Can Girls Get Book Boners Too?

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Alexie’s book took me by surprise. My first impression was hesitant. First, books aren’t my go-to source of entertainment. Second, one of the first graphics I looked at was Arnold’s book boner and thought, “what in the world are we going to read?”. Little did I know that this novel would address hard topics such as poverty, stereotypes, addiction, death, and institutional oppression, and yet end in victory. The victory isn’t necessarily for the whole reservation, people group, or his family; Arnold’s victory is within himself. 


We talked about it in class, but Arnold creates a new dual identity as someone who lives on the rez and one who goes to a predominantly white school. At the beginning of the book, we see that Junior wears the Indian strap (Alexie 57) (right side). “I wish I were magical, but I am really just a poor ass reservation kid living with poor ass family on the poor ass Spokane Indian Reservation” (Alexie 7). By the end of the book, he wears the “white” and “Indian” straps proudly. Neither one of his identities solely defines Arnold, but they contribute to who he has become. “I realized for sure that, sure, I was a Spokane Indian. I belonged to that tribe. But I also belong to the tribe of American immigrants.” (Alexie 217).


His mindset really takes a switch branching out from the rez. He is willing to take chances, prove people wrong, be vulnerable with some people. Yes, his mother did slap him into submission, but he was going to be the break in the cycle of alcoholics in his family. “I wept and wept and wept because I knew that I was never going to drink and because I was never going to kill myself and because I was going to have a better life out in the white world” (Alexie 217). Because of his exposure to a world outside of the reservation, his chances for living and succeeding dramatically increased. 


Like I said in the beginning, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian took me by surprise. It addresses relevant topics that should be addressed in classrooms today. Teachers can use this book to guide discussions that create change in the lives of their students. 



Comments

  1. Bailey DuncanSeptember 5, 2021 at 1:27 PM

    First, I want to say that I absolutely love your title. I too was wondering what I was about to get myself into when reading this novel. Through the course of the story, we really did see Arnold grow as a person seeing him become proud of his Indian roots while ultimately being successful in a dominantly white school. I also agree that this novel addresses topics that should definitely be talked about in schools today because there are many students struggling with their identities as Arnold was.

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