The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian Thesis

Junior and the Challenges of Poverty V.S Privilege Poverty in the United States can be found in multiple locations nationwide, it can also be found on a majority of Indian reservations. In the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, the main character Junior experiences the harsh realities of poverty. Through the course of the book, Junior goes through a variety of challenges which help him see the similarities and differences of poverty and privilege. He discovers that neither poverty nor privilege defines who an individual is. In the beginning of the book Junior decides to leave his school on the reservation for a better education at an all-white high school in Reardan “whose mascot was an Indian, thereby making me the only other indian in town” (Alexie 56). Junior’s poverty makes him nervous about attending this school because he has so little money in a school where people are rich. This is the main difference between the two. “My parents gave me just enough money so that I could pretend to have more money than I did.” (Alexie 199). Junior tries to keep his poverty hidden from everyone at

There are problems with being privileged too. Junior and his new friends decided to go get pancakes at a diner after their school dance was over. In the parking lot after they were done Penelope asked Junior if he was poor and he realized “She was being my friend. Being a really good friend, in fact. She was concerned about me.” (Alexie 127). The rich white people didn't care about their new friend being poor. They didn’t think he was pathetic and were friends with him anyway. After this moment Junior became closer to Roger and Penelope and he learned being white and rich can be just as bad as being an Indian on a reservation. He learns Penelope is bulimic and Gordy has a hard time relating to others. Junior understands that he's not alone and other people are struggling