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The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian Analysis

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Hello Sherman Alexie, I just finished reading your book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, and I am overwhelmed with a lot of different emotions and thoughts. The writing as well as the illustrations in this book made it a very engaging and memorable read. I loved the character of Arnold and how he intuitive he was about himself and those around him. In the book Arnold seems like he will also fall into the cycle of poverty and alcoholism in the book. In the beginning, he is disheartened and says things like "You start believing that you're stupid and ugly because you're Indian. And because you're Indian you start believing you're destined to be poor" (13). I like how lovable Arnold was as a character, and I found myself rooting …show more content…

I liked this line because it shows that First nations peoples have so many problems now because they are grieving because so much of their identity and culture was stripped away from them which is heartbreaking . One topic that is discussed in your book was death. One line in this book that struck out to me was when Arnold said "I'm fourteen years old and I've been to forty-two funerals" (199), I think you represented just how different Arnold's life was from a typical suburban teenager. Another place that you illustrated that Arnolds experiences were not that similar to other kid his age off the reservation was in regards to Oscar; Arnold not only depended on him but his dog was shot to death and not put down because his parents couldn't afford to take him to the vet. It was sad to read that it was not Arnold's reality to be dropped off and picked up from school. Arnold says "I hoped he'd remember to come back and pick me up after school" (55), I think this illustrated how much alcohol negatively affected the lives of Indians because it made it difficult for them to have 'normal' healthy lives. Alcohol addictions is definitely something that many Indian struggle with and it is something that numbs them from the pain; Arnold says "my dad drinks

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