As a teenager it is difficult to make bold decisions by yourself. Especially if you are an Indian, like Arnold Spirit, who made a bold choice to find hope. Arnold is a fourteen year old drawler in search for a way out of the reservation to better his education. However, along the journey there are some obstacles he approaches because he is an Indian who is poor and has a disability. In the novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part- Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Arnold Spirit, otherwise known as Junior, demonstrates empowerment by leaving the reservation he lives on to find hope in an all white school called Reardan.
First and foremost, Junior shows empowerment by simply taking his teacher’s advice. One day, after Junior had hit Mr.P in the face with a textbook, he found Mr. P on his doorstep ready to have a conversation. However, Junior thought he had come back for his revenge but was the complete opposite. Mr.P said to Junior, “You’ve been fighting since you were born...And now, you have to take your hope and go somewhere where other people have hope”(Alexie, 43). Eventually Junior had thought about what Mr.P said to him and made his power or choice to leave the reservation to join Reardan high school as a freshman. This is something no other Indian would have had the confidence to do like Junior.
Similarly, Junior
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For instance, Junior had made the varsity basketball team for Reardan. He was considered their secret weapon. Then, for his first game he had to play against Wellpinit, his old school, and had to see all the people who were ashamed by him. Junior had said to himself during the game, “But, no, I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t foul him. That would be like giving up”(Alexie, 183). His short-term goal was to beat Rowdy and so Junior. They had one by forty-two points. He was determined and had the power to do it if he put hard work and effort into the game and it