Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

On chapter 6 Arnold makes the decision to move to Reardan which is an all-white school with his parent’s approval. Yet on page 47 his mother reminds him something “The Indians around here are going to be very angry with you”. Which makes him think twice about staying in the reservation and not getting the best education available because he “figured my fellow tribal members here are going to torture me” page 47. Otherwise if he goes to Reardan even though he will betray his fellow members he will eventually have a better education than in the reservation. Yet that would be a major conflict because the Indians from the reservation believe each Indian should remain with their reservation and its culture and not interact with the surrounding white cultures. On chapter 7 he makes a final decision which is to transfer to Reardan with or

“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)

1. Arnold Friend 's name can be interpreted as being "a friend." Also, by removing the r 's, his name becomes "an old fiend," which can be interpreted as a reference to a demon or even Satan. What other clues are there that Arnold is not who he claims to be?

He also deals with an Identity-crisis and not able to recognize which should relate to. As he says ''They stared at me, the Indian boy with the black eye and swollen nose, my going-away gifts from Rowdy. Those white kids couldn't believe their eyes. They stared at me like I was Bigfoot or a UFO. What was I doing at Reardan, whose mascot was an Indian, thereby making me the only other Indian in town? (Sherman 27). On his first at the new school, Arnold sees himself not only through his own eyes, but also through the eyes his classmates as well. He realizes that they don't see him as Junior the weirdo Indian, to them, he is something foreign. In this sense, Arnold starts seeing the way he sees himself and the way his classmates sees him.

In the book “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie, the character I’ll be focusing on is Arnold. Chapter after chapter, Arnold has contrastive impressions and temper. From the beginning of the book to the end, Arnold finds himself trapped in obstacles that he has to overcome, as well as developing a crush on a white girl named Penelope. Because of the way Arnold transforms his impressions makes me think of how interesting this character is. In the beginning, Arnold speaks of his life as an Indian on the reservation. As soon as he first stepped foot in Wellpinit High, he met his teacher, Mr.P, in which convinced Arnold to vacate the Rez even after everything Arnold’s been through such as troubles in his life. One quote is “If you stay on this Rez, they’re going to kill you. I’m going to kill you. We’re all going to kill you. You’ve been fighting off that brain surgery, you fought off those seizures. You fought off all the drunks and drug addicts,” (p.g 43)

Arnold is introduced in the beginning of the story when Connie is out with her friends and starts talking to Eddie, a boy she meets at a restaurant. As Connie leaves with Eddie, she turns and notices Arnold staring at her with a wide grin laughing and saying, “gonna get you baby”, as he wags his finger (1098). All of this is done without Eddie noticing, perhaps indicating that Arnold Friend may be an illusion or not real. Arnold’s first appearance in the story clearly foreshadows that we haven’t seen the last of Arnold Friend in this story and he is out to get Connie due to the way she represents herself as a sexually open girl.

Arnold Friend does not ever seem like a believable character that one would meet in the real world, even for a second. Although he seems confident a majority of the time, his slip ups in demeanor and actions that do not appeal to normal people assure the reader that his identity is assumed, and that he is actually the devil. His actions are meant to coax Connie but instead

This book, "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie, is about a boy called Arnold Spirit aka Junior. He is a Native American that lives in an Indian Reservation. He isn't really satisfied with his life, since he's pretty poor, but he gets along. He doesn't really accept himself, since he has multiple medical problems, and he has been beaten up since he was little. When he starts to gain more friends in this new (American) school, he starts to like and accept himself more than before. In this book, "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian" (by Sherman Alexie), the main theme is about Arnold trying to accept himself.

Arnold continues trying to persuade her to get into the car with him. After a while Connie begins to think that there seems to be something not quite right about him. She starts thinking about his appearance, and suddenly it hits her; she asks Arnold his age. Arnold does not appreciate being asked this question, "His smile faded. She could see then that he wasn't a kid, he was much older - thirty, maybe more. At this knowledge her heart began to pound faster." (158). This is the turning point of the story, everything goes downhill from here. When

First of all, in the beginning of the book, Arnold, the main protagonist, is told that he never gives up hope albeit the difficult obstacles in his life. The book states, “You’ve been fighting since you were born,” he said. “You fought off that brain surgery. You fought off those seizures. You fought off those seizures. You fought off all the drunks and drug addicts. You kept your hope” (Alexie 43). This quote explains that even though Arnold suffered from severe brain

Finally, it seemed as if Arnold was faking his height because “One of his boots was at a strange angle, as if his foot wasn’t in it. It pointed out to the left, bent at the ankle.” By the end of the story, it is not specific about what happens with Arnold or Connie. Because of how this story is so similar to a real life event, one can assume that Connie was raped and murdered. It appears that Oates modeled her story after Charles Schmid who was “short and muscular, cruised Tucson’s Speedway Boulevard in a gold-colored car, wore pancake makeup, dyed his hair raven black, stuffed rags

Arnolds odd physical appearance and his questionable actions makes the reader lead to believe he has something to hide. He speaks to her very forcefully purposefully using compliments leading his victim Connie to committing a sin of vanity. Connie responds to compliments and likes the attention that Arnold is giving her, falling into his prey and digging into temptation. Speaking to Connie, Arnold says, “But I know what is. I know your name and all about you, lots of things” (4). This illustrating the devil figure because he has traced all of Connie's actions along with her families. Knowing everything about her and her every move but still wanting to disguise himself, mirroring a devil figure, hiding his true self. Arnold appealing to Connie because she is finally getting the attention from a male figure she's been missing. While calling her “baby” and “honey,” their conversation progressing quickly, “...we’ll drive away, have a nice ride...if you don't come...they’re all going to get it” (8). Arnold being forceful, giving her two choices but in the end having the same outcome. Arnold reflecting a devil, he is being evil and cruel, “It’s all over for you here, so come on out”(8). Arnold reminding her that she was left at home by herself with nothing to do, forcing her out. This foreshadowing the rape and murder of an oblivious young teenage girl. Being lonely and

Oates tackles the issue of danger within youth culture by taking advantage of the character Arnold Friend, who is depicted as the devil and spiritual evil hovering over society. Arnold 's mysterious and hazy nature symbolizes what the past generation envisioned, evil lingering within the revolutions taking place. For example, when Connie takes the time to analyze Arnold after having a conversation with him, “She recognized

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

Have you ever had a friend that was more important to you than your own life is ? In the book The Absolute true Diary of a part-time Indian Arnold and Rowdy has had a lot of good series in their life. They both go through some of the same life style but end up going their own separate ways because arnold wants to better his life. What does arnold do to better his life?