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Compare and Contrast- Sherman Alexie Essay

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Compare and Contrast In Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Junior is a young American Indian that is shy and has low self-esteem, and has a few issues physically and his surroundings. He has a best friend named Rowdy. Rowdy is rude and has no emotion to any situation. What many people at the reservation don’t know is that Rowdy and Junior have real problems at home with their parents. The differences between Rowdy and Junior are the family and the personalities. One difference between Rowdy and Junior is their families. The way Junior was raised was completely different from Rowdy’s upbringing. Rowdy has a difficult life, his dad is always drinking. Junior states “His father is drinking hard and throwing …show more content…

Another difference between Rowdy and Junior is their personalities. Junior is shy and has a low self-esteem and Rowdy is rude and has no emotion to any situation. Junior is a young Indian that has no friends because of his physical problems. His self- esteem is low and doesn’t have the confidence to feel good. For example, in the book, Junior states when entering his new school Reardan, “So, feeling worthless and stupid, I just waited”. (58) Junior would say these things because of his own views towards himself. Once he met this girl named Penelope in Reardan, his attitude changed completely. He became more confident; Junior stated, “Penelope thought I was beautiful so I felt beautiful”. (122) Even though Penelope thought he was beautiful, Junior was shy to be around her. He would not tell her that he liked her and was beautiful. Junior kept this in mind every time he would see her. For example, “Penelope was crazy beautiful, Can you blame me for staring at her all day long?” (113). Junior outgrew his shyness and boosted his self- esteem. On the other hand, Rowdy was a rude Indian that had no emotion for no situation. In the book, it states “BANG! Rowdy punched me, and as I stayed on the floor, Rowdy walked away.” (52) Rowdy punched Junior because that was his way from reacting to the news that Junior was transferring out to Reardan. When Junior’s sister, Mary, passed away, Rowdy blamed Junior for the death. When it was her funeral, Rowdy hid behind the bushes

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