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Summary on the effects of poverty on children
The topic of the absolutely true diary of a part time indian
Summary on the effects of poverty on children
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Living in a place where nobody ever makes enough to do anything special with their lives really tests one's hope. In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, an unlikely hero's courage is put to the test as he searches for s brighter future. Arnold's rising and falling hope can be seen through the comics he draws throughout the book. Some say you can get to know a person through what they draw better than through their words. This essay will explore how Arnold's comics show what he feels, and how his dream for a better future grows with him. Towards the beginning of the story, Arnold is faced with a tough decision. His teacher back at the reservation tells him to go to the white kid school, Reardan. Arnold has to choose between the familiar, or risk everything for an opportunity at the new school. Arnold draws a comic of himself at a crossroads, the run-down Rez at his back, an open field ahead of him. A sign labels the Rez as home, and the open field as hope. (43) This comic represents his struggle to decide which path to take. And it also shows that he'd like to go to Reardan, he just doesn't know exactly what's out there. It tests the hope for a better future that he, unlike the other kids in the Rez, has. …show more content…
Being the only Spokane kid, let alone the only one from the Rez, Arnold immediately gets bullied. Arnold's comic shows a tiny him surrounded by giant figures calling him names. (63) The comic shows just how odd he feels in the bunch. For a long time, he will struggle with fitting in and running two lives at once- the one he has back at home and the one at Reardan. Moving to a new school is scary for everyone, but it's especially scary when you're the only one from the Rez, getting bullied for where you're from each
In the end, the stories of Perma Red and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian have their similarities and their differences. Both stories tell the tale of two young people from reservations in search of a better future. Whether they succeeded we will never know, but what we do know is that they both advanced as people because of the love they received, the losses they incurred and the trials they overcame.
In the novel, he shows toughness, courageousness, and the ability to overcome obstacles. Arnold shows these three components by writing comics and playing on the high school basketball team. He uses these traits to be the person he is in the book. Arnold proves that even when the odds may be against you, you can still fight for what you
Sherman Alexie illustrates through the short story, “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me,” how he developed the same reading and writing skills taught in a classroom solely from a Superman comic book. Alexie’s situation was unique from not only non-Indians but Indians as well. Alexie’s family was not privileged, which was the case for most of the people who lived on the Indian reservation. They, Indians, had access to very limited resources which ceased any aspirations they had at being successful. Alexie, as a young Indian boy, was not supposed to be educated by the societal norms expressed of his era. However, Alexie refused to fall victim to a stereotypical uneducated Indian boy. As a product of an Indian reservation, Sherman Alexie informs his audience, mostly dedicated to Indian children that he did not fail simply because of the joy he had for reading and writing.
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.
Can you imagine growing up on a reservation full of people with no hope? The character Arnold in the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie did. In the beginning of the book, Arnold was a hopeless Native American living on a hopeless reservation. In the middle of the book, Arnold leaves the reservation and finds out that his sister left too.
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
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
names to the humor of his family, tells us that he will not be telling us his downfall, for that is his Indian secret. Saying how he must “work hard to keep secrets from hunger”. white folks,” immediately giving the impression that his nationality is going to shape the person he is and how he regales his audience with his hero’s journey.... ... middle of paper ... ...
At a point in time, Arnold and Rowdy become best friends once again. This friendship between Arnold and Rowdy that Alexie has integrated into the novel illustrates a hardship between personal companions and personal prosperity, perfectly. 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.
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.
Friends come and go, it’s the good ones that stay. In the book “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time India” The author convey many themes but friendship is one of the biggest. Throughout the book, Junior the main character talks about his life and how friendship is very important to him. He learns to make new friends and understand to let go of some.
While talking with his teacher, Mr. P, Arnold is told that he needs to go wherever there is hope. “You have to take your hope and go somewhere where other people have hope.” (Alexie 43) However, Mr. P wasn’t the only one helping Arnold. After switching from Wellpinit to Reardan, Arnold picks up some unlikely friends: Roger and Penelope. Each of them teach him something, and even keep his secret of being poor after he admits he can’t pay for going out to eat after a school dance he couldn’t even afford. “He’s not going to tell anybody. Roger likes you.” (Alexie 127) Arnold recognizes the value of these people helping him through the struggles of being the poor kid in a school dominated by students from well off families. Although he may continue to be held down by poverty, Arnold discovers that being vulnerable to friends can sometimes lead to unexpected support and people you can rely on. Arnold’s perseverance shines when he decides to attend Reardan despite its risks, and the loss of his best friend Rowdy as a result. Not letting exhaustion and the blisters on his feet take away his determination, Arnold still attends school every
A third social issue would be social acceptance. Arnold is the only Indian beside the school mascot at Reardan feels out of context in a predominantly white school. Arnold also feels out of context on the reservation, he feels as if he is the only one who wants to leave the reservation and never come back. This makes him feel like an alien in both of the worlds he lives in.