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The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian By Sherman Alexie

1127 Words5 Pages

Piotr Laskawski
Mr. Rodriguez
Academic Literature
21 April 2023
Opportunity Vs Success Do only those wealthy have the opportunities to really become successful? It does seem like that to most but anyone can become successful, most never believe and try to have the opportunity to be truly successful in life. In the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie we see a boy named Arnold aka Junior come across struggles for opportunities and success in life. It is a beautiful adult fiction novel about a boy overcoming these immense struggles from living in poverty. We see Alexie convey how people one’s success can be hindered, and though facing vast poverty, racism, life-threatening conditions, and more Arnold works …show more content…

From this point on we see the novel narrated through Junior and we see how he doesn’t have much success or really any opportunity to be successful as he is cramped in a small Native reservation. The accessibility of success as we see in the reservation is scarce for all and especially Junior, he was a shy and small kid that didn’t have much confidence or belief in himself. From their background, many people are hindered at birth because of their upbringing and what kind of upbringing. Junior is raised in a poverty-stricken household with a heavily addicted to alcohol father and both parents depressed that don’t strive to do much in their lives. This is the same for many on the reservation, it is really a trap that hinders everyone and their offspring for generations to come. "All these kids have given up," he said. "All your friends. All the bullies. And their mothers and fathers have given up, too. And their grandparents gave up and their grandparents before them. And me and every other teacher here. We're all defeated." (Alexie 34). Junior is really the one that can carve a future for himself, he was destined to do so since the day he fought off …show more content…

He takes charge and continues to do very well academically and socially making friends and meeting new people while also becoming one of the best and most valuable players on his school basketball team. In this, his sister thinks she has found an opportunity and leaves spontaneously marrying a man from a different reservation and dies because of her drinking addiction.” But it’s not comforting to learn that your sister was TOO FREAKING DRUNK to feel any pain when she BURNED TO DEATH.” (Alexie 163). Even with leaving, she couldn’t escape the struggles that had arisen previously. Rowdy seems to be doing very well in basketball practically being the only reason their school is winning but he does it for the wrong reasons, not to become a professional basketball player one day or have a career in it but solely for the purpose to try to put down and get back at Junior. This greatly determined Rowdy's success, “I knew that none of them was going to college. Not one of them” (Alexie 157), but Rowdy he had an opportunity and wasted this chance all because of a stupid grudge he held against Junior which could have just cost him any chance to play basketball in the big leagues.

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