Sherman Alexie's The Absolute True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian

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.

In a Bill Moyer’s interview “Sherman Alexie on Living Outside Borders”, Moyer’s interviews Native American author and poet Sherman Alexie. In the Moyer’s and Company interview, Alexie shares his story about the struggles that he endured during his time on a Native American reservation located at Wellpinit, Washington. During the interview, Alexie goes in-depth about his conflicts that plagued the reservation. In an award-winning book by Sherman Alexie called “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”, Alexie writes semi-autobiography that reveals his harsh life on the reservation through a fictional character named Arnold Spirit Junior. In Alexie’s semi-autobiography, Alexie shares his struggles of a poor and alcoholic family, the

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.

In Sherman Alexies novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, the protagonist, Junior, overcomes many obstacles such as stereotypes, poverty and hopelessness.

"Double-consciousness this sense of always looking at one 's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one 's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity" (Dubois, 8). W.E.B. Du Bois had a perfect definition of double-consciousness. The action of viewing one 's self through the eyes of others and measuring one 's soul. Looking at all of the thoughts good or bad coming from others. This is present in the main character of the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie. The Absolutely True Diary is about a boy named Junior that is fourteen years old and living on the Spokane Reservation. Junior was born with too

Despite the horrible conditions society had placed them in, they found comfort in their cultural identity. This sort of embracement of cultural identity in order to unify was seen in Sherman Alexie’s work. In the beginning of the novel, Junior wants to break from his culture and pursue his dreams instead of staying on the reservation that he believes destines him to failure. In pursuing his dreams, however, he turned his back on the tribe in the minds of many and was not embracing the cultural identity. Junior rode into Reardan with the expectation of pursuing his dreams along with the whites, but was met with the heavy reality of racism and discrimination. Everyone from the teachers, kids, and parents treated him as a second class citizen and at home he was a traitor. This sort of adversity Junior was facing caused him to try to fit in at two places at once. Rather than being honest about his cultural identity with the people in Reardan, he hid from reality and acted as if he was a white kid from a stable family. This tactic Junior tries to employ does not work and instead he becomes an outcast on the reservation for trying to become less Indian and was still not fully accepted by the whites of Reardan. By denying his cultural identity Junior did not fit in anywhere, however, this changed when the truth of his situation was made clear to the

Poverty hits children hardest in the world. When I was younger, the Armenians had faced the hard facts of poverty after they break up with the Soviet Union, war with Azerbaijan, and a devastating earthquake. My family moved into our motherland Armenia while our nation was going through these huge dramatic changes. Furthermore the poor economy and inflation destroyed numerous hopes and futures. In the novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, Arnold Spirit, describes his hardships involving poverty living on Spokane reservation. The people on the reservation are stuck in a prison of poverty. They are imprisoned there due to lack of resources and general contempt from the outside world, so they are left with little chance for success. Like Arnold, I also went through hardships regarding poverty and education.

Hope kept the Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Times Indian from ending in misery and hatred. Junior’s hope grows throughout the story, even as he faces the harsh reality of life. Limitations in the form of poverty, death, physical disabilities, and bullying plague him. While Junior’s future of the reservation appeared bleak, hope for a better future played an important role in Junior’s decision to transfer to Reardan High School.

Institutional structures have the power to configure adolescent growth through repression and liberation. The capability that adolescents have to create their own destiny and choose their own social institution can be limited, but not impossible. In Trites article, “Do I dare disturb the universe?” the author argues that kids have personal power, whether they acknowledge it and use it to their own advantage or not. Michel Foucault declares that “Power is everywhere; not because it embraces everything, but because it comes from everywhere” (Trites). Power is inevitable, there will never be no such thing as power in this world; it will never diminish or fade. Trites also conveyed that, “power not only acts on a subject but, in a transitive

In the novel, Junior’s dad tells him that “those white people aren’t better than you” as he prepares for his first day at Reardan, and then proceeds to tell Junior that he is very brave and is a warrior (55). Junior doubts himself and his father’s words, but a positive father-son relationship is shown through this overcoming of racial stereotyping. Junior will eventually conquer his fears of being an Indian in an all white school, but his family’s support is what drives him. Also in the novel, Roger, Junior’s primary bully at Reardan, begins to call him “Chief.” He asks Junior if he would like to hear a joke, and Junior complies. Roger proceeds to say, “Did you know that Indians are living proof that niggers fuck buffalo” (64). Junior knows that he cannot let Roger get away with saying something so derogatory, so he punches him. This may not have been the most appropriate action to take for Junior, but on the that is how problems were solved on the reservation. Junior reacts in the only way he knows how, and earns Roger’s respect because of it. This is a controversial scene, but Junior overcomes his fear and stands up for himself, thus showing that it is possible to stand up to a bully instead of cowering in fear, while also overpowering racism. Another display of a racist situation turned

I decided to do my book report on the Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. This book is about a Native American boy who has to deal with various issues like racism, bullying, loss, health issues, and other more adolescent issues.

Junior is a Native American boy who lives on an Indian reservation in Wellpinit, WA. He is hydrocephalic, has a stutter and a lisp. Because of these impairments, he is repeatedly picked on and beaten up by almost everyone. He says he belongs to the “Black-Eye-of-the-Month” Club (Alexie 4) and prefers to stay inside his home to avoid being tortured. Not only is his, but the life of most people in the reservation are depressing. Junior’s father is alcoholic, his sister lives like a recluse in the

Many people don’t realize the value something till it’s gone. It may be the advice someone gave you or it may be someone you love. Arnold experiences this throughout the novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. While reading this novel the reader realized that Arnold understood that being poor and living on the reservation wouldn’t be easy for him if he wanted to fulfill his dreams. The character decided to go to Reardan and study while he leaves his best friend behind. He faces some problems at the beginning but most of the problem gets solved near the end. Arnold also called Junior hears news of his grandmother's death, he loved his grandmother a lot and he couldn't help but think why she died because she passed away because a car hit her not because of old age. A couple of days later Eugene, Juniors dad’s friend passed away he was really close to junior which made him sad. Most of the people on the reservation died because they were drunk. Everything was going fine for a couple of days when suddenly Junior gets the news that his sister passed away he felt like everything around him was negative and that he was going to be next. On the day of his basketball game, he thought of Eugene and what he would always say while he Junior was playing that gave him the playing spirit and encouraged him this is when he regained hope. By discussing how hard it can be to lose hope, regaining that hope and the changes in Arnold’s perspective, the author

In an effort to expand his horizons and break out of the mold the reservation creates, Junior, the protagonist decided to attend school off the reservation. In Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, the reservation schools only taught kids “how to give up” (42). Junior was told by Mr. P, a white teacher at his school, that if he stayed on the reservation, they were “going to kill” (42) him because he cannot fight forever. Junior has always been beat up for looking different. Additionally, as a child, Junior “fought off brain surgery” (42), “seizures” (42), and “drug addicts” (42) because he had hope. Now, he is the only one with hope left on the reservation, which means he needs to leave the reservation and “go somewhere where other people have hope” (42). Mr. P’s words stuck with Junior so he asked his parents’ permission to attend a school off the reservation, Reardan. It was surprising any Indian would leave the reservation and many, especially Junior’s best friend, Rowdy, thought he had betrayed them. He was going to attend a primarily white school and leave the reservation behind. In their minds, he is no longer an Indian. Junior even says, “I always felt like a stranger” since “I was half Indian in one place and half white in the other” (118). But attending another school cannot change your entire identity.

Sherman Alexie tells a tale of a lonely, Spokane Indian teenager named Arnold Junior Spirit. After reading ‘The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian’ written by Sherman Alexie, illustrated by Ellen Forney, the reader learns that Junior goes through a great heap of death in his 14 years of life. Each death creating a different impact on him. Each relationship different. 42 funerals in 14 years. How did the death’s impact him? How has his view on life changed? How come someone that young in life have gone through so many deaths?