Orion Williams Michael English 1, Per 5 24 March 2023 Title of Paper In Sherman Alexie’s novel, “The Absolutely Diary of a Part-Time Indian” Junior is a young boy who was born with a disability known as hydrocephalus, often referred to by Junior as “Brain Grease”. Even with this disability and the many difficulties he experienced, Junior changes and matures through his many experiences. Junior's identity has been shaped by the many hardships he has faced, such as the difficulties in his relationships, the violence he experiences and perceived, and the death of his loved ones. Junior has many relationships throughout the novel. Of these relationships, many helped to develop junior's identity. The most prominent of the relationships that have helped to shape Junior's identity is Rowdy's. Rowdy is junior's childhood friend who, throughout the novel, is viewed as a violent kid, whilst this may be true in some cases, it's certainly not Rowdy's whole character, Junior has been able to see Rowdy for who he is, and in turn, they grew to become good friends. Junior and Rowdy's relationship has had many hardships, such as the separation when Junior decided he wanted to go to school in Riordan. This most prominently affected the relationship as rowdy viewed it as Junior betraying him. Junior and Rowdy's relationship and the many others seen throughout …show more content…
Junior throughout the novel experiences many instances of violence, whether it be direct or indirect, one of these instances of violence that Junior has received could be the racism he experienced in Riordan. As for the violence that Junior has indirectly experienced, there are many instances, most prominent of these would be the death of his dad's friend Eugene, as well as the violence that comes from the alcoholism on the reservation. These experiences are some of the significant factors that have played a role in growing Junior's