In Search of Goal 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 …show more content…
I thought about going back to Wellpinit. I blamed myself for all of the death. I had cursed my family. I had left the tribe, and had broken something inside all of us, and I was now being punished for that” (173). He carried the guilt of his sister’s death; “I had killed my sister. Well, I hadn’t killed her. But she only got married so quickly and left the Rez because I had left the Rez first. She had burned to death because I had decided that I wanted to spend my life with white people. It was all my fault” (211). He took on the burden of responsibility for the death of his sister; she was killed in an accident when she was drunk; what happened to her wasn’t Junior’s fault. As result, he was terrified of losing his father, “Please God, please don’t kill my daddy” (203). Then Junior got some guidance from his father and some words of encouragement from his mother, and Junior began to understand that he made the change in his life for the better. Junior wasn’t the reason her sister died, but he had inspired her to follow her dreams as well. The upshot of all this is that, Junior’s decision about leaving the Rez and moving to Reardan for a better education was tough. He faced lot of problems; he felt lonely because of losing his best friend, and afraid of death of his tribe and family. Although he suffered from the entire bad things that happened to him, it was the best decision that he had made for his life. “I realized that I might be a lonely Indian boy, but I
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
book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, doesn’t waste any time telling you
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.
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.
The novel's second major setting is Reardan, an affluent, mostly-white town 22 miles away from the reservation in Wellpinit. Reardan is home to the high school where Arnold decides to transfer. Arnold's identity in Reardan is not directly related to his tribe or his family. He is known in Reardan not as "Junior," but as
Everyone in life try to figure out they are. Sometimes in life people need to help themselves to improve their life before they can help others. In the story “The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part time Indian” by: Sherman Alexie, a 14 year old boy named, Junior that belongs to a native tribe and lives on a place called the Rez. He is not treated kind on the Rez because he has water in the brain, which makes his head overly large. His was made fun of because of his head.
In the book True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie Junior and his Grandma have a fairly close relationship. She is a wise yet slightly kooky old lady in his eyes but nevertheless he still trusts her.
Similar Experiences Between Arnold and Me Throughout Sherman Alexie’s novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Arnold Spirit, the main character of the novel, tells us about his experiences and his feelings. Arnold lives in a poor Indian family, and he is different from other normal people from the beginning. Since he was born, he has had seizures, lopsided visions of his eyes and a stutter, so many people sometimes look down upon him. Nevertheless, he doesn’t give up on his life, and he tries his best to become a popular man.
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.
sophomores are on the verge of striking out into the world of college and ultimately adulthood. When contemplating his move to Reardan, Junior anticipates his community's negative reaction stating, “I figure my fellow tribal members are going to torture me” (47). Junior struggles with the knowledge he will be ostracized if he pursues his dreams, but chooses to proceed anyway. No worthwhile adventure comes without risk and sacrifice. Junior’s courage and determination in the face of challenge might inspire and inform sophomores weighing whether to pursue their own
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is a novel about Arnold Spirit (Junior), a boy from the Spokane Indian Reservation who decides to attend high school outside the reservation in order to have a better future. During that first year at Reardan High School, Arnold has to find his place at his all-white school, cope with his best friend Rowdy and most of his tribe disowning him, and endure the deaths of his grandmother, his father’s best friend, and his sister. Alexie touches upon issues of identity, otherness, alcoholism, death, and poverty in order to stay true to his characters and the cultures within the story. Through the identification of the role of the self, identity, and social behavior
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.
Throughout the story, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Junior goes through many ups and downs. This story is about how Junior, an indian from the Spokane reservation, decides to go to Rearden, the school for non-indians because of how run-down his school is and has trouble fitting in. Some of the ways Junior dealt with those downs include his uncanny sense of humor, his love for his friends, and the want to fit in and prove he’s just as good as everyone else at his new school.
In the Absolutely True Diary Junior expresses great growth in his view of himself and who he is, because he sees that he is not just someone who belongs to one group, but someone of many groups. This is conveyed, because Junior states, "I 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. And to the tribe of bookworms. And the tribe of cartoonists. And the tribe of chronic masturbators. And the tribe of teenage boys.
Based off many aspects of Junior’s conditions and ethnic background, other people and Junior have expectations of what his future will look like. An internal expectation that Junior has of himself is that he will follow the continuing cycle of his family. He believes he’ll never be able to go after his dreams in life and live on a reservation forever. “But we reservation Indians don’t get to realize our dreams. We don’t get those chances. Or