The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian Analysis

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Alexie, Sherman, and Ellen Forney. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown, 2007. Print. Sherman and Forney’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian is a novel that centers on Arnold Spirit Jr, a Native American 14 –year-old that suffers from a variety of health complications that stem from a condition known as hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus causes Junior to stutter, lisp, and have a small stature—qualities that cause Junior to regularly experience bullying in his home reservation. One of Junior’s only friends is a boy named Rowdy, a boy who suffers from abuse at the hands of his dad. An incident at his school prompts him to leave the reservation and transfer to Reardan High School, a school that is significantly wealthier than his previous…show more content…
Junior is the only Native American in the school, and stands out among his classmates as a result. The novel continues with its introduction of characters such as Gordy, a mentor-figure for Junior that is obsessed with science, and Penelope, Junior’s love interest that suffers from the pressures of body image. Junior begins to experience a growth in popularity as a result of his romance with Penelope, and later, his participation in the school’s basketball team. Junior faces-off with his former best friend Rowdy, and Rowdy reveals that he harbors animosity towards Junior for transferring to Reardan. This animosity climaxes when Rowdy knocks Junior unconscious during their respective school’s game. The novel ends with a conversation between Junior and Rowdy during a one-on-one game, in which Rowdy learns to accept Junior’s decision to transfer after learning about the nomadic history of Native Americans. Rowdy comes to the
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