The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian `` By Sherman Alexie

F. Scott Fitzgerald once said “First you take a DRINK then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you.” Later Fitzgerald capitulated and died of a heart attack due to being an alcoholic the last 2 years of his life. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian written by Sherman Alexie talks about a 14 year old Indian boy changing his life. He goes to a white school, and changes into a different person throughout the story. The story talks about other real life dilemmas, like death and alcohol. There are multiple themes that are present throughout the story, but one theme that protrudes is that alcoholism kills.

"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

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.

“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”, written by Sherman Alexie, is a novel describing a 14 year old’s journey throughout high school. In the story, Junior, the main character, is faced with multiple obstacles in his life: Hydrocephalus, poverty, and the target of bullying. Despite the world being against him, Junior’s multiple traits helps him greatly when it comes to the adversity that accompanies his migration from the Wellpinit Reservation to Rearden.

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.

In this essay “What is Poverty?”, Jo Goodwin Parker starts of with a rhetorical question “You ask me what is poverty”, this is the opening line of the essay and it encapsulates the essay ́s purpose. Through the use of the writer ́s language she also captivates the reader with the idea of poverty and what it is by making it very concrete and real. The writer wants the reader to understand what poverty is so that they can feel like they need to help not only the writer but p!eople who struggle in that situation. !

The NRC says that 37% of American Indian children are living in poverty. The absolutely true diary of a part-time indian by Sherman Alexie is about a boy named Junior. Arnold Spirit Junior is a struggling indian boy who deals with poverty, abuse, and many hardships. Throughout time he gains the strength he needs to live on his indian reservation with more happiness and opportunities then he every thought was possible. Through all of his struggles, Junior creates a better education, friendship, and improves his self-confidence with his brave outlook on life, which shows taking risks and being brave can change hardships into bliss.

People often go through life without knowing what it’s like to be in another person’s shoes. Many outsiders view the United States today, as an undemanding country- with its citizens being able to have jobs and money whenever they need it and living life to it’s fullest. This is the commonly depicted idea of America, though this is not the lifestyle for many living here. Specifically, the Native American community has it the hardest currently. Native Americans have been consistently struggling with life since the Removal Act of 1830- causing mass groups of Natives to be forced onto reservation, ‘till the modern world of today- the 21 century. In the novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, articles “Why Are Indian Reservations So Poor? A Look At The Bottom 1%” by John Koppisch,“The Absence of Native American Power” and “Drinking Behavior and Sources of Alcohol: Differences Between Native American and White Youths” they explain what the average Native American has to go through. Today, being Native American means to constantly struggle with poverty, alcoholism and loss of to try and get by in life.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, written by Sherman Alexie, is a novel about a 14 year old Indian boy, which not too surprisingly is based on his own life. Throughout the book the main character Junior, who is later referred to as Arnold, goes through a series of events that change not only the way others look at him , but how he views himself as well. This book will teach you that it’s never too late to change your life, all you have to have is hope.

A young Aboriginal boy by the name of Arnold throws a textbook at a teachers face at his residential school… After that event his life changes he decides to transfer to Reardan High an all white school in a farm town outside his reservation. This courageous act from an “Indian boy” on Arnold’s reservation has never been seen or done before, Arnold is trying to break the mold. The book “The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie explores the life of Arnold an Aboriginal boy whose whole life has been lived in poverty on a reservation. Which is then thrown into the polar opposite environment, Reardan High in hopes of getting a higher education and escaping the alcoholism and unemployment that most adults that grew up

Poverty is a terrible condition, which as unfortunate as it is, many people across the globe suffer from. Poverty can present itself in many ways and in many different circumstances, which is shown in the following stories. In ' Angela's Ashes' by Frank McCourt, young Frank is burdened with the responsibiliity of providing for his family. Similarly, in 'The Street' by Ann Petry, Lutie, a single black mother, is struggling to find shelter for her family. In both 'Angela's Ashes' and 'The Street,' a key member of each family is desperately trying to support their loved ones and meet their basic human needs. In both passages, the author uses specific characters, events, and settings to demonstrate the theme that one needs perseverance to overcome poverty.

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

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

Adolescents experience a multitude of physical, cognitive, emotional, and social, and mental changes during a short span of years in their developmental journey to adulthood, and this transition period is full of many developmental changes and milestones. Some typical changes and milestones in an adolescent’s life include puberty, learning to drive, dating, developing new social relationships and social roles, cognitive changes, becoming sexually active, obtaining employment, and graduating high school. In addition to all of these changes in this tumultuous time of life, adolescents are identifying, developing, and coming to terms with their own sense of self, and learning about their identity becomes a priority. Teens and young adults must also address certain challenges that may arise in their lives such as bullying, drug and alcohol use, violence, sexual abuse, eating disorders, depression or other mood/mental health issues, and issues concerning sexuality, and gender identity. Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is an engaging story that deals with many of the challenges that all adolescents face, and this novel also addresses challenges that are unique to those teens who may be grappling with issues that face minority cultures and communities as well.

Arnold’s change of identity is shown through the author’s use of setting. At first, he lives in Wellpinit, an Indian reservation. On the reservation there is violence, poverty, and alcoholism. Arnold does not appreciate where he lives because his “reservation is located approximately one million miles north of [important] and two billion miles west of [happy]” (Alexie 30). Arnold does not like his culture, nor does he like his home. He thinks that his race is far from important and happy. This contributes to his identity crisis. He does not like his identity, but one thing that keeps him from forsaking it, is his