Transition From Junior To Arnold

One of the main obstacles Junior overcomes is stereotypes. Junior is an Indian who lives on a reservation. Indians have many stereotypes that are towards them. For instance one stereotype is that they have no hope. Junior had a conversation with one of his teachers about his future, which involved him switching schools. Junior knew that if he stayed at the reservation high school he won’t be able to make a future for himself. So when his parents got home he asked them who has the most hope, “’White people, (Alexie45)’” his parents told him at the same time. Even

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

“He was now living at the edges of the cocoon of back life, near the divide between the white neighborhoods, and old enough to notice the difference between the ways other people lived versus his own poor environment.” This shows he is getting older and realizing the inequality that is happening to him and his race. But that doesn’t phase him it actually makes him a stronger person. He has to walk pass white neighborhoods to get it school and he gets harassed but he never complains. He just keeps on going on with his business and doesn’t bother

To fit into his new school, Junior decides to go to a basketball tryout, where he successfully makes the Freshman team. Now that his social status is better, Arnold has to get ready to face his old basketball team during a match, which he loses. When the second game against them comes around, he is even more determined to win, because to him it symbolises that he will never give up : “I have to prove [...] Never,ever,ever.” (page 186). He wins the match, gains back his Wellpinit friends, and makes friends at Reardan since he is now considered

There were many places throughout the parts of the book I read, where I felt extremely grateful. Two of them were when I was reading from page 11 through page 13, and I stumbled against two things Junior said that struck me. The first part was when Junior said “They (his parents) never got the chance to be anything because nobody paid attention to their dreams”, on page 11. While the second part was when he said, “But we reservation Indians don't get to realise our dreams. We don’t get those chances. Or choices. We’re poor. Thats all we are,” on page 13. While and after reading this I felt extremely fortunate, yet apologetic. I felt extremely fortunate, due to the fact that I was born into family that isn’t a victim of poverty and also because

Second, when Junior starts basketball, he feels unwanted and a “white-lover” in the Wellpinit gym (at the rez), but at Reardan, he feels encouraged. These conflicting sides make Junior even more hesitant as to where he belongs. He was just trying to invest in his future, however, he ended up being blamed for abandoning them. While at the rez for a basketball game, the home fans chant “Arnold sucks!” This also reinforces the idea that he has two names, therefore, two personas.

While Gordy didn't intend for Arnold to perceive his validation in any way other than validation, Arnold saw it as Gordy throwing him a line when he needed it most. In that moment, Arnold realizes he's not alone in this journey despite having the world against him, with ridicule from peers and educators, this simple act of friendship acts as a lifeline, giving Arnold hope and a realization that he could overcome the challenges he was facing with the power of friendship even when it came in the form of academic

While Arnold was talking to a teacher at Wellpinit, Mr. P, Mr. P had made it very obvious he would not have a future on the reservation. “You’re the smartest kid in the school. And I don’t want you to fail,” [36] he told Arnold in a persuading way. Arnold knew he’d have better hope somewhere else, too. He even said it himself, “Indians were the worst of times and those Reardan kids were the best of times.”

The Spokane Indians were victims of adversity, whereas the students of Reardan high school were met with privilege. With this in mind, the reader is able to recognize the deviation in the aforementioned environments throughout the novel. To support this, a statement that exposes a confession of the direct oppression youth on the reservation face is one made by Arnold’s teacher, Mr. P. Mr. P is in the midst of lecturing Arnold about the reasons he should leave the reservation when he says, “We were supposed to kill the Indian to save the child” (Sherman 35). Mr. P explains to Arnold that the teachers were instructed to strip Indians of their culture. Within the same conversation Mr. P continues on to say, “The only thing you kids are being

Junior may regret the losses that he was served when he changed schools to Reardan, but he knows that he has found a better community in Reardan that he would ever be a part of in Wellpinit. In the young adult novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Junior is more accepted and feels more at home in Reardan

He begins by letting go of his “ghetto” background and accepting the other students as individuals and not just by their class like the one he personally came from. By the end, he learns

Junior is distraught by multiple events in the novel on many occasions, but the biggest setback for him is his struggle for his identity. The denial expressed by Junior causes him to have an epiphany, I realized that, sure, I was a Spokane Indian. I belonged to that tribe. But I also belonged to the tribe of American immigrants. And to the tribe of basketball players.

Even after hanging out with a bunch of the American people, Arnold still feels attached to his own heritage. He loves his family and his best friend, Rowdy, and he feels that he needs to make amends with Rowdy. He was really scared that Rowdy would hate him and Junior would need to leave his old Indian self. Later he fixed his problems while playing "one-on-one (basketball) for hours..." (pg. 230) and they "didn't keep score" (pg. 230). Also, Junior cares about his family a lot. When two of them died in a row (his grandmother and sister), he didn't know what to do without them. He also thinks that Indians are forgiving of any kind of eccentricity (until the Americans came). "Gay people were seen as magical, too...Gay people could do anything. They were like Swiss army knives!" (pg. 155). He is pretty accepting of his heritage. He knows that he is Indian going to a white

Malik, one of the main characters, is an African American track athlete, who struggles with academics. He feels entitled and has a sense that the world owes him just because he is black. However, Professor Phipps,a black professor, engrains in Malik’s mind that he treats all of his students the same and that he will receive no special treatment because of the color of his skin. In contrast, Malik is influenced by Fudge, a black senior at the school, to understand how racism is prevalent in every aspect of the world. Conflicted with Professor Phipp’s ideas and Fudge’s, Malik is forced to look within himself in order to decide his best course of action.

Another mentor in Junior's life is his Wellpinit teacher Mr. P. Mr.P demonstrates great understanding, encouragement and regret towards Junior and his people. Mr. P’s understanding was shown shortly after a mishap where Junior throws a textbook at him in frustration, after finding his mother's name written in it. Instead of getting angry at Junior he is rather understanding. He knows Junior only threw it in anger at the fact he can't learn from new curriculums, Junior is someone who wants more in his education, this is seen when he says “And let me tell you, that old, old, old decrepit geometry book hit my heart with the force of a nuclear bomb. My hopes and dreams floated up in a mushroom cloud.” Instead of getting mad, Mr. P understands Junior's want for education. Lastly, Mr.P is the one who recognized Junior's intelligence and pushes him to find hope in a new school. This was shown when he says “Son,’ Mr.P said. ‘You're going to find more and more hope the farther and farther you walk away from this sad, sad, sad reservation.” (Alexie 43) Thanks to Mr. P’s encouragement Junior makes the decision to attend Reardan, where he meets wonderful people,