Post-Colonial Theory Bringing About Unity in Sherman Alexie's Absolute True Diary of a Part- Time Indian

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 Throughout our reading of Sherman Alexie's Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, I could not help but note how Unity is a theme throughout Arnold's development. Post- Colonial Theory includes an imbalance of power between races that is created by colonization. Throughout Arnold's time between the Rez and Reardon, we see an imbalance of power. Arnold is not only criticized for his appearance and race, but also criticizes himself. Arnold struggles with his two identities and in a way harbors an imbalance of power within himself. He constantly wonders who his true identity is. Is he going to stay true to his reservation and American Indian values or will he conform to the white rich kids at Reardon? On page 61 Arnold says, "I felt like two different people inside of one body. No, I felt like a magician slicing myself in half, with Junior livin' gon the Northside of the Spokane River and Arnold living on the South." (Alexie 61) This quote shows the division that is present in Arnold. We see Arnold treated differently because of his race when he arrives to Reardon, which shows Post-Colonial Theory's imbalance of power. Arnold says, "I knew i'd have to put a stop to it eventually or I'd always be known as 'chief' or 'tonto' or 'squaw boy'. But I was scared" (Alexie 64). This quote shows that Arnold is not only being called names based on his appearance but knows he has to stop the name-calling or else it might become his identity. We also see that he is afraid to stand up for himself because he is a minority at Reardon. This connects to the bullying that is common in adolescent's life in middle and high school, however, Arnold's bullying he faces is a result of his appearance. While Arnold faces this bullying, he finds unity in great friends. While post-colonial literature includes division among races, this book includes unity in people that are different. While Arnold makes friends with all white people, these white people are all from different subsets of students: there is Penelope who is quite popular, Gordy who is nerdy, and Roger who is a jock. This unity between unlikely friends shows that Arnold has support in his high school experience. This unity is very important to Arnold because his friends are what uplift and support him through his journey of self-exploration. I really enjoyed this novel and would love to teach it in my classroom one day!

Comments

  1. Samantha DouglasSeptember 6, 2021 at 5:53 PM

    Wow! I loved your insight on unity and how the differences between the characters still brought them together. Although Junior did face an identity crisis, he still found balance between the Rez and Rearden, and discovered that being himself was all that he needed.

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