The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Response - Kelsy Mckeown

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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexi was an unexpected book to be reading for this course; I'd read it previously in early high school, and had seen Smoke Signals, a movie written by the same author, at around the same time. rereading it now has given me the chance to go through and rediscover the book in a new light.having read it closer to the main character's age, I empathized and grew with junior ─ now having grown and aged past that point, I find it easier to look back and dissect what makes it such a strong coming of age book and why I connected so strongly to it at a younger age.

The first thing, and most prominent thing, that stands out to me about TATDPTI ( as I will shorten the title to from here-on out ), is it's word choice and sentence structure. it's written true to a teenager or young adults point of view and way of speaking; cursing, mentioned of dirty deeds, and violence are all part of a normal young adults life. It isn't blurred out or censored, and so it feels genuine. As a yung adult myself this drew me in, and now looking back i understand the complexity of this choice. To use this kind of language means giving up some technical choices, but it allows a closer connection to the intended audience; the message can be received better and easier this way.

My opinion is that it is an important text for students to be exposed to, especially if they are around the main character's age. It is an easy novel to get into, and it opens a lot of doors to understanding and interest in a number of topics; growing up, identity, the struggles of native peoples, and loss.

Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 10, 2017 at 6:07 PM

    I strongly agree with you that the word choice is written from the mindset of someone that is coming of age. The diction really defines who Junior is and helps adolescents connect with him as the narrator.
    I've heard of Smoke Signals, but never actually watched the movie. I will certainly have to sit down and watch it, seeing that you have tied it so closely with this story!

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