Alan Ruff - The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

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“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian” by Sherman Alexie is the story about Arnold (Junior) Spirit.  Arnold is a teenage boy growing up on an Indian Reservation with his parents.  Alexie crafts this story using the language of a typical teenage boy to bring the reader into the life of Arnold.  Using graphics within the novel to give greater insight into the mind of Arnold, Alexie is able to touch on many adult subjects in way that makes them accessible to a younger audience.
                Born with hydrocephaly, Arnold is different than his peers on the reservation and suffers from their bullying because of it.  Arnold recognizes the plight of growing up on the reservation and accepts the opportunity to go to a “white” school off of the rez.  Arnold struggles to find his own identity as he doesn’t fit in with either social setting.
                Alexie is able to broach many sensitive subjects that most adolescents deal with such as bullying and peer pressure from his Indian friends as well as racism and prejudice from his new white friends, especially Penelope’s father.  Alcoholism and it’s abuse on the reservation is brought to the forefront of the story through Arnold’s father and the deaths of his sister, his grandmother, and his father’s friend, Eugene.
                The use of graphics in this novel is done well and give the reader greater insight into the mind and character of Arnold.  Arnold draws because “I want to talk to the world.  And I want the world to pay attention to me.”  The graphics are an integral part of the story and also force the reader to pause and consider what Arnold is saying through his drawings.  As Arnold grows throughout the story, his illustrations mirror that change.
                This would be a fun book to teach to an older, more mature group of students.  Each of the prominent themes could be addressed and fleshed out with supplemental readings that make extra connections to the text.  I would ask to students to write about the loss of a loved one for one exercise.  For another, I would have them draw a binary cartoon of themselves with one side depicting how the see themselves and the other how they are perceived by others.  I would discuss Post-colonialism and ask student to find other examples in popular culture.

                Other books that I would recommend to students who enjoyed this title would be “American Born Chinese” by Gene Luen Yang, “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros, and “Brown Girl Dreaming” by Jacqueline Woodson.

Comments

  1. Lucy McElroyAugust 30, 2016 at 5:02 PM

    I like the ideas you have for teaching this book. I think that an assignment where they must draw a cartoon of themselves would be entertaining as well as educational. Having such a strong, side-by-side contrast between the image they hold of themselves and the view others around them hold will allow them to pinpoint any influences of societal values on their self-image/self-esteem.

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