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A Part-Time Indian

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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is an incredible novel about hope and joy -- about who has it and who doesn't, how hard life can be when hope and joy leaves. And how life can change when hope and joy reappears.. This book is an autobiographical depiction of what life on a reservation is like. It is both bleak and hopeful, while also being heartrending and uplifting. The narrator of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is hilarious! He has such a great sense of humor that made the book even more enjoyable. He is a fourteen-year-old Native kid named Arnold Spirit, Jr., a character based in part of Sherman Alexie, the author’s, experiences growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington. Arnold …show more content…

He wears chunky, lopsided glasses. His head and body look like Sputnik on a toothpick. When he doesn’t stutter, he lisps because of his 10 extra teeth. Aside from his physical appearance, he is funny, sensitive and a budding cartoon artist. He spends a lot of time in his room drawing cartoons because of how badly he gets teased and beaten. He says, “I think the world is a series of broken dams and floods, and my cartoons are tiny little lifeboats” on page 6. He uses drawing cartoons as an escape from his painful reality. He also uses it to understand life situations better and as a comical outlet to either make jokes about himself or others, the way that he visualizes it. He also says, “I take them seriously. I use them to understand the world. I use them to make fun of the world. To make fun of people. And sometimes I draw people because they’re my friends and family. And I want to honor them” on page 95. Arnold is not only a teenage Indian going through all of the usual coming of age stuff, he is also a hydrocephalic; ‘a condition in which there is an abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) within the brain. This typically causes increased pressure inside the …show more content…

In my opinion, most of these reasons are complete bullshit and I could rant about this all day long (I know Mrs. Rubin is already tired of hearing me rant about controversial topics so I’ll make it quick for you guys) but I would think that parents would want their children to be educated about topics like this because they are real world things that happen on a daily basis! I know I’m not closing my kids off to stuff like this when I’m a parent. I want my kids to know how serious drugs and alcohol are so they take it seriously. I want them to know that some words are offensive to people and their culture. I want my kids to be sexually educated! I understand that I am not a parent yet but I would think that parents would want the best for their kids and them being educated on things like this is a huge part of it. And I feel that 9th grade is the perfect time to start talking about it. You do not have to agree with me or even take my advice but let me tell you something; I am 18 years old and I wish I read this book in school when I was a freshman. It really does educate you and make you become more aware of the other parts of

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336 Words | 2 Pages

In “The Absolutely True Dairy of Part Time Indian” there was a lot of struggling throughout the book. Junior, who was also known as Arnold Spirit. He had a lot of difficulty and had to go through a lot of struggling more over with the illness that he was born with. He was born with some brain damages, a brain grease called hydrocephalic. He also had some other illnesses seizures that was susceptible, even though he contact with doctor and was doing fine for few year but the doctor said it was possible for his seizures to be active.

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781 Words | 4 Pages

It is unsuited for school age group. Besides, this book uses offensive words such as fuck, asshole, nigger and pussy etc. For example, in the book Arnold admits about masturbation “If there were a Professional Masturbator League, I’d get drafted number one and make millions of dollars” (Alexie 26). For this reason, the book is not appropriate for middle schools. For children, they are not capable enough to absorb these kinds of information from the book.

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492 Words | 2 Pages

Statements like these along with other topics discussed in the novel, are important for teens to know the reality of. The book has been banned for its portrayal of subjects like drugs, drinking, and violence, but banning the book because of these topics pushes the belief that if kids don’t know about something, they won’t try it. This belief is not shared by everyone though, banning the book for that reason pushes political ideals onto people who may not support

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859 Words | 4 Pages

The book focuses on a young boy named Arnold Spirit who shows persistence and bravery as he defies all odds and strides towards a happier more successful life than his parents and ancestors before him. Arnold is a bright, inspiring young boy who grows up with little fortune and is destined to continue down the path of a poor, misunderstood Indian. However, his fate changes for the better when a spark lights the fire inside of him to strive to pursue a better, more flourishing life as he makes an extraordinary decision to transfer to an all-white school for a worthier education. However, the drastic change of schools puts a burden on his family to get him to school as well as leads to extreme bullying from not just kids at his new school but also from his fellow Indians in his hometown. In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, I learned that it doesn 't matter what your situation is and what you are expected to accomplish in your lifetime or what standards have already been set for you because you can be whoever you want to be with hard work, ambition, and confidence.

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938 Words | 4 Pages

As a whole, the comic’s illustrations are cartoonish. However, they are drawn to imitate how Matthew Inman really views himself. One critical thing that adds to the cartoonish element of the illustration style is the runner that represents Inman. He is illustrated as an overweight man with only four fingers.

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989 Words | 4 Pages

The novel Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, By Sherman Alexie it show how Indians or African Americans struggle with who they are and who they want to be. Arnold learns how to live through and with his struggles because of how his friends accepted and helped him. In this book Alexie shows how all of Arnold’s friends helped him through different aspects in life. If he didn’t have those friends than his life would have been so much harder.

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796 Words | 4 Pages

“The state of kids publishing is such that it’s perfectly reasonable to be concerned about what agenda-driven and/or prurient content they’re peddling.” (Hemingway) This means it is very reasonable for everyone to be concerned about what the kids and young adults are reading. If parents are not concerned about what their child is reading, their child will follow many bad influences from books they have read. There are many influential books such as The Outsiders, by S.E Hinton that should be banned.

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480 Words | 2 Pages

Schools will at times ban certain books due to age restrictions, or will if it doesn't go with the school's intentions. This happens to popular author Stevin King with many of his books being banned from schools. As Mr.King describes” If you are not careful and diligent about defending the right of your children to read, there won't be much left, especially at the junior-high level where kids begin to develop a lively life of the mind, but books about heroic boys who come off the bench to hit home runs in the bottom of the ninth and shy girls with good personalities who finally get that big prom date with the boy of their dreams. Is this what you want for your kids, keeping in mind that controversy and surprise -- sometimes even shock -- are often the whetstones on which young minds are sharpened?” Because of how schools teach and the compulsory subjects you learn, having the opportunity to learn something on your own without the censorship of the school will help students in the long run.

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657 Words | 3 Pages

A person’s experience in life and the way they are raised as a child can have many influence on who they become as an adult. However, that doesn’t mean we should be that stereotype that everyone else believes we should be. In the book, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie. Alexie is a Spokane Indian born and raised in the Spokane Indian Reservation. This story is about a Spokane Indian Boy who should deal with medical problems and his journey to be successful.

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1121 Words | 5 Pages

In his book the Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie portrays a teenage boy, Arnold Spirit (junior) living in white man’s world, and he must struggle to overcome racism and stereotypes if he must achieve his dreams. In the book, Junior faces a myriad of misfortunes at his former school in ‘the rez’ (reservation), which occurs as he struggles to escape from racial and stereotypical expectations about Indians. For Junior he must weigh between accepting what is expected of him as an Indian or fight against those forces and proof his peers and teachers wrong. Therefore, from the time Junior is in school at reservation up to the time he decides to attend a neighboring school in Rearden, we see a teenager who is facing tough consequences for attempting to go against the racial stereotypes.

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650 Words | 3 Pages

There are many ups and downs, and lots of themes present in the, “Absolute True Diary of a Part Time Indian.” One theme in particular that is interesting throughout the story is that sometimes one can lose oneself, so one just has to get out and know where to find it again.

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761 Words | 4 Pages

As Winston Churchill said,” Success is not final. Failure is not fatal”. It is the perseverance and hope to continue that counts. This is the story of a boy named Junior whose key is his hope. The Absolutely True Diary is the life story of a Arnold Spirit (Junior) and his efforts to break the stereotypes about Indians.

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255 Words | 2 Pages

The adjective part-time in the novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian is useful in alluding to the double life standards led by the protagonist. The novel presents the reader with a lovable 14-year old narrator called Arnold Spirit, Jr. a native character living on an Indian Reservation in Wellpinit. Arnold tired of living on the reservation where other students pick on him constantly, decides to switch schools. That is where I think the troubles and woes of the narrator start from, and he begins to live a somewhat a part-time life. Arnold’s new school is white-dominated and 22 miles away from the Indian Reservation where he lived.

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1174 Words | 5 Pages

Students can use books to grow their knowledge about our everyday day life. “It is important to help students see that everyone 's view counts” (Scales). By allowing students to see different points of views they’re able to experience situations unfamiliar to them and learn about different cultures and societies. If they don’t have the opportunity to read these books then they might miss out on these vital lessons. Children need to know about sensitive topics and strong ideas.

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609 Words | 3 Pages

A parent or the student should be the one who decided whether or not the book is appropriate. Also, when a child is sheltered from the world, a book with just a bit of adult material could help them understand what really happens. It could prepare them so when they do become older and get a job, the world doesn’t put them into complete shock. Taken from Common Reasons for Banning Books, “…it is important that the reader makes his/her judgments on the book.” To elaborate on this, another person shouldn’t tell a student what and what not to read.

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