Erika Kozub- Analysis: TATDOAPTI

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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie was a perfect depiction of character teens can relate to in today's society, especially minorities. Arnold had lots of health issues that were the reason for him being harassed by many of his classmates and tribe members. Making such a bold decision to leave the reservation only ruined his relationship with his tribe, but he did it for his own good. Arnold leaving to attend Reardon was an extremely significant decision, because he had no idea what kind of treatment he would receive at an all-white school, and it was already to late to return to the tribe school in Wellpinit. Alexie also tackles so many other issues in the book such as death, alcohol addiction, bulimia, bullying, and self-identity.

Although I can not personally relate to Arnold's situation, I've known my fair share of middle school students that can. As future teachers, I believe it is so important to know our kids and help those who are struggling the way Junior was in the book. Although this is a story of one boy, there are millions of unwritten stories out there. I believe Sherman Alexie does an incredible job allowing readers to picture the poor treatment Native Americans received on the reservations. Like Mr. P said, the only thing they were taught was to give up. Reading those lines broke my heart. It breaks my heart that even in the United States, students are not given proper resources to succeed. This leads students to drop out of school, fall into drug and alcohol addiction, and possibly even commit suicide. I respect Alexie for being able to tackle all of these issues, while sharing his personal story as well. I'm sure it wasn't easy for him.

Overall, I believe this is a wonderful book for teens. It would probably have some issues with parents in our state, but I believe its a wonderful novel to encourage students to follow their dreams and find out who they really are. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was an inspiring book that deserved every award it received and every reader it lured in. Wonderful story!

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 6, 2017 at 8:05 PM

    Erika,
    Great post! I like how you mentioned Arnold's disability. I think that a lot of people kind of forget about how he's treated due to his appearance caused by his disability. I also like how you mentioned other issues that teens face outside of issues raised in the book, such as teen suicide.

    ReplyDelete

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