This story is written by Sherman Alexie and is a story of hope for the children of different ethnicity. Hope for them to merge in the American society. The author in the story presents himself as a child having a dream to blend in the American society and by sticking to his dream he grew among the children of his same background. Sherman is a Native American Indian and is expected to be slow and “stupid”. The story is interesting.
The reservation and the Indians there did not adapt the ideas of outside, like reading. By comparing it to a fence, the narrator shows that the Indians remained separate, even though they were all part of the same country, or paragraph, so to
Each individual that is described as ‘the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes, and the ones who see things differently’ are people who don’t fit in society and those who would not likely be accepted by others but can be described as innovators. However, the ones who see things differently would be applied to Sherman Alexie, an author, poet, and Native America of the Spokane/Coeur d’Alene from the Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, WA. He experienced a misfit as a teen of racial groups and struggle of finding himself in a new world that led him to write The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, with a quote, “Life is a constant struggle between being an individual and being a member
With the majority of the American Indian population living in urban environments instead of on reservation lands, American Indian youth and adolescence often struggle with understanding their personal identity. The 1993 film Grandfather Sky follows the story of a young Navajo teenager named Charlie who is sent to live on the reservation with his uncle Ben after being arrested several times in his hometown of Denver, Colorado. Charlie’s experiences illustrate the major lifestyle differences between living in an urban city and on traditional reservation lands and make clear the effects that these lifestyle factors have on the overall wellbeing of American Indian youth. As the beginning scenes of Grandfather Sky suggest, while living in the city, Charlie was largely unaccepted and misunderstood due to the color of his skin and his cultural association.
He exclaimed, “Those who failed were ceremonially accepted by other Indians and appropriately pitied by non-Indians” (Alexie 13). The other kids on the reservation were instructed to give up and to not push to learn anything that did not concern the native people. When children are taught such ideals at an early age, it plants itself within them through most of their lives if they stay in that society. There are few that can break away from these kind of ideals, but like Alexie it all depends on the kind of household they grew up in and if their parents followed the expectations set by the community. Alexie was fortunate enough to be raised differently than the other kids and had a mind not trapped within the walls of societies’ expectations.
Alcohol is an epidemic within the Indian reservation as well as all over the world. There are many themes present in the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. One particular theme that is present throughout the story is that alcoholism kills and ruins lives. In this section I will use quotes to show and prove why Junior hates alcohol and how it affects him as well as others. My first quote is “Yep, my grandmother was pow-wow famous.
In his book the Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie portrays a teenage boy, Arnold Spirit (junior) living in white man’s world, and he must struggle to overcome racism and stereotypes if he must achieve his dreams. In the book, Junior faces a myriad of misfortunes at his former school in ‘the rez’ (reservation), which occurs as he struggles to escape from racial and stereotypical expectations about Indians. For Junior he must weigh between accepting what is expected of him as an Indian or fight against those forces and proof his peers and teachers wrong. Therefore, from the time Junior is in school at reservation up to the time he decides to attend a neighboring school in Rearden, we see a teenager who is facing tough consequences for attempting to go against the racial stereotypes.
If he’d been anything an Indian boy living on the reservation he might have been called a prodigy. But he is an Indian boy living on the reservation and is simply an oddity.” Sherman Alexie
On the reservation, people look at Junior as some tall, stupid, average Native American fulfilling his fate to be average. The average Native American on the reservation has grown up on there their whole life and will never leave. Junior really appreciates the value of education so when Junior’s teacher Mr.P talks to Junior about leaving the rez school to then go to then Reardan high school Junior takes the opportunity. During the first couple of day Junior feels as though hw doesn’t belong. “Reardan was the opposite.
Life on the reservation for the Sioux was very different from their traditional life. Everyone was treated the same in the reservations, which were run by government agents. Their means of regarding everyone as equal was to break down the tribal government. No longer would there be one tribal chief who would lead them all. There was a saying in the reservation that went, “Every man a chief.”
Being a writer of many different styles, Sherman Alexie started off as a poet before writing novels and short stories. His poetic manner continues in the story “Indian Education”. He has a wide array of dry statements mixed with metaphors and statements that are not meant to be taken literally. The trend for each years is that he starts off dry and literal and ends poetic and metaphorical. His description of his interactions with the “white girl” in seventh grade is a great example.
In The Way To Rainy Mountain by N. Scott Momaday, Momaday uses stylistic devices and rhetorical strategies such as imagery, sensory details, and alliteration. The use of alliteration helps Momaday create the vivid imagery of the piece by displaying the active environment with the “brittle and brown grass“, “willow and witch hazel” and “Great green” grasshoppers. Through this, the great plain in Oklahoma is displayed as a landmark with an overactive and lively nature. Furthermore, sensory details are used by Momaday listing the “steaming foliage”, “cold rains of autumn”, the sound of “the frogs away by the river” and feeling “ the motion of the air.” Such stylistic devices help the author write his eulogy to his grandmother, by describing all the sights he saw, that his grandmother Aho once saw.
When his second grade teacher calls him “indian, indian, indian,” Victor says, “Yes, I am. I am Indian. Indian, I am” (Alexei 173). The conversation portrays parallelism in that Victor’s repetition echoes the way his teacher repeats “Indian”. Alexei’s use of a capitalization change portrays Victor’s desire to identify as Indian while the white community tries to assimilate him.
In Sherman Alexie’s short stories (and poems), there usually three central themes that the story rotates. In this paper, I will be exploring how he (Alexie) explores the themes losing culture, a cycle of regret, and using drugs (mainly alcohol) to escape. In Indian Education, the short story, Alexie seems to show that whenever young Victor tries to express himself through his culture, he is punished. Take the section “First Grade” for example. In first grade, Junior (the main character and narrator) says that “The little warrior in me roared to life that day..” and makes comparisons to traditional Native American warriors, such as describing the brusies on the other boy’s face as “war paint” or how Junior chants “it’s a good day to die”, which is phrase typically associated with Crazy Horse, who was a Native American chief.
Despite the negative stereotype of American Indians, the objections and disapproval of fellow Natives, and the criticism of others, Sherman Alexie went on to become a successful writer that has inspired many. Alexie overcame many obstacles that would have deterred him from his goal, but he was able to remain steadfast and continue on in his pursuit of writing. As a result, he has published many literary works that include several short stories, poems, and a variety of novels. He allows his culture to seep into his writing, and continues to inspire young American Indians who also desire the path of knowledge.
