Final Essay
The novel “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time
Indian “by Sherman Alexie is a very in depth novel and deals with allot of
identity issues and race problems. Arnold Spirit is the main character in the
novel. Arnold introduces himself as being a hydrocephalic, meaning that he was
born with water on the brain. He is very artistic person and expresses himself
through his drawing and his words.
Arnold introduces a tough-guy named Rowdy, which is
his best friend. Arnold is regularly beaten up at school and on the reservation
and also given such names as “retard”. Arnold lives in a very poor family like
all the other reservation families. Rowdy tries to protect Arnold from some of
the abuse that he gets at home and school. The first day that Arnold goes to
school he is given a textbook that has his mother’s name written in it. Arnold gets
angry that the school is too poor to afford new books after forty years.
A week has passed into the school year, when Arnold
gets transfers to another school. This school is full of rich white kids and is
called Reardan High School. Arnold loves Reardan High School, developing a
crush for Penelope, a white girl. He makes friends with Gordy. Arnold develops a
closer relationship and even start dancing with each other. Arnold tries out
for the Reardan Basketball team and gets accepted into the team.
Arnold’s grandma is the head of all the powwows on the
reservation. In the novel Arnold is faced with allot of tragedies for example
his grandmother was run over by a drunk driver and killed. Arnold and his
family go to the cemetery to clean the graves of his grandmother. Arnold father’s friend Eugene was shot in the
face by his friend after the last glass of alcohol.
Arnold realizes that he might be an Indian, but also a
cartoonist, and a boy, and a son. Arnold writes how beautiful the reservation
really is, with all the trees. Arnold will always miss his family and the
reservation and rowdy.
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