Part-Time Indian Thesis

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

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