The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian
First edition cover
Author(s)	Sherman Alexie
Illustrator	Ellen Forney
Cover artist	Ellen Forney
Country	United States of America
Language	English
Genre(s)	Young-adult fiction
Publication date	September 2007
Media type	Print (hardcover & paperback)
ISBN	978-0-316-01368-0
OCLC Number	154698238
LC Classification	PZ7.A382 Ab 2007

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian (2007) is a novel for young adults written by Sherman Alexie. It is a first-person narrative from the viewpoint of a Native American teenager.

Arnold Spirit, Jr., or "Junior", is a budding cartoonist. Detailing Arnold's life on the Spokane Indian Reservation and his decision, upon encouragement from a reservation high school teacher, to go to an all-white high school in the off-reservation town of Reardan, Washington, the novel deals with issues such as racism, poverty, and the following of tradition.

Plot

The novel opens with Arnold's explanation of the fact that he was born with an excess of cerebral spinal fluid in his skull (an event that he describes as being "born with water on the brain"). The brain damage that resulted from this and the surgery that he went through in order to remove some of the fluid left Arnold with many physical problems: He has forty-two teeth; is skinny; has an over-sized head, hands, and feet; has poor eyesight; and experiences frequent seizures, stutters, and lisps. Mistreated by others on the reservation because of these problems, Arnold is regularly beaten up and given such nicknames as "retard" (for the brain damage that he has sustained) and "globe" (for his large head). His family, like the majority of the other reservation families, is incredibly poor: This point is emphasized when Arnold's adopted dog Oscar begins to suffer from intense heat exhaustion and Arnold's father is forced to kill Oscar with a rifle to avoid having to pay the expensive veterinary treatment necessary to save him.

Arnold's life on the reservation is brightened by his friend Rowdy, described by Arnold as being "the toughest kid on the rez." Rowdy's father abuses his son and wife; thus they are constantly and noticeably covered in bruises. Despite the hardships that he experiences and his cold, tough attitude, Rowdy stays true to his friend Arnold and cares a great deal for him.

On Arnold's first day of high school, his teacher, Mr. P, hands out textbooks to the students and Arnold realizes that his book is the one that had been used by his mother, who was thirty years old when she gave birth to him, thus making the textbook at least thirty years older than Arnold himself. Angered and saddened by the fact that the Spokane reservation is so poor as to be unable to afford new textbooks for its high school and feeling that his hopes and enthusiasm have been crushed, Arnold violently throws the book, which ends up colliding with Mr. P. The school suspends Arnold.

A week into Arnold's suspension, he is visited at the front porch of his family's house by a bandaged Mr. P, to whom Arnold apologizes. They speak about various things, such as why Arnold threw the textbook and about the fact that Arnold's sister (Mary Spirit, who is often referred to by the nickname "Mary Runs Away" and who spends most of her time in Arnold's home's basement) had a desire to write romance novels. Mr. P, having seen many bright Spokane Indians (among them Arnold's sister) lose hope and a desire to succeed after experiencing life on the reservation, believes that Arnold, a relatively bright student, deserves more than what he will get from continuing to live where he is now. He goes so far as to suggest that Arnold leave the reservation in search of a brighter future. Arnold, prompted by Mr. P's suggestion that he leave the reservation, gets some words of advice: "You can't give up. You won't give up. You threw that book in my face because somewhere inside, you refuse to give up." Hearing that, he decides to transfer to Reardan-the school full of rich white kids in the countryside. Though Arnold's mother is an ex-drunk and his father a drunk, they do not wish their children to end up like them and, like Mr. P, believe that there is hope for Arnold off the reservation; thus they allow him to transfer to Reardan's high school. Arnold's decision brings harsh criticism and violence from Rowdy, who declares Arnold a "white lover" and attacks him.

On Arnold's first day at Reardan, his father drives him the twenty-two miles from the reservation to the school. The only Indian to attend the school, he is treated somewhat as an outcast by the other students, and taunting and threatening remarks from a group of boys eventually drive Arnold to violence. Despite his troubles, Arnold begins to enjoy Reardan, developing a crush on a white girl, Penelope, and making friends with a student named Gordy. Junior tries to talk to Rowdy. He tells him about how he's falling in love with Penelope: "'Hey Rowdy', I wrote. 'I'm in love with a white girl. What should I do?' 'Hey Asshole,' Rowdy wrote back. 'I'm sick of Indian guys who treat white women like bowling trophies. Get a life.'" Rowdy gets mad every time they communicate, even when Junior knocks on Rowdy's door to give him a picture he drew of the "good old times.: His father answers the door and is just as rude as Rowdy himself, saying: "Yeah, I'll give it. Even if it is a little gay."

As time goes by, Arnold and Penelope develop a closer relationship. He makes it on the varsity basketball team, which is uncommon for a freshman.

Eventually, though, he is struck by more tragedies - his sister, who eloped and moved to Montana, dies in a trailer fire, his father's friend Eugene is shot in the face, and his grandmother is run over by a drunk driver.

At the end, Arnold and Rowdy make up and look towards a bright future.

Characters

Arnold Spirit, nicknamed Junior, is a fourteen-year-old boy who lives on the Spokane Indian Reservation and has a crush on his friend, Penelope. He enjoys basketball and drawing in his free time. Junior and his family, along with the others on the reservation are dealing with poverty. A lot of times, there is not enough food to eat in their home or enough money for gas in the car, forcing him to hitchhike to school or not go at all.

Junior's Mom is a Spokane Indian, living on the reservation her whole life. She's a bad liar, likes to read books a lot of the time, and is considered by Junior to be very smart. "She's a human tape recorder. Really, my mom can read the newspaper in fifteen minutes and tell me baseball scores, the location of every war, the latest guy to win the lottery and the high temperature in Des Moines, Iowa."

Junior's Dad is an alcoholic, but is a good singer. "He sings old country songs. And blues, too. Like a pro." He plays the piano and saxophone.

Mr. P is bald and short. He is Junior's geometry teacher. Incredibly absent minded, he often forgets to come to school, but "he doesn't expect much of [his students]."

Rowdy "He is long and lean and strong like a snake." Junior and Rowdy have been the best of friends since they were little.

Mary, Junior's Sister. Mary has long hair and is nicknamed "Mary runs away". She likes to write. After high school, she did not go to college or get a job, instead she moved to Montana with her new husband.

Gordy wears glasses, and does everything in the name of science. Very smart, Junior's good friend, and—in many ways—his teacher.

Penelope Arnold's female friend. She has blond hair and Junior thinks that she is very pretty. She wants to help others and is bulimic. Main character Arnold has a crush on this character.

Eugene is Junior's father's best friend. "Eugene was a good guy, and like an uncle to me, but he was drunk all the time." He becomes an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) for the tribal ambulance service.

Junior's Grandma is Junior's source of advice.

Reception

Reviews

Bruce Barcott of The New York Times said of the novel in a 2007 review, "For 15 years now, Sherman Alexie has explored the struggle to survive between the grinding plates of the Indian and white worlds. He's done it through various characters and genres, but The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian may be his best work yet. Working in the voice of a 14-year-old forces Alexie to strip everything down to action and emotion, so that reading becomes more like listening to your smart, funny best friend recount his day while waiting after school for a ride home."

The New York Times raved that this was Alexie's "first foray into the young adult genre, and it took him only one book to master it.". The San Francisco chronicle praised it as "[a] great book full of pain, but luckily, the pain is spiked with joy and humor."

Reviewers also praised Alexie's treatment of difficult issues. Delia Santos, a publisher for the civilrights.org page, noted "the reality of living utter poverty, contend with the discrimination of those outside of the reservation, cope with a community, and family ravaged and often killed by alcoholism. . . The character focuses on words and images to depict Native American struggles. . . He writes to tell the injustice social system.” As Andrew Fersch, a pubulisher for Vail Daily, commented, “most folks block out most of their teenage memory, [while] Alexie embraced it with humor.”

Awards

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian won the 2007 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. It was also listed as one of "SLJ's Best Books of 2007." In 2010, it won the California Young Reader Medal

Controversy

The book has been at center of several controversies regarding the depiction of sex and violence in books written for young adults. Alexie responded to such complaints in a 2011 Wall Street Journal post entitled "Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood", in which he argues that attempts to prevent school-aged children from learning about the harsher aspects of contemporary life are "way, way too late.” He uses his own life as an example:

Of course, all during my childhood, would-be saviors tried to rescue my fellow tribal members. They wanted to rescue me. But, even then, I could only laugh at their platitudes. In those days, the cultural conservatives thought that KISS and Black Sabbath were going to impede my moral development. They wanted to protect me from sex when I had already been raped. They wanted to protect me from evil though a future serial killer had already abused me. They wanted me to profess my love for God without considering that I was the child and grandchild of men and women who’d been sexually and physically abused by generations of clergy.

Alexie also points out in that post that he has visited many classrooms and received many letters and messages from students who liked the book, noting that these students have had difficult experiences similar to his own—"depression, attempted suicide, gang warfare, sexual and physical abuse, absentee parents, poverty, racism, and learning disabilities"—and he notes:

"I have yet to receive a letter from a child somehow debilitated by the domestic violence, drug abuse, racism, poverty, sexuality, and murder contained in my book. To the contrary, kids as young as ten have sent me autobiographical letters written in crayon, complete with drawings inspired by my book, that are just as dark, terrifying, and redemptive as anything I’ve ever read."

Banned

Stockton, Missouri

In April 2010, the Stockton School Board, located in Missouri, United States, voted to remove "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" from the school library after a parent complained about its content. The American Library Association has asked the school board to reconsider its decision. In September 2010 the School Board decided to uphold its April decision to ban the book from the curriculum and from the library with a vote of 5-2.

Richland, Washington

In June 2011, the Richland School Board, in Washington, United States, voted to prohibit use of “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” for all grade levels. The book was subject to a pilot program, by a ninth-grade English class, prior to Instructional Materials Committee review. Although the original vote was only if the book was appropriate for Freshman English students, the Committee decided to remove it from all grades, by a vote of 3-2. That decision was reversed the following month.

Newcastle, Wyoming

In Mid-October 2010, Newcastle Middle School attempted to use the book in the 8th grade English curriculumn. At first, the district allowed it under the premise that children who weren't allowed to read it would bring a signed paper allowing them to read the alternate book Tangerine. About two weeks after the announcement made to the 8th graders, the school board banned it on terms of teaching it in a curriculum, but still allowed it in the library for those who wished to read it.

Autobiographical elements

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is semi-autobiographical. Like Arnold, Sherman Alexie grew up on the Spokane Reservation in Wellpinit. He was also born with hydrocephalus, like Arnold. Another similarity between Alexie and his character is that Alexie also left the reservation to go to school at Reardan High.^{[citation needed]}