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Summary: The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian

Good Essays

Two adjacent communities, one a solemn poverty ridden reservation and the other a beautiful, almost “mythical” (51) sanctuary are the settings of Sherman Alexie’s novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian which is critical to the main character’s identity crisis. Despite the establishment of most of the novel’s characters and their attributes in previous chapters, the passage above from chapter 8 started his question of belonging. The author’s decision to introduce junior’s full name in his new school illustrates the impact of the novel’s setting on junior’s identity crisis.
Junior’s difficulty over what name he should introduce himself as presents a challenge of navigating in his new society. The name junior is a common and …show more content…

Although Penelope comes a from a different socioeconomic and cultural background compared to junior, they share very similar character traits as members of their own distinctive culture. The character of Penelope illustrates that even the seemly perfect are imperfect and they all have struggles that comes along with their …show more content…

The word “pretty” symbolizes the importance of physical appearance in the Reardan society and Penelope having an abundance of it is pressured into being the perfect high school girl which no one is as a teenager. Just as junior struggles in the reservation because of his physical attributes, Penelope goes through the same struggle to uphold the impossible standards set by her peers and

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