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Part-Time Indian Thesis

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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian written by Sherman Alexie is a novel that follows the journey of a young Native American boy named Junior, as he transfers to a new school and encounters unknown situations. At the beginning of the book, he struggles with an abundant amount of physical insecurity and sense of inferiority about his basketball skills. Nevertheless, after he transfers to Reardan High School, he forms new friendships and joins the school’s varsity basketball team. Due to these positive influences in his life, Junior gains more confidence in his looks while also becoming more determined and prideful in his basketball gameplay. Formerly, Junior was self-conscious about his physical appearance, and he believed he was …show more content…

This is proven to be true during Junior’s high school dance, when he wears his dad’s suit and is complimented by Penelope since it leads him to think that “every girl was immediately breathless at the sight of [his] bell-bottom slacks.” Thus, by claiming that girls fell in love with him because what his outfit, it indicates that he is more self-assured about his looks as he no longer describes himself in a belittling manner such as saying that he has too many teeth. Instead, he now perceives himself in a more confident way since he believes he is good looking enough to pull off an outfit that make girls “immediately breathless.” Furthermore, after Junior and Roger compete in a one-on-one game at basketball tryouts, Junior declares that “[he knows he’s] going to make the team.” When he finds out that this is true, he announces that “[he is] going to be [the coach’s] Weapon of Mass Destruction.” (143) This reveals that Junior has gained a more optimistic view about his basketball skills as he is confident enough to believe that he will make the team, instead of believing that he isn’t even good enough to become a high school basketball player. Also, by proclaiming that he will become “[the coach’s] Weapon of Mass Destruction” it proves that he now has the confidence to make to promise his coach he will become the ultimate player, instead of believing that he is inferior to

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170 Words | 1 Pages

The passage about the basketball game at Reardan Highschool is important because it reveals the theme of shame. In Absolutly True Diary, Junior feels ashamed of himself because he was over excited while celebrating a big win over his old school and his fellow indians at Welprint Highschool. Junior feels extra bad because of the fact that he did not only hurt his own old classmates but he also hurt the feelings of his best m;.;...,n nfriend Rowdy. At one point in the book Junior talks about how many points

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859 Words | 4 Pages

The book focuses on a young boy named Arnold Spirit who shows persistence and bravery as he defies all odds and strides towards a happier more successful life than his parents and ancestors before him. Arnold is a bright, inspiring young boy who grows up with little fortune and is destined to continue down the path of a poor, misunderstood Indian. However, his fate changes for the better when a spark lights the fire inside of him to strive to pursue a better, more flourishing life as he makes an extraordinary decision to transfer to an all-white school for a worthier education. However, the drastic change of schools puts a burden on his family to get him to school as well as leads to extreme bullying from not just kids at his new school but also from his fellow Indians in his hometown. In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, I learned that it doesn 't matter what your situation is and what you are expected to accomplish in your lifetime or what standards have already been set for you because you can be whoever you want to be with hard work, ambition, and confidence.

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286 Words | 2 Pages

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian is a novel by Sherman Alexie. The novel is about a kid named Junior. He is a Native American that resides in an Indian Reservation; It is also known as the rez. He isn’t happy with his life on the rez (no hope and being poor), so he decides it’s time for a change. Junior decides that he wants to transfer to a school called Reardan.

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748 Words | 3 Pages

Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by Ellen Forney that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live. Two samples of

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595 Words | 3 Pages

The book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part- Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, shows many examples of intolerance of another race. These intolerances of another race lead to the result of the word racism. Unlike all the other Indians on the reservation, Junior decided to be brave and go to an all-white school. Once Junior got to school,

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1121 Words | 5 Pages

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.

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1501 Words | 7 Pages

In Sherman Alexie’s novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, the main

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1536 Words | 7 Pages

In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Alexie’s purpose of the importance of having hope is recurring through Junior’s

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837 Words | 4 Pages

Terence Baraka Mr. Rodriguez Academic Lit. 21 April 2023 Title Opportunities come and go, but those who take advantage of those opportunities will always be the ones to succeed. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is a young adult fiction novel that explores the theme of opportunity and success.

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879 Words | 4 Pages

Shawn Lawton Alex Rodriguez Academic Literature 4/21/2023 Opportunities and success Do all people have an equal chance in life? No, there are many things that can hold somebody back. In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, a Novel by Sherman Alexie it speaks about the theme of opportunity and success.

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732 Words | 3 Pages

Antonio Huie-Pasigan Mr. Rodriguez Academic Literature 21, April 2023 The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Essay Imagine being poor with barely enough money for basic necessities like food, gas, and clothing. This is the daily life of Arnold “Junior” Spirit, a native american who goes to a white school, and is the protagonist of The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Coming from a Native American reservation in Spokane Washington, his social status conflicts with his school, but that doesn’t stop him.

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1175 Words | 5 Pages

Different Representations of Mourning and the Stages of Grief Although mourning will end, death’s grasp on one’s life will never falter. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is a realistic fiction novel that occurs on a Spokane reservation and a neighboring high school, Reardan. The protagonist, Arnold Spirit Junior, and his family experience significant loss after the deaths of Junior’s sister, Mary Spirit, and his grandmother, as well as a close family friend, Eugene.

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761 Words | 4 Pages

As Winston Churchill said,” Success is not final. Failure is not fatal”. It is the perseverance and hope to continue that counts. This is the story of a boy named Junior whose key is his hope. The Absolutely True Diary is the life story of a Arnold Spirit (Junior) and his efforts to break the stereotypes about Indians.

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681 Words | 3 Pages

Friendship is a necessity in life. Without friendship, people would feel lonely and would not have that backbone to lean on in life. The novel called,The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Is a story that explains the life and friendship of two middle school age boys. Junior is an Indian boy that lives on a reservation. Then there’s Rowdy, an indian kid that is Junior's best friend.l.

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702 Words | 3 Pages

Overcoming a challenge, not giving up, and not being afraid of change are a few themes demonstrated in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Perhaps the most prominent theme derived from the novel is defying the odds, or in other words rising above the expectations of others. Junior Spirit exemplifies this theme throughout the entirety of the book. As Junior is an Indian, he almost expects that he will never leave the reservation, become an alcoholic, and live in poverty like the other Indians on the reservation—only if he sits around and does not endeavor to change his fate. When Junior shares the backstory of his parents, he says that his mother and father came from “poor people who came from poor people who came from poor people, all the way back to the very first poor people” (11).

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