The Absolutely True Diary of a Party Time Indian Essay

In Sherman Alexies novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, the protagonist, Junior, overcomes many obstacles such as stereotypes, poverty and hopelessness. One of the main obstacles Junior overcomes is stereotypes. Junior is an Indian who lives on a reservation. Indians have many stereotypes that are towards them. For instance one stereotype is that they have no hope. Junior had a conversation with one of his teachers about his future, which involved him switching schools. Junior knew that if he stayed at the reservation high school he won’t be able to make a future for himself. So when his parents got home he asked them who has the most hope, â€Å"’White people, (Alexie45)’† his parents told him at the same time. Even†¦show more content†¦The second obstacle that Junior overcame was poverty. Being an Indian and living on the reservation he grew up with little to no money, and any money they did have his dad drank away. One common thing that Junior heard when he asked his dad for a ride to school in Reardan was, â€Å"’Don’t have enough gas,’ (Alexie70).† Junior never le t the fact that his parents didn’t have any money stop him from going to school. He would either walk or hitchhike his way there even if he would be late. Junior was very determined to get to school to create that future he was dreaming of. He didn’t want the kids at Reardan to think of him as any different as they were. One way he did this was by pretending he had money, â€Å"My parents gave me just enough money so that I could pretend to have more money than I did, (Alexie119).† He knew he was poor, but he didn’t want his friends to know he was too. Junior wanted to be like everyone else and just fit in. He didn’t want the kids to think just because he was poor he couldn’t hang out with them. Eventually his friends discover that he has little money. They didn’t even think about not hanging out with him. They actually offer to help him and give him rides. If anything the fact that they knew more about him made him more popular with them. Junior would walk to school when there was no gas, he would hang out and go places with friends even when they knew he was poor. When Junior lets loose, he becomes a better person an overcomes his poverty withShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Movie The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian `` By Sherman Alexie1403 Words   |  6 Pagessingle person out there longs to be part of something bigger than themselves. They don’t want to be alone in such a big place as the earth we live on. They want to feel like they belong. This is exactly how Arnold Spirit Junior (The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian; Sherman Alexie) feels. He has spent his entire life feeling like an outsider. He longs to be a part of something bigger than himself, to be accepted. There are many aspects in life in which one can feel like they belong. 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