A Part-Time Indian Setting

The Rez is a setting the author uses to show us the theme “chasing hope can change a person’s life.” An example from The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie were the theme “chasing hope can change a person’s life.” Is when Junior was suspended from school and he was at home sitting on the front porch of his house. Mr. P walks up to Junior. Mr. P talks to Junior about his sister and how she had hope before she lived in the basement. He told Junior how she wanted to be a famous writer who wrote romance novels. Mr. P told Junior how she was really smart even smarter than Junior. Junior learned from Mr. P that “Mary was a bright shining star. And then she faded year by year until you could barely see her anymore.”(pg 40)

Junior then gets an idea to go to Reardan high school so he can be with people with hope. Giving him a better future for him by a better education so he can have a good job and life when he is older. Going to Reardan will change Junior because he has a better chance he won’t turn out like his the other indians on the rez. Who had hope but got brought down because they thought they were to poor. The rez is also a setting that Sherman Alexie uses to help show us Junior’s development as a character. Junior on the rez shows us how much perseverance and courage he has when deciding to go to a white school. When no other indian has gone or left the rez to another school. Junior’s character of perseverance is seen when he tells his best friend Rowdy about transferring schools. When Rowdy hears what he says he tells junior he is a white lover and a trader to their tribe.This takes a lot of perseverance and courage for a person to still go to Reardan. Especially a indian who is apart of a tribe and is the first to leave the rez for another school. These characteristics that are seen in the setting help us see how junior is a very hardworking and determined

The only difference is that Junior is different from the other indians on the rez. He’s not as strong as most of them and gets beat up more because of it. Because most of the indians on the rez just don’t like Junior for no good reason, maybe because he’s smarter, or may look different. He’s also smart but goes to Wellpinit school with school books older than his mother. Holding him back from his full potential. Making life and school tough on the rez just like the day he was born. Fighting for his life since the day he was put on this earth because of the amount of “cerebral spinal fluid inside (his) skull.”(pg 1) Making him different from the other Spokane indians because of his seizures, teeth, glasses, looks. Making him an easy target for bullying ever since he was young. Being a Spokane indian for Junior also makes school tough, because of the poor education system they have at the Wellpinit school. Sense most of the reservation can’t afford a better education program. Making life tough for a Spokane indian like Junior. A second example of the word choice is brain grease; this word choice helps shows us Junior’s development. Junior was ”born with too much grease inside (his) skull.”(pg 1) This specific word brain grease or grease shows how Junior likes to simplify thing. He