Going Off The Reservation By Sherman Alexie Chapter Summaries

Thesis: Junior’s story is a powerful one with trials and tribulations that many of us can relate to; the author Sherman Alexie is able to capture these dynamics of teenage life by using raw and relatable dialogue. In this review, I will summarize the story, review the issues Junior faces, go over the strengths and weaknesses of the writing, and lastly share my opinion of the book.

Writer Sherman Alexie starts the book by introducing us to Junior, a Native American teen living on the Spokane Indian Reservation. When Junior was born, he had too much cerebrospinal fluid, giving him many physical problems, along with brain damage. In his already poverty stricken community, he also faced large issues including alcoholism and depression, which had

Junior's best friend Rowdy abandoned him, and called him a traitor for going off the reservation. Though Reardan was a nice school, Junior found inequality, and prejudice there. He talked about getting bullied before people in his school even knew him, simply because of where he came from, and what he looked like. He experienced racial slurs, toxic teachers who displayed attitudes of dissent and disfavor towards him, not having proper transportation options to get to school, and many more notable issues. This was a very interesting effect of the writing that made the story successful in showing the characters' problems. It felt relatable, and justified the general problems of being a teenager, school, racial inequality, and anything like

A big part of the story for me, was when he explained his feelings of grief from losing his grandma and sister. Even though his grandmother died a peaceful death, his sister died from alcoholism. She had a party in a trailer and it burned to the ground before she could even wake up. In Chapter 27, Junior’s sister dies and they are holding a wake for her. During the wake, he said: “I was cold. Just a little freezing in. Like there was a snowstorm blowing through my chest. But all that fog and greasy glass disappeared when they lowered my sister’s coffin into the grave”. The quote showed the deeply emotional feelings people may have from losing a loved one. It really makes the reader, whether they have experienced similar suffering or not, have some sympathy towards Junior. When he goes through grief, although outcasted as a traitor in the reservation, people grieve with him. They give him respect in a time of