The Absolutely True Diary Of Part Time Indian Analysis

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Penelope’s father Earl harbors racist ideals and disapproves of the romantic and sexual relationships between his daughter and Junior. When Junior first meets Earl he warns, “‘Kid, you better keep your hands out of my daughter’s panties… Kid, if you get my daughter pregnant, if you make some charcoal babies, I’m going to disown her’” (Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, 109). The use of “charcoal babies” exemplifies the racist views of Earl. Moreover, Earl’s exclamation that he will disown Penelope if Junior gets her pregnant shows his contempt for their relationship. While it is normal for a father to be upset about his daughter dating, the language and disgust expressed in Earl’s warning shows his deeply racist views. …show more content…

In class one day, the teacher is lecturing about how interesting petrified wood is, being that it is actually wood. However, Junior asserts that the teacher is wrong, explaining that there is no wood left in the rock, only minerals that took on the look of wood. Subsequently, the teacher asks if Junior learned that on the reservation, joking how there is such great science on the reservation. After this, a smart, White kid raises his hand and acknowledges that Junior is right, and the teacher believes him (Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, 85-86). The teachers reluctance to acknowledge Junior’s point as valid demonstrates his personal views as Indians as mentally inferior. Moreover, his point that reservation school is insufficient discredits not only the reservation school system but everyone that received an education there. The teacher’s acknowledgement of the White student also demonstrates that he believes White people are naturally smarter than Indians, and he hopes that the White student will shed some light and knowledge on the matter. This deeply ignorant sentiment proves that the science teacher truly believes in the ideological supremacy of White

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