Arnold’s journey to the off-reservation school, Reardan would’ve been very different without friendships with his lifelong friend Rowdy, and his new friends at Reardan, the sweet Penelope, ex-bully Roger, and nerdy Gordy. In the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, author Sherman Alexie shows different aspects of friendship by putting Arnold in situations that have him trust in others, show independence, and teach him to not judge people based on first impressions alone. Arnold’s friends are his best secret-keepers, and he keeps their secrets, too, helping him establish trust in his relationships. When Arnold witnesses his crush, and the most popular girl in school, Penelope, throwing up in the bathroom, he keeps her secret. When they were younger, and Arnold told Rowdy about his childhood crush, Rowdy thought he was ridiculous, but,“...he didn’t tell anybody. Rowdy was my secret keeper” (Alexie 76). After Arnold pretended to forget his wallet during their midnight trip to the diner, Penelope and Roger find out that he is poor, and Penelope assures him that, “He’s not going to tell anybody. Roger likes you” (127). When Arnold’s told his friends his secrets, he put trust …show more content…
Specifically, when Arnold meets Gordy in science class and tries to talk to him, he is initially blown off. Later, when Arnold tries to be friendly again, he realizes that Gordy isn’t super rude, and that they actually have a lot in common, “I was lonely and sad and isolated and terrified. Just like Gordy” (94). Gordy also realizes how much he likes Arnold, “And so we did become friends” (94). Additionally, towards the beginning of Arnold’s Reardan experience, he thought of Roger as a bully, before, “...Roger, being of kind heart and generous pocket, and a little bit racist, drove me home that night” (129). Through Roger and Gordy, Arnold learns not to judge people solely on first