Redeemable

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 It has been said that everything, all the problems someone might have, stems from childhood trauma.  I was able to read some great books in my early adolescence but I do wish I had met Junior at a time where a book like this would have fit right into my life. After reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie I would have to agree and say that books like this are important to have in schools.  A book like The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian can open the door for students to think outside the box, to look into someone's window even if only for 243 pages.  It is as Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop says "books can be both mirrors and windows-mirrors in which readers can see themselves on the pages of literature and thereby know their existence in the world is valid and true, and windows into the worlds they might never have imagined."(Alexie XV)

Junior had shown he was hopeful from the beginning but he always had a way of covering it up with humor or maybe even uncertainty.  Almost as if he was hopeful enough to think he would be okay but not enough to think he would ever leave the reservation.  I think drawing was his outlet and maybe even his hope.  He drew because "words are too unpredictable...because words are too limited."(Alexie 5)  He was often quite sad and "felt important with a pen in his hand" (Alexie 5).  Drawing gave Junior hope as he says in the book "I feel like I might grow up to be somebody important", "my only real chance to escape the reservation" (Alexie 6) or so he thought it was his only chance at the time.  Looking over these quotes by Junior and going back to what Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop says earlier, children can take pieces like this from the book and gain hope themselves if they're going through something similar.

Junior was "just a poor-ass reservation kid living with his poor-ass family on the poor-ass Spokane Indian Reservation" (Alexie 7) or so he thought that's what he was.  He was in fact poor and while sleep was what he had for most of his dinners, he was also hope.  Have you ever met someone and immediately had something go off in your head?  I think this is what happened to Mr. P after Junior threw the book at him. It was almost as if Junior's hope was what hit Mr. P in the head.  "You're the smartest kid in the school. And I don't want you to fail. I don't want you to fade away. You deserve better." (Alexie 40) Mr. P says to Junior when they're sitting in his yard. Mr. P reminds Junior of his hope when he tells him "You kept your hope. And now, you have to take your hope and go somewhere where other people have hope."(Alexie 43)

I believe that people always picked on Junior because they knew something was different about him.  Sure he was physically different but he had something different about him on the inside and that's what bothered them.  I think they knew deep down that Junior would be the one to make it out.

Comments

  1. Emily BridgesSeptember 7, 2020 at 10:04 AM

    Kels,
    I absolutely agree with you in your opening statement about meeting Junior when you were younger. I feel like middle school me and Junior would have had a lot to talk about, and this book would have really impacted me at that age. It is truly disappointing that many students in school will not be given the opportunity to read this novel. I also really like the connection that you made with Junior's sense of hope and it hitting Mr. P in the head just like the textbook did. I did not think of it that way when I was reading but I'm so glad you brought that up because it's really the way it happened.

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  2. Candace BeebeSeptember 8, 2020 at 9:01 AM

    Kels, I completely agree that Junior's turning point was throwing that book at Mr. P. I think that he had to have a moment of anger to realize how bad the life on the reservation was. He needed to come to terms with what it actually is like and what he needs to do to have a better life. While Mr. P was a piece of work, he did right by Junior by telling him that he deserves better and that he could make it as long as he got off of the reservation. I also agree that this story could be inspirational to others who may be in similar positions. It is important for students to know that they are not alone.

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