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The Absolutely Diary Of A Part Time Indian Essay On Junior

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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

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Mr. p was one of the biggest inspirations to juniors actions. If it weren't for him Junior would be stuck at the rez forever and most likely become like all the other adults, drunk and angry. When junior began his journey to achieve his goals at Reardan it was very difficult. He was the only “different” kid there. Different meaning he was the only Indian in a school of white kids.

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I think you should come to Michigan soon! There are lots of great things to do here. We have the Great Lakes with lots of beaches along the coast. There is a baseball stadium and a football stadium. People like going up north in the winter.

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They also discuss how things are difficult on the rez now that Junior is going to school in Reardan. Junior discusses things of importance all the time so he is not conforming to rule three of the Code of Conduct.

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Throughout the novel the reader can see that Junior and Rowdy’s friendship slowly grows apart, which is what causes tensions between the two during the game. When the coach tells Junior he is guarding Rowdy that night, he says, “ I don’t think I can do this,”(188) which shows Junior’s lack of self-confidence. He starts the game and as Rowdy steals the ball, Junior chases after him. Junior says to the reader his calculations of what he needs to do in order to stop Rowdy. “I couldn’t foul him.

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Introduction The true diary of a part time Indian is a novel for young adults written by Sherman Alexie and illustrated by Ellen Forney, it was published in 2007 and has won several literature awards. The book tells a story of Arnold who is a hydrocephalic, a physical impairment that makes him to be picked on and bullied and which makes him vulnerable to seizures. One of the main struggles that Arnold faces in this novel is between his part-time Indian WellPoint self (Junior) and his half-white Reardan self (Arnold). On the reservation he is intimidated and picked on, while at Reardan he receives respect and chooses to be somebody.

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He also tells Junior of his dream of Junior standing on the Great Wall of China.” Saying that “[Junior] looked happy. And [Rowdy] was happy for [him]”. Rowdy and Junior accepted the fact that they wanted different things in their lives, but they were still happy for each other. After their friendship ended so abrupt, Junior and Rowdy were able to restore their relationship just as quickly, while at the same time, realizing what is best for each

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He realizes that his team has numerous economic and social advantages. Junior’s ability to address topics like poverty, racism and bullying with humor is a significant characteristic of his voice. For Junior, as well as his friends Rowdy and Penelope, part of growing up is recognizing that the world is more complicated than a strict division of opposites, it’s possible to be more than one thing—part of countless different “tribes”—is what enables him to unify his split identity and, as someone destined to travel beyond the reservation, navigate the world both figuratively and

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The continuous loss of relatives is too harsh for a boy, so Alexie uses a kind of “slight sorrow” to let Junior realize the weakness of life in the face of death. In addition, while cleaning the cemetery later, Junior says, “Reservations were meant to be prisons, you know? Indians were supposed to move onto reservations and die. We were supposed to disappear. But somehow or another, Indians have forgotten that reservations were meant to be death camps.”

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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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Junior’s father’s drinking problems and the lack of funds to afford decent living conditions on the reservation are prevalent issues throughout the book that provide an insight into this theme. This proves that the author has written this novel to exhibit the hardships of those in poverty are detrimental to a child’s future. First, the novel shows the hardships of poverty by showing the discrimination made against Junior. On page 86, Junior states he “remembered when I [he] used to be a human being,” (Alexie 86).

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As the novel progresses Junior is keen on going to the school that is separated from his reservation called Reardon High. Even though Junior wants to go to this school so he can achieve a better education, much backlash came from Juniors tribe as it seemed as if he was abandoning his culture. Juniors started at Rearden very worried about what everyone would think of him, and on his first day he punched a white kid in the face for telling an insensitive joke to him. Junior went home feeling confident in what he did but later started to realize that him trying to prove himself to everyone was unnecessary.

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594 Words | 3 Pages

After everyone compliments his suit, he realizes it is okay to be different. Another example of this lesson is when Junior goes to Reardon, knowing he is going to be the only Indian there. Junior knows he will be the only non-white student at reardon, yet he goes anyway. Even though he has to deal with being picked on, and standing out, he learns to cope with it. In conclusion, Junior is not afraid to be different, since he has had a lot of experience as always being different in his life.

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Junior loses a lot of friends and family at the young age of fourteen. He gets bullied because he was born with too much cerebral spinal fluid inside his skull, but he has his best friend Rowdy there to help him. Junior realizes that he needs to leave the reservation to get a better life for himself. He goes to a new school off the

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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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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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