Experience of life In the novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie describes a story about an Indian-American boy named Arnold Spirit. Arnold and his family live in Indian Reservation which is the place for most poor Indian. Arnold went to the same high School Wellpinit with Rowdy who is the best friend with him. However, Arnold decided transfer to an all-white school Reardan because he wants to keep hope and dreams. Even though Arnold had found other friends at Reardan, he is still sad that Rowdy and he are not friends anymore. Although my life may seem very different from Arnold’s, I can still relate to this novel in several ways. One important detail of the novel is Arnold’s experience with his best friend. In the novel, Arnold has a best friend named Rowdy. Rowdy is tall and thin, but also very strong boy. They grew up together and go to the same school since kindergarten. Moreover, Arnold and Rowdy are both born on November 5, 1992, at the same hospital. They spent almost all day together. In the article, Arnold describes …show more content…
Her name is Yu, my best friend, is a smart and nice girl. We knew each other for many years. The same Arnold and Rowdy, we grew up together and we always stay together. For example, her house is not far from mine. Thus, we went to our high school together in the morning, and we ate lunch together in school. After school, she will wait for me, and went home together. Even after school, I will stay at her house do our homework until night. On the weekend, I will stay at her home overnight. She told me that I’m her best friend and we will be together forever. Just like Arnold and Rowdy, she and I were born in the same year, in 1996 but the different month. We spent all day and days together. She and I were so close to each other than a family member. A like Arnold and Rowdy, she was very important to me. (Need to correct verb
Arnold Friend is an ironic name for this character because he isn’t Connie’s friend, she doesn’t even know him. And if you say the name out loud, it sounds like “are no friend” He proves that he can’t be a friend in the first place, he left his so-called friend in the car and talked to him like he meant nothing to him.
Arnold Friend or “an old fiend”, is a deceiving manipulative older male who could be your father and has his sidekick who is even older, Arnold stuffs his boots, has a picture of himself sprayed painted on the side of his car that looks like a pumpkin, who openly admits that he’s coming for you and that he stalks you, he’s essentially a sociopath who flirts by threatening you and your family. Arnold aims in on the frailty and aspirations of those around him in particular Connie's romantic fantasies, he utilizes
Arnold’s last name is no coincidence, as he entices young girls to be his ‘friend’ and talk with him. In “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?,” Arnold states, “‘I'm Arnold Friend and that's my real name
Do you think looking forward and trying to change a bad situation into a good one for having a better life is a wrong decision? The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian is a novel written by Sherman Alexie. The novel is about Arnold Spirit; everyone calls him Junior. He is a teenage boy with a tough life who lives with his family in poverty on a Spokane Indian reservation in Wellpinit, Washington. He hates living in poverty and wants something better for himself. “I feel like I might grow up to be somebody important. An artist”(6) he claims. His living conditions are horrible; he studies in a school with a lack of resources. He considered the different aspects of moving to Reardan, he struggled about leaving
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.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a book that depicts cultural differences; the issues of alcohol; and friendships in a harsh, yet humorous way. Junior, the main character of the book, stands out in many ways, both to the reader, and in the book itself. He is courageous, yet also emotional and smart.
The novel's second major setting is Reardan, an affluent, mostly-white town 22 miles away from the reservation in Wellpinit. Reardan is home to the high school where Arnold decides to transfer. Arnold's identity in Reardan is not directly related to his tribe or his family. He is known in Reardan not as "Junior," but as
“Nothing about Arnold Friend is genuine, except his violent intentions and his skill at psychological and physical intimidation. By the story’s end, Connie understands that she is not the confident flirt she thought, but a powerless pawn in the hands of a dangerous individual.” (Cormier)
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is a novel about Arnold Spirit (Junior), a boy from the Spokane Indian Reservation who decides to attend high school outside the reservation in order to have a better future. During that first year at Reardan High School, Arnold has to find his place at his all-white school, cope with his best friend Rowdy and most of his tribe disowning him, and endure the deaths of his grandmother, his father’s best friend, and his sister. Alexie touches upon issues of identity, otherness, alcoholism, death, and poverty in order to stay true to his characters and the cultures within the story. Through the identification of the role of the self, identity, and social behavior
109), because he's an "absolute stranger" to Reardan, and also, Penelope's dad is racist. Still, they become close friends and start dating. He also makes friends with Roger (surprisingly), since Roger is a friend of Penelope. When Junior made the basketball team, they become closer. Roger even gave Junior a ride home after a basketball game. Arnold also becomes a friend of a geek, Gordy. They were both "outcasts", and they understood how it felt to not fit in. After making all these friends, he feels that he is starting to fit in with the white people.
Throughout the story, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Junior goes through many ups and downs. This story is about how Junior, an indian from the Spokane reservation, decides to go to Rearden, the school for non-indians because of how run-down his school is and has trouble fitting in. Some of the ways Junior dealt with those downs include his uncanny sense of humor, his love for his friends, and the want to fit in and prove he’s just as good as everyone else at his new school.
Arnold/Junior Spirit is a fourteen year old Spokane Indian who lives on a small reservation in Washington state. In the book The Absolutely True Diary of a part-Time Indian, Junior leaves his reservation for a primary white school called Reardan to find hope. He struggles with friendships, family, basketball, school work and identity through the year. His experiences on and off the reservation, are constantly changing his beliefs to become less racist and more positive. For example, Junior begins thinking that hope is barely reachable for him, but ends the book realizing that nothing stops him from having hope except how much he works for it.
Mentors are people who provide support, strength, and inspiration. Many people have a mentor in their life that they aspire to be like, and seek out for guidance. Mentors play a big role in many lives, including Junior's from The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Some of the biggest mentors for Junior are his parents, his Wellpinit teacher Mr. P and his Rearden basketball coach. If it weren't for these mentors inspiration and support, Junior wouldn't have taken some of the risks he does.
“We were supposed to be happy with our limitations. But there was no way Penelope and I were going to sit still. Nope, we both wanted to fly” (112). It would be simple to say that Penelope and Arnold are mutually drawn to each other with an innate need to reach for the world. However, their desire to move on from their towns and their social restrictions outweigh their desire to be a legitimate couple. Separately, they both are deeply sad and longing for a chance to live outside of their skin color and outside of their class. Together, however, they are merely a companionship with no romantic foundation whatsoever. Arnold and Penelope have similar beliefs about what they deserve and what they want. They are platonically attracted to each other
Around the age of 10, we started getting very involved with school sports. She lived in Byrdstown and found her gift which was cheering, of course mine was Basketball. As time went on, we only got to see each other at basketball games and special occasions. But, we always knew that we would be best friends forever.