Diary of a Part-Time Indian, author Sherman Alexie explores what life
is like living between the two worlds of Reservation-bound Native
Americans and blissfully oblivious white students at a nearby school
that he attends. Our narrator, Arnold Spirit, Jr. never feels completely
“at home” in either world.
Many people live between two or more worlds in life, and
understanding what is required to move between worlds certainly
adds to understanding the complete picture of someone’s identity.
Question: In what ways is Arnold’s experience of living between two
worlds a positive experience (for him or for those around him)?
1. CHOOSING AND WRITING QUOTES: While you are skimming the novel, notice any lines that seem to illustrate how Arnold is effected by living between two worlds. Choose a sentence or several sentences that effectively show the positive or negative effects; write the quote and the page number down.
Use the sample below to show how to embed the quote in a sentence by starting with the context as an introductory phrase (the situation in which the line occurs). Use present tense when discussing events in literature. Make sure you have punctuated and cited the quote correctly.
2. ANALYZING YOUR QUOTE: After choosing the line and blending it carefully, explain the reasons for your choice in writing (several sentences). Why is the line you chose important? What does it show about the effects of living in two worlds? In other words, what is the author trying to convey to the reader in this quote?
Arnold begins his story by sharing with the reader his life on the Spokane Indian Reservation. He describes the poverty he must endure and his dreams for the future. He makes sure the reader understands his frustration by explaining that he is "really just a poor-ass reservation kid living with his poor-ass family on the poor-ass Spokane Indian Reservation" (7).
Arnold's life is limited on the Reservation and he knows it. The effects of Reservation life on Arnold are clearly shown as he has little confidence in himself. The poverty is an epidemic as it effects not only Arnold and his family, but everyone on the Reservation.
When Junior was just living on the reservation all he knew was Indian life. He grew up with just poverty and alcoholics. Then, when he goes to Rearden and they find out he's poor, they are actually nice about it. He realizes "if you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing" (Alexie 131). Having white people in his life along with Indians gives him a new perspective on people and a more positive outlook on life.
ReplyDeleteI chose this because the author is trying to convey that Junior is getting a good experience from being with white and Indians and that he is learning lessons about all people not just Indians.
DeleteHe learns that people are just people and that they're better than he thought from just living on the reservation surrounded by alcaholics.
DeleteArnold is talking to Penelope about what they want to do when they get out of high school and when she mentions architecture, he gets a little deep, "And I couldn't make fun of her for that dream. It was my dream, too. And Indian boys weren't supposed to dream big like that. And white girls from small towns weren't supposed to dream big either. We were supposed to be happy with our limitations. But there was no way Penelope and I were going to sit still. Nope, we both wanted to fly: (insert Australian tufted Arnelope pic)" (Alexie 112). This shows the positive effect that living between the white school and the Indian rez has on Arnold. He allows himself to dream, even though he still shoots himself down about being Indian. Penelope brings him happiness and he opens up a little more, whereas he wasn't really able to do that with his friends and family on the rez.
ReplyDeleteIn the chapter Red Vs. White, Arnold is talking about his parents and the rest of his family. He balances the white school with his life on the reservation and his parents, stating that he "that my folks are pretty good. Sure, my dad has a drinking problem and my mom can be a little eccentric, but they make sacrifices for me. They worry about me. They talk to me. And best of all, they listen to me" (Alexie 153). This shows how he appreciates what his parents do on the reservation and knows that that's how it has to be at times. He realizes that he can never have the life of some of the white kids and recognizes that what his parents do is the best that they can.
Juniors last basketball game against Wellpinit made him at the beginning mad at Rowdy and the rest of the Indians, he really wanted to beat them no matter what because of their first game. Junior beat Wellpinit badly and "Coach and my teammates thought I was crying tears of happiness. But I wasn't. I was crying tears of shame. I was crying because I had broken my best friends heart" (Page 196). This part of the book is really important because one the beginning of the game, he wanted to completely beat Wellpinit, but after the game he wants to take all those feelings back. Junior realizes how hard it is to be apart of the white school but was best friends with some of the kids on the Indian school. It makes his happiness hard to achieve.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of the book, Junior seemed to hate his reservation and constantly want to leave, but towards the end of the book, it starts to change. He soon realizes "the reservation is beautiful. I mean it. take a look. There are pine trees everywhere. Thousands of ponderosa pine trees. Millions. I guess maybe you can take pine trees for granted" (Page 219). It seems that since he did sort of leave and try to be himself by going to Reardan with the white kids, it made him realizes that he's not all that different, he just made himself feel that, just like the rest of the Indians and now he realizes that he went there, the Spokane Reservation is always going to be his real home, so he finds the best things about it that he once took for granted.
ReplyDeleteKasie Lemieux-Byron
ReplyDeleteArnold decides to change schools and go to school off the reservation. This is because he wants to be able to leave the reservation and make a better life for himself. When he tells his best friend, Rowdy, that he's leaving Rowdy feels betrayed and upset. When Junior touched Rowdy's shoulder to say apologize "Rowdy spun around and shoved me. 'Don't touch me, you retarded fag!' he yelled"(Alexie 52).
Arnold just wants to have a better life for himself. The effects of entering another world, while still being in his old world, are shown because he's losing his best friend. One of the people he thought that he's never lose.
Arnold thinks he's limited to his dreams because he's Indian. He feels so discriminated that he doesn't think he can even dream big.
ReplyDelete"...And Indian boys weren't supposed to dream like that. And white girls from small towns weren't supposed to dream big, either." (112)
Being an Indian means your family means everything to you. You're close to the ones you love and will do anything for them. Sadly, people who live on the Rez lose a lot of loved ones. Arnold began to say that he's "been to so many funerals" in his short life" (199). He makes an awful statement saying he's "fourteen years old" and has "been to forty-two funerals" (199). Arnold realized that "That's really the biggest difference between Indians and white people" (199). Arnold has been to forty-two funerals and added more on during the book since his dad's best friend, his grandmother and his sister had gotten killed. Being apart of the Rez and knowing so many people then losing so many people had a toll on Arnold. The effects of Reservation life on Arnold are clearly shown as he goes into depression after losing so many people. He was so upset that he "thought about dropping out of Reardan" (173). Arnold thought since he went to Reardan everyone he loves is getting killed. He said that he had "cursed my family. I had left the ribe, and had broken something inside all of us, and I was now being punished for that" (173). The effects of Reservation life on Arnold was taking a big toll on him. He was becoming depressed and hating himself. Since he thought that because he went to Reardan he was being punished. Well actually his family. He was torn between going back to the Reservation or staying at Reardan. -----Morgan Wigglesworth
ReplyDeleteGoing to Reardan was a huge change for Junior. He felt like he didn't fit in and there were times where he thought he shouldn't be going there anymore. But throughout the book he realizes that it's not Indians versus white people. That white people have hearts and care. He realized that he was "important to them" (212). He realized that "all of these white kids and teachers, who were so supicious of me when I first arrived, had learned to care about me. Maybe some of them even loved me. And I'd been so suspicious of them. And now I care about a lot of them. And loved a few of them" (212). This was a positivity thy came out of being in two worlds. He made new friends and proved the stereotype he thought of white people wrong.
DeleteOnce Arnold goes to Reardan, he meets this boy named Gordy. Gordy was very smart and well educated. Arnold needed a friend but not a friend like Rowdy was to him. Arnold "was an Indian kid from the reservation" (94). Gordy had helped him through his school work that he had trouble with. This effected Arnold terribly because he missed Rowdy but was also glad that he got away from the reservation school.
ReplyDeleteWhen the white guy Ted came to the reservation on the day that Grandmother Spirit's funeral was going on, he brought up the powwow dancer outfit. Once he found out that the outfit wasn't from there, Arnold saw that all of the Indians there were still one big family. He realized that "Indians were drunk and sad and displaced and crazy and mean" (166) but two thousand Indians all laughed together after this white guy embarrassed himself. This effected Arnold because he noticed that this reservation wasn't broken and lost with many Indians leaving the reservation, like himself. They were going to stay as one big family no matter what.
Junior was conflicted, because he felt as though he had no chance with Penelope sense he was a poor Indian boy, even if both he and Penelope liked each other. He was afraid after she found out what he was, she would leave and go with Roger. After all,"Roger and Penelope looked good together. They looked natural. They looked like they could be a couple. And after they found out I was a poor-ass Indian, I knew they would be a couple." (124)
ReplyDeleteEven though Junior was the best basketball player on the team, they couldn't compare him to any past basketball players, because no one was of his background. This makes him struggle a little, because everyone else was compared to someone else. He even states that he knows it'd be hard for them to compare him to someone. "I guess it was hard to compare me to the players from the past. I wasn't from the town, not originally, so I would always be an outsider." (181)
Junior played basketball back on the rez, and while he did he wasn't the best player he was just "a guy who could run up and down the floor without tripping"(180). "[Junior] wasn't expected to be good [on the rez] so [he] wasn't. But in Reardan, [the] coach and the other players wanted [Junior] to be good, so [he] became good"(180). By the author showing that Junior changes in his skill at basketball is a way that he shows that Junior is becoming someone he wasn't before. And how his life changes because of the two conflicting worlds he experiences. He believes that the reason he became good was because others expected him to.
ReplyDeleteI think this quote shows the different in what each culture expects of education. The Indian culture do not think its necessary to go to college, but it our culture everyone expects you to go to college. This shows how limited life on the reservation is and how the Indians don't even think about going to college because others would be mad that they are going to the white culture like when Junior went to school off the reservation. "How often do you hear the words "Indian" and "College" in the same sentence? Especially in my family. Especially in my tribe." (180). This shows that the Indian culture does not take education as seriously as the white people and expect you to stop everything else in your life to go to every class at school "... you really shouldn't be missing this much class", she said" (175).
ReplyDeleteJunior begins to talk after his sister dies and says that "I couldn't stay and watch all those people get drunk" he's basically saying that everyone gets drunk and thats all that goes on on the reservation. So, when he goes to school now people are treating him how he likes to be treated and aren't mean to him "all of these students and teachers were suspicious about me when i first arrived, had learned to care about me". (Alexie 212)
ReplyDelete"I'd made it through the evening without revealing my poverty" (pg 123)
ReplyDelete"My parents gave me just enough money so I could pretend to have more money than I did." (pg 119)
Junior is basically living two different lives. His life on the reservation is full of poverty and disrespect from his peers, but at Reardon he pretends to be in the middle class and he is popular. At first he struggles to live two different lives. He talks about trying to hide his poverty on page 119 when he says "My parents gave me just enough money so I could pretend to have more money than I did." Junior was so worried about fitting in and not being accepted that he had to pretend he had money like all of the white kids at Reardon. Junior doesn't want the truth to come out about his socio-economic standings. He is ashamed and that is clear on page 123 when he says "I'd made it through the evening without revealing my poverty." Junior just wants to be accepted in the white school because he is so unaccepted at home on the reservation.
Jr is now goind to a new white school and his best friend who has problems doesn't want him to go. When Jr tried to be nice and talked to him "Rowdy spun around and shoved me. 'Don't touch me, you retarded fag!' he yelled"(52). This is improtant becasue Jr is taling a big leap of faith and going somewhere in his life and rowdy is jelious of and deosnt want his friend to leave him. But Rowdy has a hard time showing emotion so he did what he does best he uses violence.
ReplyDeleteThis is a positive experience for Junior because he realizes that his parents aren't as bad as he thought they were. In the beginning of the book he says things like "I wanted to hate dad and mom for our poverty."(Alexie 11) Which means he is blaming his problems on his parents. And at this time in the book he didn't understand why his parents were the way they are.
ReplyDeleteBy the end of the book Juniors view of his parents changes. He now says that "Since I've been at Reardan, and seen how great parents do their great parenting, I realize that my folks are pretty good."(Alexie 153) This shows that Junior learned his parents are trying has hard as they can and he has to appreciate that.
In the chapter Slouching for Thanksgiving, Jr. is in science class and is explaining how petrified wood is made, when Mr. Dodge gets mad at Jr. for correcting him, his classmates snickered and pointed fingers at him. Then dodge said "Hey Arnold, where did you learn this fact? on the the reservation? Yes, we all know there's so much amazing science on the reservation. (Alexie 85) Before Jr. was treated as an equal at his new white school, he was picked on by fellow classmates and even the teacher because he went to a reservation school before. It didn't matter if he was right or wrong; he was different. This drastically effects his self-esteem in a negative way.
ReplyDeleteIn the chapter reindeer games, Jr. has his first game and even before the game, they were pelted by snowballs and the reservation fans were chanting "Arnold sucks! Arnold sucks!' They weren't calling me by my rez name, Junior. Nope, they were calling me by my Reardan name." (Alexie 143) Since the people from his own reservation weren't calling him by his name, they seem to have disowned him. However, instead of giving up on the team, he wants to play. Reardan, especially his coach, has boosted his self-esteem.
After Junior went to Reedan and being around different kinds of people than he normally is he learned a lot about himself, white people, and indians. Junior said "I'm 14 and i've been to 42 funerals, thats really the biggest difference between Indians and white people." (Alexia 215) After going to school with all white people, he realizes the differene in the lives they live.
ReplyDeleteJunior has a very low self esteem, a big part of it is because he's Indian and he thinks he's lower than everyone else, especially white people. An example of this is when Junior says "Roger and Penelope looked good together. They looked natural. They looked like they could be a couple. And after they found out I was a poor-ass Indian, I knew they would be a couple." (Alexia 124) Even after he's makes friends at his new school, he still feels like he isn't good enough for white people, and he always puts himself down about it.This quote shows the effect of living both in both worlds and how he doesn't feel good enough for both of them, and doesn't feel like he fits in anywhere.
Arnold going to a new school affects him tremendously. He's Indian going to a white school. At the white school Indians aren't taken too kindly and get treated like garbage. "Yes we all know there's so much amazing science on the reservation, my classmates snickered, they pointed their fingers at me and giggled." This quote shows that Arnold gets treated differently because he answers a question that the teacher thinks is wrong but it turns out to be rite. This affects him because he gets treated differently here in the white school than on the Rez because he has more respected teachers and classmates on the Rez.
ReplyDeleteAfter the dance Roger wanted to go carbon-loading to the pancake house. Arnold asked Penelope if she wanted to go, Penelope wanted to go so she went and asked her dad and he said yes. "I had 5 bucks in my pocket, what could I buy with that? Maybe one plate of pancakes. Maybe. I was doomed." This quote shows that Arnold's new life style is gonna get pretty pricy, because he can't pay for dinner because he's poor, which separates him from the other kids.
Junior is a boy living two different lives at home he is a wimpy Indian boy who got no future. But The new Jr is a Indian boy who is trying to make his life better for him. "I felt like two different people inside of one body". pg 61
ReplyDeleteJunior lived a life where he woke up every day thinking that no one cared about him, That no one would care in he didn't exist. Now after meeting Penelope he knows that someone did care about him, Someone would care in he didn't exist or got hurt. For once someone " was concerned about me. I'd been thinking about her breasts and she'd been thinking about my whole life. I was the shallow one." Pg (127)
"I was a poor kid raising money for other poor people" (pg 79) This is important because this shows how he lives it two worlds he is acting like a normal kid when he is with Penelope but he is really a poor kid.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the book Junior makes it clear that he is very poor, but somehow everyone at Rearden assumes he has a lot of money. After the dance, he realizes he doesn't have any money to actually pay for the dinner they went out to get. Once Penelope figures it out he thinks she'll never want to talk to him again, but really she shows how she cares for him. "I couldn't lie to her anymore. 'Yes.' I said. 'I'm poor.' I figured she was going to march out of my life right then. But she didn't. Instead she kissed me. On the cheek. I guess poor guys don't get kissed on the lips. I was going to yell at her for being shallow. But then I realized that she was being my friend. Being a really good friend, in fact. She was concerned about me." (127) She wasn't acting just as a girlfriend anymore, but a friend as well. Back on the reservation, Junior was somewhat unknown, and no one really noticed him. He was a decent basketball player, but nothing special, and he seemed to have no potential. When he went to Reardan, he had tried out for the basketball team and at first he was again, nothing special. But once everyone on the team, plus his coach saw him shoot, they knew that they needed him. "Overnight I became a good player. I suppose it had something to do with confidence. I mean, I'd always been the lowest Indian on the reservation totem pole -- I wasn't expected to be good so I wasn't. But in Reardan, my coach and the other players wanted me to be good. They needed me to be good. They expected me to be good. And so I became good." (180) Junior started to bring out his skill for them all to see, and he even became a starter on the varsity team. At Rearden, people knew him, and paid attention to him.
ReplyDeleteAt this point in the book junior has been going to Reardan long enough to know how things work. He is happy with his a parents because he is starting to realizes how the Reardan parents don't do as much as his parents. "Ever since I've been at Reardan, and seen how great parents do their great parenting, I realize that my folks are pretty good. Sure, my dad has a drinking problem and my mom can be a little eccentric, but they make sacrifices for me. They worry about me. They talk to me. And best of all, they listen to me." ( Alexie 153) This is a positive experience of him leaving the Rez and having two worlds. It makes him realize that even though his parents don't seem like the best because they have problems, they really are the best. It makes him appreciate them more!
ReplyDeleteEver since Arnold was little, all he knew was how to be Indian. He know how to live with what he had and he know that everyone else on the Rez was the same. As he makes the decision to go to Reardan, he knows that he's going to have to act different and that people wouldn't understand life on the Rez and how they didn't hav everything white people did. "Zitty and lonely, [Junior] woke up on the reservation as an Indian, and somewhere on the road to Reardan, [he] became something less than Indian." (Alexie 83) When Junior is on the Rez he is an Indian but as he walks to school he slowly becomes someone different. He becomes someone who the kids at school will like. He losing the traditional Indian look and changes his name to Arnold. In this, it's a negative experience on his life.
Sam Duka
ReplyDeleteJunior in this book has a lot of fear because he thinks that the leaving in the rez. The rez. has more poor people that doesn’t really like leaving there because of the resources they have. The quote that ‘’ Man , I was scared of the those Reardan kids, and maybe I was scared of hope , too but Rowdy absolutely hated all of it. Rowdy, I said. I am going to Reardan tomorrow. For the first time he saw that I was serious , but he didn’t want me to be serious .You’ll never do it, he said. You’re to scared ‘’(page 51). This quote shows that Junior is a kid that kind of gets his life story straight and know what do the next time. Life for a reservation kid its not easy to live in because there is not a lot to do there.
After Junior went to Reedan and being around different kinds of people than he normally is he learned a lot about himself, white people, and indians. Junior said "I'm 14 and i've been to 42 funerals, thats really the biggest difference between Indians and white people." After going to school with all white people, he realizes the differene in the lives they live.Junior has some life differences that normal kids like his age wouldn't be able to have that or be able to go to a funereal.
Junior displays the differences of being on the basketball teams at Reardan and Wellpinit. In Wellpinit he wasn’t given a chance to show he can be really good but at Reardan he believes,” it had become something to do with the confidence…. [He’d] always been the lowest Indian on the reservation totem pole – [he] wasn’t expected to be good so [he] wasn’t. But in Reardan, [his] coach and the other players wanted [him] to be good. They needed [him] to be. They expected [him] to be good. And so [he] became good. (Alexie 181) Junior is able to feel more confident now because he has been able to meet and succeed social status of both world. He starts to hangout with the popular crowd and also doesn’t feel hatred from fellow Indians at the reservation.
ReplyDeleteWhile Junior lives on the rez but goes to Rearadan it makes it hard for him to play on sports teams because he is indian but he plays against the rez team and always feels bad when he plays against them. When Junior's team finally wins he isn't happy about it at all he feels terrible and he "suddenly want to apologize to Rowdy, to all the other spokanes"(Alexie 194). I chose this quote because I think it really shows how hard it is for Junior to live between two worlds because while all the kids at rearadan are happy and cheering him for him because they won the basketball game everyone on the rez hates him and doesn't like that he won.
ReplyDeleteIt didn't take Junior long to realize that staying at the school on the reservation wasn't for him because he wanted to get a better education. It took a lot of courage for an Indian kid like himself to go to a white school like Reardan High School. It was hard for him to live in two worlds because it was a lot to deal with for him. One of the events that happened to him early on was that he wanted to help Penelope raise money for the homeless on Halloween by collecting money instead of candy. He collected about 10 dollars by going around the rez asking for money but ended up getting jumped and the money got stolen. This was hard because he was trying to help out Penelope in one side of his world and the other side of his world stole it away from him. When he tells Penelope what happened she was very caring and supportive by saying "I'm sorry they did that to you..I'll still put your name on the money when I send it" (80). I think this showed the beginning of the struggle for Arnold because he realized that living two lives wasn't as easy as he might have thought it would have been. He was trying to help Penelope raise money for the poor people when little did she know that he was part of the poor community. Also, he realizes how nice Penelope was because he was so scared of how she would react and she ended up being more worried about him than the money.
ReplyDeleteAfter Junior has been at Reardan for several months it is a positive experience for Junior because the two worlds help him cope with problems he might be having in one of them. After Eugene died and Junior began going back to school his classmates had a protest for him when the teacher was rude to him. Because of what his classmates had done for him he "walked out of the classroom and felt like dancing and singing"(176). This quote shows how it was a positive thing that he was living between two worlds.
ReplyDeleteAt the Indian Reservation, nearly everyone gets drunk all the time and many people die because of it. Going to Reardan is the only way for him to get away from it all. Along with this he gets cheered up by his friends there and they help him get through it.
In the book Junior was talking to his teacher Mr. P about his family. Mr. P was talking about Mary and how she faded away every year. Mr. P told Junior "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). When Junior was being told this he realized that he did deserve better, and by better he was going to a different school. Reardan had a better opportunity for Junior and he was going to learn more.
ReplyDeleteBefore Juniors basketball game he had an interview with the camera man. He had a really hard time explaining about the game and how he used to go to Wellpinit. Junior finally said "I feel like this is the most important night of my life. I feel like I have something to prove to the people in Reardan, the people in Wellpinit, and to myself" (Alexie 186). This was Juniors final time to play against his old school and he comes out in the end and wins.
everyone is absolutely shocked that Penelope chose junior as a friend not a white boy junior realized that he is not a ugly mutated beast not like everyone see him but he feels that hi is a absolute stranger at the school but when hi is with Penelope he feels that the two worlds between indians and americans don't matter to him
ReplyDeleteFrom living on the reservation Junior has a lot of bad ideas going into Rearden school because he only has indian conspiracies in his mind. Junior isn't used to all the new people and getting to be familiar white people because on the reservation that really isn't something that is completed excepted because indians are supposed to stick with indians. Before he even talks to any of the white people Junior already thinks he will be constantly made fun of and have to battle his way through school and doesn't even give the white kids a chance because that is what he had to do on the reservation. Arnold when he got to Rearden school though realized "if you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing"(Alexie 129). By Junior living between the two worlds it helped him discover that people outside of the reservation are really not as bad as they were made out to be and that if you let the new people into your life it can be a great thing.
ReplyDeleteLiving between the two world's of Rearden and the reservation makes Junior realize how good that the white kids have it at Rearden compared to the reservation kids. The Rearden kids have something to look forward to in life because they have more opportunities and abilities to be able to go out and be successful. I "mean, jeez, all of the seniors on our team were going to college. All of the guys on our team had their own cars. All of the guys on our team had iPods and cell phones and PSPs and three pairs of blue jeans and ten shirts and mothers and fathers who went to church and had good jobs" and then when Junior looks at the Rearden kids he knows that "none of them was going to college. not one of them" (Alexie 195). Being at the the two schools gives Junior a bad look into the future and makes him feel awful for his fellow reservation people.
Growing up Junior was only exposed to the people that live on the reservation, all he ever knew was the culture that they have on the reservation. Although most people on the res think of white people as bad and they don't respect them at all, which in the novel can definitely go both ways. When junior goes to Reardon he is exposed to all different types of people. It becomes clear to him that He realizes "if you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing" (Alexie 131) Junior is able to conclude that no one is greater than anyone else and were all considered equal. When you grow up in a sheltered life like he has it's hard to see how different people are and why you should respect them at all times.Not only do these groups not respect each other but they're stereotypical "Indian boys weren't suppose to dream like that and white girls from small towns weren't suppose to dream big either" (Alexie, 114) This shows what your suppose to be and now who you are but what your expected. This doesn't represent independence. No matter how you say it in both ways were different but we're all our own people.
ReplyDeleteArnold living in Reardan High School part of the day rather than the reservation gave Arnold a positive outlook on life. Outside of Reardan, "[He] was an Indian kid from the reservation. [He] was lonely and sad and isolated and terrified (Alexie 94)," when he was living on the hostile reservation full of bullies and drunks.
ReplyDeleteArnold living in two different worlds, one called Reardan full of success while the other called the Rez full of failure, gave Arnold hope for his future. He no longer had clipped wings since he had a chance of being part a positive, social, accepting community at Reardan High School rather than the cruel community at the reservation.
When Junior started dating Penelope, nobody realized that he was dirt poor and since he was dating Penelope he looked like a big shot. In Reardan, the wealthy school full of white kids, Junior was well respected and pretty successful when it came to writing and basketball. At his home on the Rez, all of the Indians from Wellpoint high school treated him like crap because he was weak and had issues, he was also poor and that did not help him in the process. A part where these 2 worlds combine in Junior's life is when he goes out with Penelope and a kid named Roger, "guessed Junior was poor". (Sherman, 127) Roger found out Junior was poor because he didn't have a ride and couldn't pay for his food. Surprisingly, this was positive for Junior because Roger gave him 40 dollars and Penelope grew more attracted to him because she felt bad for Junior. Overall, Junior always tries to separate his 2 worlds apart and in reality if he let more people know about his secrets it could actually help him.
ReplyDeleteJunior was in the boys bathroom and noticed a strange noise from the girls bathroom. It sounded like some one had the flu an was vomiting. So junior walks over by the door and knocks an asked if anyone needs help and the reply was a mean yelling go away. Junior stays an waits an the girl that walked out was Penelope, he asked if she was okay an she gave him a nasty attitude. He asked why was she anorexic, she said she was bulimic and explained the difference an as she was doing thing she became sad an her mean shell was fading. " Penelope starts crying, talking about how lonely she is, and how everybody thinks her life is perfect because she is pretty and smart and popular, but that she's scared all the time, but nobody will let her be scared because she's pretty and smart and popular"(Alexie 108). When Penelope is breaking down to junior he realizes how she really feels on the inside and see her double life that she hides come so many people. Junior and Penelope's relationship grows into something bigger because they both live double lives and how they made a great couple even though nobody understood
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteWhen Junior went out with Penelope and friends to get pancakes after the dance Junior was nervous because he had no money. When he went into the bathroom with Roger he told him that he had no money with him. Roger felt bad and "opened his wallet and handed me forty bucks." (126). This part shows how being between two worlds is good for Junior because his friends help him out when back home he wouldn't get nearly as much help.
ReplyDeleteAt the reservation everyone is very poor and all anyone ever does is drink. For once Junior gets to go out with friends and have a good time. His friends are nice enough to let him have some money because they understand he has very little and they help him through it.
While Junior goes to Reardan but lives on the rez it makes it difficult for him to play basketball because he has to play against the rez team and always feels bad when he plays them. Even when Junior's team wins he feels horrible and he "suddenly wants to apologize to Rowdy, to all the other spokanes"(Alexie 194). This is a positive and negative experience because everyone at Rearden is happy but the people from the rez are mad.
ReplyDeleteWhile going to this new school the teachers and students were very quick to judge him but in the end realized he was no different than any other kid. "all of these students and teachers were suspicious about me when i first arrived, had learned to care about me"(Alexie 212).
On the Rez junior was always the one to get beat up, he had a record of fighting like all the others but he wasn't much of a winner. When he went to rearden he had to be brave and stick up for himself. So when he was being bullied by Rodger he defended himself by hitting Rodger. Junior then felt a sense of accomplishment. He "felt brave all of the sudden. Yeah, maybe it was just a stupid and immature schoolyard fight. Or maybe it was the most important moment of my life. Maybe I was telling the world I was no longer a human target."(Alexie 65). This shows how after junior left the Rez he was no longer the person he used to be. He went from being a target to being someone who is actually respected.
ReplyDeleteJunior definitely went through some tough situations with living on the Rez but going to school off of the Rez. He was torn between the two, he described his feelings as "No, I felt a like a magician slicing myself in half,with junior living on the north side of the Spokane river and Arnold living on the the south"(Alexie 61). Junior was conflicted with not knowing where he belonged. He felt like two different people and he didn't know if he should stay true to his Indian side or if he should go and make something of himself.
After a while, Junior learns to fit in at his new school but it takes time to get used to. He has to adjust to them and they have to accept him. When Junior goes through the terrible loss of his grandmother he realizes that "all of these students and teachers who were suspicious about me when I first arrived, had learned to care about me" (Alexie 212). This is important because both white people and Indians have sympathy for him and deep down care even though he didn't think so. The author puts this in because it represents how he gets a positive experience from having the best of both world going to Reardan and living on the rez even though it can be a struggle sometimes.
ReplyDeleteJunior went through a lot in his life throughout this book. He had the res that he had mixed emotions about and then the school that he used to hate and now he likes, he said "No, i felt like a magician slicing myself in half, with Junior living on the north side of the spokane river and Arnold living on the South" (Alexie 61). Junior did not know where he belonged so he had the school he was starting to like and then the crappy rez where everyone drank and he was not a fan of that. Junior does not know whether to be himself and stay an indian or to be more like a white person to be successful and fit in.
ReplyDeletealthough junior experience more positive that negative effects he does suffer tremendously trying to fit into the native American world of the reservation and the with world of Reardon high school however by the end of the novel he learns to appreciate aspects of both cultures.
ReplyDeleteJunior draws the image of the two different gyms in the book that shows wellpinit and reardan gyms. In the wellpinit he is portrayed as a devil because most people saw him as a traitor or a white lover. However in Reardan he is portrayed as an angel because he was really good at basketball and they see his talent and ability to lead the team to victory.
ReplyDeleteAs time begins to go on, Junior becomes to more settled into the new school. Junior gets more attached to what he believes is the prettiest girl in the school and even begins to date her. Junior is shocked by her decision to date a guy like him, “How did I, the dorky Indian guy, win a tiny piece of Penelope’s heart.” (110) Even though he’s worried that Penelope is only dating him to make a statement, he is still happy that he has his first girlfriend. His relationship with Penelope sort of boosts his confidence level. It also makes him a popular kid which is a big change from the school on the reservation. Although he is still holding back and is still shy, his attitude and personality has greatly changed after the transfer to Reardon.
ReplyDeleteThis quote comes up after Junior punches the biggest guy in the school. It shows how Junior is trying to change his reputation and try not to be known as the loser kid like he was on the rez. Even though he is scared after he gets in the fight, he is pleasantly surprised when he is treated with respect, "Wow, he didn't kick my ass. He was actually nice. He paid me some respect. He paid respect to Eugene and his bike." (72). This quote shows how Junior is becoming to get paid respect and his population level is starting to increase as time goes on.
“I suddenly understood that if every moment of a book should be taken seriously, then every moment of a life should be taken seriously as well.” i think that Junior feel that everything that had happen is for a reason and he have to take his life very seriously because even know that he my be different from the white people is part of him that is also the same us the other kids on the school.
ReplyDeleteWhen Junior first went to Reardan, he was super nervous and he wasn't used to living in "2 worlds". Though, once he adapted to this kind of life and he was able to make friends with people like Roger and Penelope. At first Junior didn't completely welcome the 2nd world into his life which just restrained his potential. Once Junior finally just let things happen and started to let people know about him they became interested. Although it was nerve wracking for him to do this, it was definitely worth it because in the end he got himself a nice friends and a nice girlfriend. Junior sometimes thought, “How did I, the dorky Indian guy, win a tiny piece of Penelope’s heart.” (Alexie, 110) This quote backs up the fact in Junior's life that once he let the new world into his old world there are going to be some setbacks and benefits but that is the risk you have to take and in this case it was a good risk because Junior got the benefit of being respected and cared for.
ReplyDeleteJunior explains to us how there was a big difference in the cultures in which Indians had to deal with death much more than the white people did. He says that the white people are able to count the amount of funerals they've been to on one hand, if they've ever even been to one while Junior has been to over 40. The white people at Reardan probably didn't understand how big death was to the Indian culture, and this is showed by Junior's teacher who says "We have a special guest today. It's Arnold Spirit. I didn't realize you still went to this school, Mr. Spirit" (175). After losing two important people in his life, it was hard for Junior to be singled out like this but his classmates supported him. "Then all of my classmates walked out of the room. A spontaneous demonstration" (175). This was a positive effect of living in two different worlds because while one world brought him so much pain and sorrow because he lost two important people, his other world was there to support him. It must have been good for Junior to see that he had the white kids from Reardan stick up for him and support him.
ReplyDeleteJr. has grown up on a indian reservation and always has the same people in his life. He is not use to change so he had no chance to discovered that "if you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing" (Alexie 131) He is learning that the would is not as scary as the people on the reservation say. He is discovering that there are people out there that can help him. I think this quote is important because he is growing up. He is learning who can be trust worthy and help him and who is racist and hate his guts.
ReplyDelete"I'm 14 and i've been to 42 funerals, thats really the biggest difference between Indians and white people." (Alexia 215) normally in the white colcher you only attend a funerals if it was a family member or a close friend. On the reservation the whole tribe is your family and everybody knows everybody. Thats why he has attended so many funerals. I chose this quote because I think it shows us the most how different our cultures are. Alexia is trying to show us that we are really different but we are the same in many ways.
Throughout the book “ The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” Jr the main male character sees many differences through his two worlds and Although he has some negative experiences over everything that happens it to him it still affects positively. He sees his family on the Rez and Rowdy his best friend. He sees his personal problems, difficult financial situation and a small social life made up of almost no one. Jr also sees however another world of white people that have money, nice things, an entirely different social grouping of people that he almost never comes into contact with at the Rez.. He sees smart , dumb , good looking teens and some teens that share the same likes and dislikes as him. At first Jr “ Used to think the world was broken down by tribes” like “ By black and white. By Indian and white.” That the way the people on the Rez saw it as well and they weren't to happy when they saw Jr Was going to go to a white school. thought that when you’re Indian “ You start believing you’re destined to be poor. It’s an ugly circle and there nothing you can do about it.” ( Pg 13 Part Time Indian ) However as Arthur continues going to Reardan he meets people such as Gordy,Roger , His coach and Penelope that show that “ If you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn Amazing “ ( Pg 129. Part Time Indian ) When you let people in from other places other situations or just people that other view other than your own. You can learn a lot from them. Arnold didn't realize it at first but in reality he wasn't just part of the Spokane tribe and the Rez world he was part of many different ones he was part of Reardan’s he was apart of basketball,poverty and cartoon lovers. The things he was apart of could go on and on. Being apart of so many different worlds gives you many different experience both good and bad.
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