J.R

Forbidden Books

March 19, 2015

                                   The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian

“I wept because I was the only Indian to leave the rez. I was the only one with enough arrogance” (Alexie 217). Arnold is a young teenage boy who lives in the rez. He was born with a brain disorder and a lisp. Arnold always gets bullied at school because of that. His family lives in the Spokane Indian Reservation, where his parents have lived their whole lives. As Arnold grew older he was bullied at the school that he attended near the rez. He had a best friend named Rowdy that he grew up with that was bullied and abused at home by his abusive parents. Arnold always thought of him as a great friend with a really strong attitude and personality. Arnold always was called horrible and racist names everyday. Arnold felt like he was not part of the community in his school because of the way people acted and talked to him. Arnold’s mother was an ex-drinker and his father was a recent drinker. When Arnold asked them to transfer to Reardan they stood shocked. Arnold asked, “Who has the most hope?” (Alexie 45). and they responded, “White People” (Alexie 45),. It  was  hard for Arnold and his parents to have him  transfer to a different school and leave the rez, but this also allow him to experience diversity in different ways.

Although the transition was going to be hard with home and on the rez, Arnold was very worried about everything, about how things will end up or how they’ll happen. As Arnold entered Reardan it was such a huge change, a different view and a different world for him. Not only was it different but he was experiencing something that no one in his family had ever experienced outside the rez. One morning, Arnold gets a ride from his dad to school and his dad tells him, “‘Remember that the white kids aren't better than you’ but Junior, convinced of his loser-dom, thinks this is so totally not true.” (Alexie 55). After a few weeks of Arnold going to Reardan he said, “ Traveling between Reardan and Wellpinit, between the little white town and the reservation, I always felt like a stranger. I was half Indian in one place and half white in the other” (Alexie 118). As Arnold was outside of school, he got into a fight with the group of kids that were always calling him names. He would overthink so much and that day he wanted Rowdy to be there with him to protect him and be there with him. He always reminded himself that he had to do better and get the respect he wanted to end the bullying and be part of any school he went to. As he always said, “The first thing you have to do is change the way you look, the way you talk, and the way you walk” (Alexie 81). Roger’s friends came up to Arnold and Arnold got so mad that punched Roger.

The next day, the only thing that Arnold was worried about was Roger’s revenge for him and knowing that Rowdy was not his friend anymore and that he hated him. He barely had friends and losing Rowdy was his only true best friend, who actually cared. He was always with him through thick and thin. Arnold thinking about it made him feel like a stranger and a loner not having any friends. Arnold says, “The next few weeks are lonely for Junior. No one talks to him on the reservation or at Reardan. Plus, he starts getting a big old zit. He feels alone, like a zombie in Bummertown” (Alexie 82-83).

Not to mention, Arnold met a friend named Gordy that also attended Reardan. They became very good friends. Gordy becomes his teacher and teaches him how to study and read. Arnold says, “He was an extremely weird dude. But he was the most smartest person i’d ever known. He would always be the smartest person i’d ever known. And he certainly helped me through school. He not only tutored me and challenged me, but he made me realize that hard work---that the act of finishing, of completing , of accomplishing a task --- is joyous”. (Alexie 98). Arnold joins the basketball team at Reardan. Gordy was very good at science. Arnold wasn’t accepted at Reardan, until he became very good at basketball. That’s when people actually started noticing Arnold. They looked up to him, accepted and respected him. All thanks to Mr. P that gave him the idea of finding hope and leaving the reservation. Arnold was finally somebody in Reardan and at least got some respect.

The diversity of the school and having to meet new people that were very different from him was a huge challenge for Arnold because he was Indian, very poor, and had some personal problems. But after all, he got the respect after joining the Reardan basketball team and makes varsity. Arnold went a really long way to find his hope and now he has got it. In April 2010, the Stockton School Board, located in Missouri, voted to ban The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian from the school library after a parent complained about the content the book had. The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian was censored in many places in different years because of the vulgar, sexual and racist language. The book had lots of violence and it also mentioned drugs/alcohol/smoking.

 Arnold changed his lifestyle to find a better chance of being accepted into Reardan, a different world outside the rez. and because of this, he was able to find hope and accept different forms of diversity.

Overall, Arnold has been a great example to others. He showed that everything is possible if you push yourself to do what you want to do.  Arnold was a very confident boy and he never gave up on trying to find hope even if it was leaving Rowdy and the rez behind.

Works Cited

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Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.

"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian." Wikipedia. Wikimedia

"Tag Archives: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian; Banned; Censorship; Sherman

Alexie; Idaho." Memories of the People. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.

"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Summary - ENotes.com."Enotes.com. Enotes.com,

 n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.