Alexie, Sherman. Art by Ellen Forney. 2007. The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN: 0-316-01368-4
SUMMARY:
Arnold Spirit, Junior, to those on the Spokane Indian Reservation, had it bad the minute he was born. Arnold was born with Hydrocephalus, commonly known as "water on the brain". He is ridiculed and bullied all the time. Rowdy, the biggest bully torments him, but they are best friends. In order to break the cycle of poverty Arnold is in, he decides he wants to attend school off the "rez". He enrolls in a "white" school twenty miles away. At the new school, Arnold is exposed and experiences things he's never been through, such as dances, field trips and even falling in love. Arnold makes new friends with the "popular" kids and the "nerdy" ones, too. He even makes the basketball team.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
Alexie's characters will enthrall the reader into this book. Written in the first person, Alexie's Arnold humorously takes the reader onto the reservation, connects one into the daily life and tragedies Arnold endures- hunger, walking twenty miles some days to get to school, deaths of family and friends. Set in a reservation in Spokane, WA, one is enlightened by Indian culture, in a Pow Wow and poverty on the reservation. Arnold's conflict of finding his own identity outside the "rez" is a self vs. self plot. But also his conflict of "betraying" his own culture leads to the plot of self vs. society and self vs.culture. Young readers will applaud Arnold for believing in himself and adventuring out of his comfort and experience life of the "rez".
LITERARY CRITERIA:
Readers will care for his characters. One will feel when Arnold goes through his trials and tribulations, to the point of crying while reading this book. The plot flows as readers follows Arnold events in his life. Obviously, the setting affects Arnold's story. The poverty and alcoholism among others on the "rez" directly molds Arnold's desire to escape. With the first person point of view style, readers will again feel what Arnold's is going through. The relevent theme of trying to find yourself in the room, coping with friends and family and going through "growing pains" in life is eviden in Arnold's story.
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES:
The greatest strengths in this novel was the humor in the writing and the cartoons accompanying some of the passages. Though, some may question and/or be offended by the portrayal of Native Americans in this novel, Alexie wrote to bring out the authenticity of this particular culture. One can see how others can object to language and the sexual "talk" between young boys, again, "it is how it is".
AWARDS AND OTHER REVIEWS:
"Realistic and fantastical and funny and tragic-all at the same time." (VOYA (starred review) )
"Alexie's humor and prose are easygoing and well suited to his young audience." (Booklist )
"[Alexie] has created an endearing teen protagonist in his own likeness and placed him in the here and now." (Minneapolis Star Tribune )
FAVORITE LINES/ PASSAGES: My favorite scene is the very last scene of the book:
"Rowdy and I played one-on-one for hours. We played until dark. We played until the streetlights lit up the court. We played until the bats swooped down at our heads. We played until the moon was huge and golden and perfect in the dark sky.
We didn't keep score."
BOOK HOOK:
Incorporate in these curriculum themes: Native Americans, family life, alcoholism, escapism, self-confidence, determination and self-esteem.
Arnold Spirit, Junior, to those on the Spokane Indian Reservation, had it bad the minute he was born. Arnold was born with Hydrocephalus, commonly known as "water on the brain". He is ridiculed and bullied all the time. Rowdy, the biggest bully torments him, but they are best friends. In order to break the cycle of poverty Arnold is in, he decides he wants to attend school off the "rez". He enrolls in a "white" school twenty miles away. At the new school, Arnold is exposed and experiences things he's never been through, such as dances, field trips and even falling in love. Arnold makes new friends with the "popular" kids and the "nerdy" ones, too. He even makes the basketball team.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
Alexie's characters will enthrall the reader into this book. Written in the first person, Alexie's Arnold humorously takes the reader onto the reservation, connects one into the daily life and tragedies Arnold endures- hunger, walking twenty miles some days to get to school, deaths of family and friends. Set in a reservation in Spokane, WA, one is enlightened by Indian culture, in a Pow Wow and poverty on the reservation. Arnold's conflict of finding his own identity outside the "rez" is a self vs. self plot. But also his conflict of "betraying" his own culture leads to the plot of self vs. society and self vs.culture. Young readers will applaud Arnold for believing in himself and adventuring out of his comfort and experience life of the "rez".
LITERARY CRITERIA:
Readers will care for his characters. One will feel when Arnold goes through his trials and tribulations, to the point of crying while reading this book. The plot flows as readers follows Arnold events in his life. Obviously, the setting affects Arnold's story. The poverty and alcoholism among others on the "rez" directly molds Arnold's desire to escape. With the first person point of view style, readers will again feel what Arnold's is going through. The relevent theme of trying to find yourself in the room, coping with friends and family and going through "growing pains" in life is eviden in Arnold's story.
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES:
The greatest strengths in this novel was the humor in the writing and the cartoons accompanying some of the passages. Though, some may question and/or be offended by the portrayal of Native Americans in this novel, Alexie wrote to bring out the authenticity of this particular culture. One can see how others can object to language and the sexual "talk" between young boys, again, "it is how it is".
AWARDS AND OTHER REVIEWS:
"Realistic and fantastical and funny and tragic-all at the same time." (VOYA (starred review) )
"Alexie's humor and prose are easygoing and well suited to his young audience." (Booklist )
"[Alexie] has created an endearing teen protagonist in his own likeness and placed him in the here and now." (Minneapolis Star Tribune )
FAVORITE LINES/ PASSAGES: My favorite scene is the very last scene of the book:
"Rowdy and I played one-on-one for hours. We played until dark. We played until the streetlights lit up the court. We played until the bats swooped down at our heads. We played until the moon was huge and golden and perfect in the dark sky.
We didn't keep score."
BOOK HOOK:
Incorporate in these curriculum themes: Native Americans, family life, alcoholism, escapism, self-confidence, determination and self-esteem.
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