Symbolism In The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian

Have you ever wanted something so bad but the people around you won’t let you get it? In the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie this is exactly what happens. The main character is named Arnold who is a Native American that lives on a very poor reservation. He draws cartoons as a symbols of his dreams. Most of the cartoons he draws are very funny but truly have a deeper meaning. The symbol develops the theme that anybody can accomplish anything. At the climax of the story Arnold has to make the biggest decision of his life. He needs to decide whether he should stay with his friends and family, or take a leap of faith into the unknown and depend on luck to find hope (43). Arnold is different from the other kids. He wants a future. He wants a change. He can hardly stand staying in the reservation being in poverty, misunderstood, and already having his future decided for him: to be a poor, uneducated, bullied Indian. At the same time, he knows that if he leaves to go to a different school, everybody on the Rez will shun him.

He no longer knows what he is. He doesn’t know if he is a penniless Indian or a want to be rich white kid (59). When Arnold got to his homeroom, his eyes, like magnets, laid sight on the prettiest girl that he had ever seen. All of the sudden his knees went weak and he could hardly breathe. When he got to his seat, she turned around and said, “My name is Penelope! What’s your name?”(59). He replied, and at that moment he forgot all about the mean, judgmental looks he had gotten in the halls and knew that Penelope was his hope, what he had come to Reardan looking