Tyler Turner's Blog Post #2

By Anonymous -
            Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian tackles many important topics such as racism, death, alcoholism, and self-identity. These are all particularly heavy topics and for good reasons, as they are all issues everyone either has gone through or will go through during their lifetimes. However, Alexie is still able to deliver a comedic, irreverent novel that captures the spirit of an optimistic, ambitious teenager without coming off as hollow or condescending. This authenticity is what allows Alexie to connect with the audience and is what makes the novel so successful. The author accomplishes this through a variety of stylistic choices that set it apart from other novels.

           The primary method Alexie uses to convey the protagonist’s emotions and experiences is the juxtaposition between tragedy and comedy. Throughout the novel, the main character, Junior, struggles with many difficult issues in his life, such as suffering from racism from his peers and dealing with the deaths of his family and friends. Despite these dire circumstances, Junior is still able to make jokes at the expense of these incidents, primarily through the comics he draws and his sarcastic wit. Not only does this allow a way for Junior to vent his anger and sadness in a healthier way than the violent tendencies of his best friend Rowdy, but it also provides a way for the reader to better connect with the character and his struggles. The use of comics provides a window into Junior’s thoughts, giving the reader a better understanding of how he sees the world and the people who inhabit it. His comedic charms provide a veneer of authenticity to the character. He talks and act like a normal teenager rather than an adult in a child’s body. This allows the audience, particularly the disenfranchised adolescents the novel is aimed at, to see themselves in the character and develop a feeling of reassurance and acceptance that they are not alone with their problems as they read through the novel. 

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