Two Different Worlds “Life is a constant struggle between being an individual and being a member of the community.” (Alexie 132). Junior is the protagonist in the Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian written by Sherman Alexie. Through his time living on the reservation, he has experienced many hardships. Junior has just made the biggest decision in his life by choosing to move schools. Throughout the book, Junior faces many challenges with his identity. Junior navigates his way through the challenges between living on the reservation and going to school in Reardan by playing basketball and drawing cartoons. Making a change like Junior did takes a lot of courage. Junior started out the year going to his school on the reservation, he soon …show more content…
Ever since Junior’s sister Mary had run away from the reservation with her new boyfriend, Junior’s family had been struggling. Nobody expected her to do that. When Rowdy found out that she fled, he blamed it all on Junior for putting too much pressure on her ever since he decided to move schools to try and better his life. But this was the time for Junior to make everything better. Being an Indian and the weakling who always gets picked on, this was his time to shine. He was on the varsity basketball team and this was the game that mattered the most, playing Wellpinit, but most importantly playing Rowdy. The whole game was a time of ups and downs, but Junior played the best game of his life that night. He proved to his family and old friends just how good he was. This really shows how changing one thing in your life can lead to many amazing opportunities. In conclusion, Junior used basketball and drawing as his escape from the challenges that he faced from the reservation and switching to a new school. It takes a lot of bravery for someone to make a decision like Junior did. But if you don’t make the changes that you need to, then you won’t get the results that you