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Summary Of The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian

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The removal of Native Americans was a tragedy felt by thousands as they were forced to give up not only their land but most of their culture as well. The natives were forced to abandon many traditions they had passed down for generations in order to adjust to the life the government wanted them to live. Native Americans continue to feel the effect of this event today. Their communities have been economically depressed for a long time. There are numerous accounts that assist this idea including Junior Spirit recognizing and explaining the hardships his family has gone through as a result of this movement. In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, the loss of native land produced many devastating effects on the …show more content…

Soon after Junior’s grandmother passes away, his dad’s friend, Eugene, dies as well. Junior insists “We Indians have LOST EVERYTHING. We lost our native land, we lost our languages, we lost our songs and dances. We lost each other. We only know how to lose and be lost” (Alexie 173). Junior becomes so angry because he knows more people will die. He is so accustomed to having things taken away from him that he knows this will happen again. Junior implies more customs and traditions will be attempted to be taken away from him because it already happens so often. The loss of native land has caused the loss of many rituals and practices as well.
In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, the loss of native land has shown to have devastating affects on the Native American community. However, Junior has been able to persevere through the hardships and carve a path to a successful life. He has always known what he needed in order for his future to be bright. He has held onto the small things that he is able to control and make the most of them. Even though the loss of his native land has taken a large toll on his community, he will not let that hold him back from being

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Alcohol is an epidemic within the Indian reservation as well as all over the world. There are many themes present in the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. One particular theme that is present throughout the story is that alcoholism kills and ruins lives. In this section I will use quotes to show and prove why Junior hates alcohol and how it affects him as well as others. My first quote is “Yep, my grandmother was pow-wow famous.

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Many even died of starvation with lack of food on the long journey. This removal also split apart families and ruined close relationships among friends. Not only did the Indian Removal affect Indians physically, but it also developed mental issues with in the tribes that would last forever. These Indian’s tribes forever lived with the memories of their friends and family being killed and continued to remember all of the cruelty they were put through being forced off of their

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The destruction of the Sioux’s native land had a great impact on their idea of home. When the Wasichus destroyed pieces of the physical being of their home, they also destroyed the emotional and mental ideas of home as well. The killing of the bison, had a very strong impact on the tribe, as well as when the whites forced the Sioux, to conform to their ideals of living, mainly by forcing them to live in the square houses.

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Merrell’s article proves the point that the lives of the Native Americans drastically changed just as the Europeans had. In order to survive, the Native Americans and Europeans had to work for the greater good. Throughout the article, these ideas are explained in more detail and uncover that the Indians were put into a new world just as the Europeans were, whether they wanted change or

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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

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