Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian Analysis

Think, what are the roles of oppression and privilege in our society? The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian is a book about a boy named Arnold Spirit growing up as an Indian boy going to a white high school and includes some of the oppression he faces as an indian. In Absolute True Diary the author, Sherman Alexie, Seems to be conveying that oppression plays a large role in people's unhappiness, while Privilege is not necessarily a source of joy, with the examples of Rowdy, Arnold and Penelope.

Rowdy is Arnold’s old friend before he transferet schools. Rowdy is oppressed and that is what makes him so unhappy all the time. Rowdy’s father beats him. Alexie writes early on in the book that “His father is drinking hard and is throwing

Alexie says, again, very early on in the book, that “It sucks to be poor, it sucks to feel that you somehow deserve to be poor. You start believing that you’re poor because your stupid and ugly… And because you’re indian you start believing you’re destined to be poor” (13). This quote may speak for itself on how the oppression of poverty effects Arnold in a negative way, a way that almost feels like a deep pit of despair. Alexie then writes this about Arnold's relationship with his parents: “My mother and father are drunks, too, but they aren't mean like that. They sometimes ignore me, they sometimes yell at me. But they never, ever, never, ever hit me” (16). This is Arnold comparing his parents method of punishment to Rowdy’s father. While Arnold feels fortunate it doesn't ever seem to express any happiness to this advantage, he simply compares Rowdy’s own situation to his own. While Arnold feels the privilege that his loving parents give him he still feels overwhelming unhappiness from his poverty. We should also compare the case of someone relatively oppression