Theme Of The Absolute True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian

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. The author is trying to convey that the theme is that social status doesn’t hinder success. This is shown through the story by his friends accepting that he’s poor and don’t see him as any different, he is very

In the story it states “He’s not going to tell anybody. Roger likes you. He’s a great guy. He’s like my big brother. He can be your friend, too,” (Alexie 127). This shows that Junior’s friends like Roger accept him even though he’s poor and doesn’t share that secret. It also shows that Penelope accepts him as well as she’s saying this with a sincere tone towards Junior. The story also states “‘I thought you hated me,’ I said. ‘I do,’ he said. ‘But I’m bored.’ ‘So what?’ ‘So you want to shoot some hoops?’” (Alexie 228). This also supports my reason because originally Rowdy didn’t like that Junior was leaving the reservation to be in the better school. This shows Rowdy coming to accept him for leaving the reservation. This connects back to my thesis because Junior’s status as a poor kid in a good school didn’t break any of his

In the text it states “Heck, I ended up on the varsity. As a freshman. Coach said I was the best shooter who’d ever played for him,” (Alexie 142). This shows he’s becoming a star as obviously the coach calls him one of his best shooters. This quote also indicates his ability to play basketball because it states he ended up on varsity, which is for the best players of any sport. The text also states “Coach was thinking I would be an all-state player in a few years,” (Alexie 180). This supports my reasoning because his coach who has been implied to have coached for a while is saying that Junior is good enough to be a state-player which is extremely hard. Another point is that while it may be an exaggeration, this confidence boost would push Junior to strive for greatness and maybe eventually become an all-state player. That’s why Junior being a star basketball player connects to status doesn’t impede