A. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alexie, S. (2009). The absolutely true diary of a part-time indian. Berlin: Cornelsen.
B. PLOT SUMMARY
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a story about Arnold Spirit Jr., who grows up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington State. Arnold grows up with several medical problems, stemming from a series of seizures that he had as an infant. He is still prone to seizures as a high school student, but he has not had one in a long time. Arnold is a very intelligent kid, and after throwing a book and breaking his teacher's nose, he is convinced to leave the reservation in order to attend a better school.
The reservation and most of the people that Arnold has grown up with live in poverty, including his best friend Rowdy. Many of the people in his tribe are alcoholics, including his parents and members of his family. The people on the reservation torment Arnold, constantly beating him up and calling him names. He decides that his only chance to make something out his life is to leave the reservation. After breaking the news to Rowdy, who gets angry enough to punch him in the face, Arnold transfers to Reardon High School, where he is the only Native American student. Arnold struggles to adopt to this new school with its foreign rules, until one day he fights back after a bully calls him a racial slur. The people at Reardon are terrified after he punches the bully, Roger, in the face, but this begins his acceptance in their social hierarchy.
Arnold befriends another boy at Reardon named Gordy, who is incredibly intelligent. Gordy helps Arnold with homework and fitting in at his new school, but they never become as close as Arnold and Rowdy. Eventually, Arnold tries out for the basketball team, and after being worried about getting cut, he ends up on varsity. The first game of the season is against his old school, and upon entering the gym for the game, the entire crowd turns their back on Arnold. While going up for a layup in the first quarter, Arnold is blindsided by Rowdy, who elbows him in the head, knocking him unconscious. Arnold spends the night in the hospital as doctors try to determine if any major damage has been done to his already fragile brain.
As the basketball season continues, Reardon goes on a long winning streak, destroying most of their other opponents. They eventually play Arnold's old school again, but this time at home. Reardon humiliates Wellpinit, and at first Arnold is thrilled with his team's victory. Then he begins looking around at all of the people he has grown up with, and he realizes that most of them will go home to parents that beat or ignore them. He feels ashamed at wanting so badly to defeat his old school and Rowdy as well.
Arnold experiences several deaths in the final few chapters, most notably the death of his sister, grandmother, and his dad's friend Eugene. Each of the deaths were related to alcohol in some way, and Arnold becomes increasingly aware of how much damage drinking has caused to his community. At his sister's funeral, he runs into Rowdy, who has been hiding in the woods watching the ceremony. Eventually the two spend the day together, making up after what has been a long, emotional year for both of them.
C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian does an amazing job at once again showing this identity crisis for outsiders who are trying to start a new life for themselves. Arnold feels split between his family and his home on the reservation and the white people he has met while in search of a better life. He comes to understand that the only way for him to be happy is to leave the place he has called home forever, and the internal struggle he feels throughout the book is similar to that of many immigrants and people who are coming to America for the first time. The only real difference, is that Arnold and his family have lived in America longer than anyone. He shouldn't have to feel like an outsider considering his new school was a mere 20 miles from where he had grown up. The difference between his two worlds, however, was just as staggering as someone had arrived in this country for the first time.
Arnold was faced with bullying and racism as he entered Reardon for the first time. He had racial slurs and hurtful comments lobbed at him from classmates, and even his teachers treated him differently since he was a Native American. There were mentions of how the police used unfair practices towards the Natives people as well, which was not surprising at all to read. Alexie really shines a light here on the mistreatment of Native Americans, and several of the hurtful stereotypes associated with them. When Arnold is short on money to pay for he and Penelope's food at Denny's, it is brought up how a lot of the white people outside of the reservation assume most Native Americans are rich because they receive casino money. But Arnold is quick to point how untrue that statement really is, and in fact, the only people making money from the casinos are the people that work there.
What I really appreciated about this book is that it not only addressed the how white people have made life difficult for Native Americans, but how difficult they have made life for themselves. Arnold's ability to see the problems on the reservation and seek to improve them is really eye-opening. This self reflection and critique of his own people is shocking at first, but I found his transparency to be really comforting and it made the entire story feel more genuine. Getting to see both the positive and negative aspects of this culture, and all cultures really, is important, and I felt that Sherman Alexie took much of this book from experiences he had in his own life.
D. REVIEW EXCERPTS
"The line between dramatic monologue, verse novel, and standup comedy gets unequivocally-and hilariously and triumphantly-bent in this novel."
--Horn Book, starred review
"Nimbly blends sharp with unapologetic emotion....fluid narration deftly mingles raw feelings with funny, sardonic insight."
--Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"Breathtakingly honest, funny, profane, sad....will stay with readers."
-- KLIATT, starred review
E. CONNECTIONS
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