominantly white and is known to be very racist.

On the reservation, Arnold was mercilessly bullied for how he looked and was never given himself the chance to prove himself contrary to what everybody saw him as, as simply “Hydro-head”.

The reservation was his home, and home is where you should feel the most comfortable and accepted. Ironically, once he moved to Reardan, he found himself more accepted than on the reservation. During basketball tryouts, he was given the chance to compete against one of the biggest and best players, Roger. His coach saw his potential and believed he could achieve it, therefore he gave him the chance to prove himself. This, consequently, made Arnold feel valued and more accepted than he ever did on the reservation, furthermore giving him a greater sense of belonging compared to how he always felt on the

reservation.

Another example of Arnold finding his sense of belonging somewhere he never expected, is after his grandmother and his dad’s best friend, Eugene, died.

After their tragic deaths, Arnold suffered tremendously. When Arnold went back to school after many days of grieving, his teacher made a rude remark with the knowledge of what was going on with his family and him. After this remark, Gordy stood up, dropping his textbook in protest. Soon after, all his classmates did the same. They all walked out of the classroom, protesting for and supporting Arnold. This made Arnold feel accepted and cared for, something he never felt on the reservation except with Rowdy, his best friend on the reservation.

Thirdly, during both their basketball games against Wellpinit, Arnold’s team supported him through everything. Even when they lost, they didn't blame him or get mad. They understood and accepted that playing against his reservations team was hard for him. They encouraged him the next game, giving him all their support, specifically Arnold’s coach. The support from his coach and teammates, and the feeling of acceptance and belonging encouraged him to play hard without any fear of the consequences his family and him will face for being seen as a traitor to the

reservation.

Arnold was born on the reservation. For most of his life all he knew were the alcoholic, abusive tendencies of the Indians that he called family, his friend, Rowdy, and his classmates. He was bullied by most of the people on the reservation because of his differences, his speech impediment and his head which was big compared to the rest of his body. Arnold would try not to go out too much and stay inside his house, because he knew that if he went outside, he’d get beat up. When he moved to Reardan, he found his sense of belonging. He found that he was more than how he was treated back home on the reservation, he had potential and he had talent. “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.” (p.180), with his new found sense of belonging, his boost in confidence and with the support from his teammates, his coach, his parents and his friends at Reardan, he strived in basketball. He earned himself a valued role on the team, unlike on the reservation where he felt unwanted and untalented.