The Absolutely True Diary of a Party Time Indian Essay

To begin, Junior uses his courage to do what is seen as precarious by his community, but he knows that it is for his own benefit. During the call to action, his Caucasian mathematics teacher, Mr. P, tells him to leave the reservation that he lives in, so he can prevent

When achieving things in life, you will need to have hope. In the novel, “Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian” author Sherman Alexie demonstrates the theme of hope. Sherman Alexie demonstrates the theme of hope through the characters; Mr. P, Junior and Penelope. Through these characters and plot events, it is clear that if you have hope and follow your dreams, you will succeed.

In Sherman Alexie’s novel “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” the narrator portrays both internal and external conflicts throughout his journey to success. Arnold Junior Spirit is a fourteen-year-old boy who believes that in order to pursue his dream he will have to choose between staying in his Spokane Indian reservation or moving out to an all-white school in the neighboring farm town. But things aren’t as easy as they seem when Junior tries moving schools because he know has to be part of two communities. Many conflicts form within the Spokane Indian reservation and the Spokane Indian reservation as well comes into conflict with the white community.

Sherman Alexie, in “Indian Education” tells his experiences in school on the reservation. Some of his teachers did not treat him very good and did not try to understand him. In his ninth grade year he collapsed. A teacher assumed that he had been drinking just because he was Native American. The teacher said, “What’s that boy been drinking? I know all about these Indian kids. They start drinking real young.” Sherman Alexie didn’t listen to the negatives in school. He persevered and became valedictorian of his school.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a book that depicts cultural differences; the issues of alcohol; and friendships in a harsh, yet humorous way. Junior, the main character of the book, stands out in many ways, both to the reader, and in the book itself. He is courageous, yet also emotional and smart.

At first Junior didn't like himself; he was constantly beaten up, he had a lisp and stuttered so he had no self-confidence. When he made the decision to go to Reardan, a white school, even Rowdy left him. Rowdy thought Junior was betraying their school by going away and transferring so Rowdy didn't talk to Junior anymore. Without his best friend, Junior completely lost hope. He was scared of the white people and did not expect them to welcome him. He was right. Most of the Americans were cold to him and he did not try to raise his status. Many of the white people made fun of him, and when one guy, Roger, said "Did you know that Indians are living proof that niggers f*** buffalo?" (pg. 64) he felt that he had to stop it. So he punched him. Junior was expecting to get punched back, but he didn't. In the Indian Reservation, he

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.

Over the course of your life, you come to struggle with the philosophical idea of personal identity; the thing that makes you, you. Oneself may shape their identity around aspects of their life that they have no control over like race and physical traits, as well as decisions that are made throughout their lives like affiliations and religion. Your personal identity can be seen through your passions and interactions with others. An individual’s search for their identity is something that may occur in everyone’s’ life. In the novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie highlights the theme of how the search for identity is always prevalent, through the conflicted characters of Junior and Mary throughout the novel.

Firstly, Junior is often left to fend for himself because there is not enough money to go around. It states “My dad was supposed to pick me up. But he wasn’t sure if he’d have enough gas money.” (Alexie 87). This displays how Junior parents usually don’t have enough money to get him to and from school. Junior still does not stop him from going to school at Rearden, because this is one of his all time goals. Even though Junior has to face all of these setbacks he still manages to have good grades. Moreover, sometimes Junior has to lie about how much money h has just so that it is easier for him to continue attending Rearden. “My parents gave me just enough money so that I could pretend to have more money than I did.” (Alexie 119). This displays how Junior must lie about how much money he actually has. Even though Junior has very little money himself he doesn't allow this to impact his academics. Therefore, even though Junior has many struggles because he lives in poverty he still works hard to design and build his own path for the

Adolescents experience a developmental journey as they transition from child to adult, and in doing so are faced with many developmental milestones. Physical, cognitive, social and emotional changes are occurring during this tumultuous stage of life, and making sense of one’s self and identity becomes a priority. Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian addresses the challenges of adolescence in an engaging tale, but deals with minority communities and cultures as well.

Junior’s identity as an Indian affects his education because of his rRace and stereotypical teachers, and his overall willingness to be a warrior throughout all that pain. To begin with, Juniors appearance affects his education because it causes kids to bully

A new level of expectations and accomplishments came about Junior when he moved to Reardan. He finally had somewhere to have a fresh start where people didn’t know what he was capable of, nor did anyone have a presumption set for Junior. With this new chapter in his life and new beginnings Junior had become someone he never had a chance to be at the Reservation. Junior was smart, intellectual, confident, observant and had a completely different mentality. Thanks to some very important people at Reardan like Gordy and Junior’s basketball coach, they were able to mentor and drive Junior to be the person he was ultimately trying to become. Gordy was an intelligent young man in Junior 's life who was able to connect books to some life morals. Because of Gordy, Junior finally made his own realization that “if every moment of a book should be taken seriously, then every moment of life should be taken seriously as well” (95). At this moment in the book, Junior started to realize there was meaning to his life; why not enjoy it doing the things you love and are passionate about. One passion in

"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” by Sherman Alexie is a book full of valuable life lessons and themes. The book expresses about the experiences of racism, prejudices towards other people, and living in poverty. Reading this book has taught me some valuable lessons, some of them being; Identity, knowing, understanding and accepting one’s self; having more self-esteem, and understanding the importance of family relations.

One of the many personal characteristics that led Junior into success at Reardan was his confidence. Evidence that can support my answer can be found on page 46, in the novel “the Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”. The quote reads: “I want to go to Reardan.”. This quote reveals that Junior was finally confident enough in himself. His confidence has reached the level to make him make the decision of leaving the Rez; in order to transfer to Reardan. He is aware that others will disown him for leaving the school at the Rez, to attend a school with white richer people. Ultimately, this personal characteristic led him into success at Reardan because the schools at the Rez aren’t good enough for his education and or future; meanwhile, Reardan makes a life impacting change on him.

This draws a connection to the erasure of Native American culture in history, they are seen as rare and different from the ordinary, and for some people their existence is completely forgotten or denied. His own comments of not belonging at a white school, because of his nationality and family history further show the division of race that he can see at Reardan. Junior’s cursing accentuates how frustrated and pathetic he feels, viewed as less than everyone at his school, and constantly rejected and isolated by his white peers. The negative, demeaning mindset of those white kids is that Native Americans do not deserve anything from white people, not their time, attention, care, or even a proficient education. According to Jens Manuel Krogstad at Pew Research Center, Native Americans have the second highest high school dropout rate- eleven percent. This is very high, especially when compared to the white or Asian dropout rates- five and three percent, respectively. Additionally, it says Native Americans have the second lowest percentage of bachelor’s degrees, only seventeen percent, compared to the two highest, white and Asian, at thirty three and fifty percent (Krogstad). Many Native Americans today are not allowed a chance at education because of poverty at reservations, and lousy, penniless schools. These issues are not thought about or spoken of often, because they are simply not