Literary Analysis: Eleanor & Park and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
In both novels you will see characters who face troubles and hard times because of bullying, racism and poverty, these themes are what help bring out the importance in both stories. You can scale the three themes down into one main category bullying, because people of different races and people who come from poverty create the perfect breeding ground for a bully. Arnold, Eleanor, and Park all face these three challenges, but in the end it makes them stronger.
Bullying affects 28% of students in grades 6-12 and 20% of students in grades 9-12.(Stopbullying.gov) There are different types of bullying, the most common being verbal and social bullying. According
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Eleanor doesn 't live in a great house. Her step-father, Richie, is a drunk and abuses her mother. He is also verbally and mentally abusive to Eleanor and her siblings. There are two quotes that show this, one is found in chapter 10, paragraph 21-22, "A horrible thought came to her, and she got up, stumbling over the kids and the blankets. She opened the door and smelled bacon. Which meant that her mother was alive" and in chapter 18, paragraph 42, "So, yeah, I have a terrible stepdad, and I don 't have a phone, and sometimes when we 're out of dish soap, I wash my hair with flea and tick shampoo…". The first quote is just crazy to me, how scary would it be to have to wake up in the morning and wonder if your mother made it through the night. The second quote shows how big of a problem her level of poverty is and that she is neglected as a child.
In the end, racism and poverty can be summed up under one major theme, bullying. Racism is a form a bullying, its name calling which is the highest form of bullying. In both novels even people who are your friends will also make comments and 'jokes ' about your race. Poverty also aids in bullying. People who are usually poor don’t have really nice things and their hygiene might not be up to par. They may dress 'funny ' but its because that’s all they have. The novels relate to today society because bullying, racism and poverty are a big deal, even in the