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

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In my view, intolerance is the unfair act of being treated unjustly by others. This closed-minded action is one that is unfortunately an increasing problem in today’s society for many different reasons. Intolerance is the greatest issue we face regarding discrimination and racism among others, increasing the tension and conflict between people. One example of Junior, also known as Arnold, experiencing intolerance is when he is made fun of by his peers on his reservation in Wellpinit for having a lisp and eye abnormalities. Junior cannot help that he was born with these physical defects and has no control over the fact that he has to live with them. In Reardan, Junior is picked on the antagonist, Roger that creates even more of a struggle …show more content…

A final example of intolerance in this story is when Junior is explaining the differences between Wellpinit kids and Reardan kids, “I was the only kid, white or Indian, who knew that Charles Dickens wrote A Tale of Two Cities. And let me tell you, we Indians were the worst of times and those Reardan kids were the best of times,” (Alexie 56). Although Junior obviously feels out of place in Reardan due to racial differences, he masks that fact by introducing the idea that Wellpinit kids still had a more rough life than Rearden kids regardless. Junior wants us as the audience to know that the intolerance he experienced as an Indian makes him want to break away from his roots even more.
3. I believe The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is an inappropriate book for kids at a certain age. Middle school aged kids and above would be an acceptable age to read this text because of the vulgarity, violence, and troubling topics it entails. I think it good for kids to be exposed to some wrong in the world while they are still young, but only to a certain extent. For example, death is a huge component to this story. Junior says, “And, after Eugene's funeral, I agreed with her. I could have easily killed myself, killed my mother and father, killed the birds, killed the trees, and killed the oxygen in the air. More than anything, I wanted to kill God. I was joyless,” (Alexie 132). This demonstrates

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