Alexie, Sherman. The
Absolutely True Dary of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Little, Brown, 2007.
Print.
Summary
Brought up on the
Spokane Indian Reservation (the rez) in Washington state, Arnold Spirit, Jr. is
a 14-year-old adolescent Indian boy whose misshapen body earns him a great deal
of taunting. His mind and inner spirit are
not damaged, and he yearns for hope and a future. He decides to risk leaving the rez to attend
a nearby white school in Reardan, even though he feels he won’t be
accepted. He becomes a “part-time”
Indian: one-half interacting with white, privileged teens and the other half
living dirt-poor with his family on the rez.
Arnold has much to experience during his first year at Reardan, both in
school and at home. He draws upon the
love and spirit of his family to help him face discrimination, survive puppy
love, build relationships, and cope with death.
Analysis
Through the eyes and
thoughts of a young Spokane Indian, Sherman Alexie writes of the human spirit
which endures discrimination and poverty.
Arnold Spirit, Jr. “never gives up” and decides to beat the odds of his
never leaving the reservation to find his place in the world.
Through a first-person
narrative with asides to the reader and several of Arnold’s revealing drawings
which help him to maintain hope beyond his situation, the reader follows Arnold
as he works out his life through several incidents at school and heart breaks
at home. Alexie gives Arnold a sense of
humor and a perceptive point of view.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian contains some strengths. It creates sympathy for the plight of the
American Indian living on a reservation.
Arnold’s inclusion of cultural comments, such as “Everybody in Reardan
assumed we Spokanes made lots of money because we had a casino. But that casino, mismanaged and too far away
from major highways, was a money-losing business. In order to make money from the casino, you
had to work at the casino” (119), informs the reader of just how
poverty-stricken and hopeless reservation Indians are. The words of Arnold’s mentors and his
Grandmother Spirit show that life has its special people who can inspire hope
and accomplishment.
These strengths in the
story are sadly subordinated by a seemingly excessive use of qualities which
has earned it a place in the “ALA’s ten most frequently
challenged books of 2014” (“Frequently”).
Crude, explicit language and controversial topics and images invade the
pages. It is understood that hormonal
teenage boys can be uncouth, and to a certain extent, some off-color language
or comments are to be expected if the character is to be believable to teenage
readers. However, with too much
questionable content, the message becomes obscured and the book is read more
for the next wise-crack. To his credit,
Alexie includes a few lines of meaningful prose after particularly offensive
passages. For example, the passage about
books and “boners” is over two pages, but it ends with Arnold’s gratefulness to
Gordy for his help in school.
The appeal to young
adults, mainly boys, consists in its portrayal of a teenager’s point of view on
his life. It is a “coming-of-age” novel,
a modern-day Catcher in the Rye. Young adults may see Arnold as the one who
gets away with what they would like to.
Concerning age
appropriateness, parents would be the best people to gauge whether or not their
children should read The Absolutely True
Diary of a Part-Time Indian. The
librarian should be honest with the teenager and parent, informing them that
the novel has been the subject of complaints for objectionable language and
situations.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian’s place in young adult literature, according to
professional critical reviews, is solidly in the award category. It is a National Book Award Winner, a New
York Times Bestseller, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a Kirkus Reviews Best
UA Book, and a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year – among others.
Works Cited
"Frequently Challenged Books of the 21st
Century." American Library
Association. Web. 19 June 2015. <http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10>.
Activity
Who inspires you? Who supports you? Whom do you admire? Arnold Spirit has several people he admires. Teens could share their experiences about
someone in their lives who has had a positive influence on them or has been an
inspiration to them.
Related Resources
1. Navajos Wear Nikes by Jim
Kristofic
Kristofic’s
work gives authenticity to Arnold’s experiences because it is the autobiography
of a half-Navajo who also grows up on an Indian reservation
Kristofic, Jim. Navajos
Wear Nikes: A Reservation Life. Albuquerque: U. of New Mexico, 2011. Print.
2. Rez
Life by David Treuer
A
work of non-fiction, Rez Life describes
reservation life for the Indians from several points of view, identifying past
and present issues. Arnold speaks of the
past and present situations of his reservation, and this resource could
substantiate his statements.
Treuer, David. Rez
Life: An Indian's Journey through Reservation Life. New York: Grove, 2012.
Print.
Published
Review
Sutton, Roger. Rev. of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Sherman Alexie. Horn Book Magazine 83.5(2007): 563-564.
Web. 19 June 2015.
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