The Absolute True Diary Of A Part Time Indian Review – Karoline L
The Absolute True Diary Of A Part Time Indian is a book written by Sherman Alexie. The book was published in 2007 with amusing illustrations by Ellen Forney. The genre covering this book is called Young Adult, which is also Alexie’s target group. In this book you meet Arnold Spirit Jr. who is the geekiest Indian on the Spokane Reservation. With lots of self-irony he tells about how he was born with water on the brain, stutters, lisps and wears lopsided glasses. Born into poverty and alcoholism a life changing choice leads him to a battle of both bodies and cultures.
To say that life is hard on the Spokane Reservation is not even close. In an everyday containing bullying, poverty, death and alcoholism Junior (Arnold) feels doomed to a bad future. One day when his class is handed books Junior sees his mother’s name is the book he is handed, and at that moment he just cannot bear that his generation is still studying the same books as the last. In a rage he throws the geometry book in his teacher’s face and as a result his nose breaks. Later on when the wounded teacher Mr. P comes to visit he doesn’t seem angry about it at all. Instead he confesses to Arnold his dreadful and guilty feeling for not educating the kids at the reservation properly. As advice for Junior he tells him to take his hope and go somewhere where other people have hope. “The only thing you kids are being taught is how to give up. Your friend Rowdy, he’s given up. That’s why he likes to hurt people. He wants them to feel as bad as he does. – He doesn’t hurt me. – He doesn’t hurt you because you’re the only good thing in his life. He doesn’t want to give that up. It’s the only thing he hasn’t given up. (P. 42)”
Comprehensive Book Review of “Things Fall Apart”
In the book Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe, the author is trying to give an explanation of what it is like to live in an African society. The story is about a man named Okonkwo who is a member of the Ibo tribe. Achebe is telling the emotional story of Okonkwo from his childhood till his death.The title Things Fall Apart is symbolic of many events in the book. The main character, Okonkwo, did not ...
As a result Junior decides to switch schools to Reardan High School. Not only a hard decision to make for his own future, but also a hard thing to tell his best friend Rowdy. “And he only talks about his dreams with me. And I only talk about my dreams with him. I tell him about my fears. I think Rowdy might be the most important person in my life. Maybe more important than my family. Can your best friend be more important than your family? (P. 24)” To Rowdy, Junior has been the one person he could always turn to, the one he trusted, protected and always felt secure with. So when Junior tells him that he is switching schools Rowdy feels betrayed and lonely. Nonetheless Arnold focuses on himself and his future, and begins a whole new life at Reardan High School.
As a kid very fascinated by people’s dreams and hopes he describes his parents how they would be if someone had paid attention to their dreams. So obviously starting at Reardan is huge for him, and luckily he’s succeeding. His grades are good, he befriends a boy with similar interests called Gordy and he even gets a girlfriend (The beautiful Penelope).
Even the jocks at his school respect him, especially when he appears as a very skillful basketball player. The only problem is when the school team meets his old team from Spokane, and the star player who used to be his best friend sees him as a traitor. After the first game Rowdy gets Arnolds seriously injured and the Spokane team wins, but at the final game the Wellpinit team (Reardan) takes revenge and they win hands down.
Throughout the book a lot of meaningful things happen in Junior’s life. His grandmother, sister and his father’s friend Eugene passes away, but even though Junior goes out strong through all these hard times. He realizes that people can like you even if your family doesn’t have a nice house or an expensive car. “If you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing.” P. 129
The Homework on High School Life 5
High school is a place where young teens learn to become mature and responsible. It is a place where students get trained to take on bigger challenges in life. Obstacles such as college. From my own personal experiences, high school didn’t seem that way. Students were more concerned about getting a passing grade then about what they were taught. They would even cheat their way out of high ...
What I really like about this book is to see Arnold changing as a person. From being unsecure and feeling terrible turning out to a kid with hopes, dreams and a new self-perspective. After just a few chapters you feel inside Junior’s oversized head, like if you’re a part of his life. There is something in the force of Alexie’s description that captures your heart, even while some of his grossest statements can turn your stomach. Boys of this age will be boys of this age, regardless of race or economic class. A very powerful writing, and not only a book it is also an emotional journey. This is a book I would definitely recommend to others, which I’ve already done.
Knowing that Alexie actually experienced such incidents in real life only serves to make the story that much more impressive. The fact that he fought a successful fight against all the things that troubled him as a kid gives The Absolute True Diary Of A Part Time Indian even greater resonance. This is a book I will always remember.
“We have to dream big to get big.” (P. 136)