ipl-logo

Going Off The Reservation By Sherman Alexie Chapter Summaries

694 Words3 Pages

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 …show more content…

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 …show more content…

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

Show More
Related
395 Words | 2 Pages

Junior is a young American Indian who had grown up on a reservation in the western United States. As he grew older, he realized that living on the reservation would lead him nowhere. His only chance of hope at a better life is to leave “the Rez”. Sherman Alexie perfectly captures the culture of an American Indian in his novel, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”, by introducing white culture by sending Junior to Reardan High School. Junior’s experience in Reardan allows him to draw conclusions about his own culture and Alexie has surely done research on American Indian culture.

Read More
1058 Words | 5 Pages

In the beginning of the book, Junior says that living on the reservation has generations of Indians losing hope. They accept their lives as their ancestors did.. His parents couldn't follow their dreams because they didn't have a support system. Junior is the example of how one can break the path of the traditional life on the reservation if one has the motivation and a good support system. Junior  had the love and emotional support of his parents and was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to attend a prestigious  Prep school based on the suggestion of Mr. P, a teacher at the rez school.

Read More
804 Words | 4 Pages

Junior being born on the Reservation has always been poor and put down by others. He has had a horrible life with pain coming from a new direction each day but has coped with it that is why he is still alive today to write this book. Although he may or may not admit it, the ways he coped with his life were not great after all. When faced with a

Read More
682 Words | 3 Pages

Whether he is with friends or Penelope, or with his family, he acts very different, depending on who they are. Junior says “ [hus] mother and father are the twin suns around which [he] orbit, and [his] world would EXPLODE without them.” To Junior, he views his parents as people who he can’t live without. His relationship with friends

Read More
798 Words | 4 Pages

This shows how his environment has changed him, and even when it came to his father's death, he didn't even shed a tear, he was just emotionally incapable, and he even was relieved that his father had

Read More
671 Words | 3 Pages

He realizes that his team has numerous economic and social advantages. Junior’s ability to address topics like poverty, racism and bullying with humor is a significant characteristic of his voice. For Junior, as well as his friends Rowdy and Penelope, part of growing up is recognizing that the world is more complicated than a strict division of opposites, it’s possible to be more than one thing—part of countless different “tribes”—is what enables him to unify his split identity and, as someone destined to travel beyond the reservation, navigate the world both figuratively and

Read More
744 Words | 3 Pages

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

Read More
687 Words | 3 Pages

Rowdy and Junior connected by both being on the reservation in Washington, even with having unique personalities, they were strong. Junior went to a new school outside the reservation to improve his education. The relationship broke. This incident strengthened

Read More
1121 Words | 5 Pages

Faced with many obstacles from poverty to racial stereotypes, Junior must override them if he is to make his life better than that of fellow Indians. Interestingly, rather than letting the obstacles hold him back Junior understands that his destiny is in his own hands and he must celebrate who he is even if it means fighting. In the end, we see a boy who have managed to overcome all hardships to get to the top, even if it means making tough choices such as changing schools, therefore is could be seen that race and stereotypes only made Junior

Read More
634 Words | 3 Pages

Junior’s father’s drinking problems and the lack of funds to afford decent living conditions on the reservation are prevalent issues throughout the book that provide an insight into this theme. This proves that the author has written this novel to exhibit the hardships of those in poverty are detrimental to a child’s future. First, the novel shows the hardships of poverty by showing the discrimination made against Junior. On page 86, Junior states he “remembered when I [he] used to be a human being,” (Alexie 86).

Read More
735 Words | 3 Pages

Junior loses a lot of friends and family at the young age of fourteen. He gets bullied because he was born with too much cerebral spinal fluid inside his skull, but he has his best friend Rowdy there to help him. Junior realizes that he needs to leave the reservation to get a better life for himself. He goes to a new school off the

Read More
736 Words | 3 Pages

Rowdy gets very angry with Junior for leaving the reservation. The Indians have a great sense of pride so when Junior went to school at Reardan it was seen as him betraying those close to him like Rowdy. His family didn’t feel this way but it is shown in two pictures. (pg 53 and 182 ) During the basketball rematch of Reardan and Wellpinit, he feels bad after they beat them because he knows how bad it is growing up on the Indian reservation

Read More
1051 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout the novel, Junior highlights the importance of his identity, but is still unable to choose a “tribe” to remain with. Junior’s alternating identity is vital throughout the story, which establishes his maturity, and ultimately makes Junior a stronger person. Junior was born an Indian, but now must choose between sticking with tradition, or making a better life for himself, but his true identity is challenged by none other than the people he cares about most, causing Junior to eventually succeed . Throughout the story, Junior is consistently set back and dismissed by all aspects of life, whether it be death, making friends, or school. The conflict is that Junior is loved at his new school by many, but loved even more at home where he has a lesser chance of succeeding; this being demonstrated by Junior stating, “I feel like being Indian was my job, but it was only a part-time job.

Read More
3124 Words | 13 Pages

The Native American identity is an intermingling of the new American culture and its own storied history. Its own past with the greater American culture following colonialism creates an interaction within the self-identity of native Americans, one that has to do with their homeland and its placement in the United States. This conflict creates a lowered perception within the identity of the reservation, which both envies and despises its counterparts for their flourishment in society. In Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie, the author tells the tale of Thomas Buildsthefire and his band, aptly named Reservation Blue, in their journey towards musical greatness. Although the group is extremely talented, they are held back by the internal struggles

Read More
858 Words | 4 Pages

He is devastated when his father dies and feels completely

Read More

More about Going Off The Reservation By Sherman Alexie Chapter Summaries

Open Document