OVERCOMING AND SUCCEEDING LIFE’S OBSTACLES In the novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, one of the themes of the story is the loss of loved ones. Not being born with many opportunities, the main character, Junior, lives on a reservation and is born with hydrocephalus. He suffers and struggles with loss throughout the story. Right from birth life isn’t easy for Junior, but the love and closeness of his family is very helpful. Over the course of the story he has to learn to accept the loss of key people in his life. His grandmother, Eugene, and sister pass away leaving him to deal and cope with it. From the beginning, Junior's grandmother has always believed in him and stood by him. When Junior went to Reardan, his grandmother was the only one who thought it was a good idea. She was someone he could always rely on. Sadly, while she was walking home from a mini powwow she was struck and killed by a drunk driver. But before she died she had said “forgive him”, talking about the driver that injured her, as she was always wanting peace in the world. For her wake, close to two thousand Indians showed up, resulting in the funeral being moved to the football field. After his grandmother died, the reservation stopped bugging him and let him live peacefully. Grandmother spirit was widely known and respected. …show more content…
Eugene was a very honest and nice person that Junior could trust. He had given Junior rides to school throughout the story and never said anything bad to Junior about going to an all white school. Tragically, one day Eugene died suddenly. It was believed, that he and a friend were fighting over the last drop of alcohol and his friend shot him in the face. Eugene’s friend, who was overcome with guilt, hung himself in his jail cell, before Eugene’s loved ones even have a chance to forgive him. This impacted Junior and his father in a large