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I want to simplify certain sections of the True Diary page. For example: 5.1 Censorship is all essay-y and should be cut down to what's relevant to the section.

Article Evaluation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Absolutely_True_Diary_of_a_Part-Time_Indian

The syntax of the section titled "Controversy" is distracting. 5.1 Censorship uses essay writing: "Since its publication in 2007, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian has earned a variety of awards, but has also been met with censorship," and "in the summer of 2009, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was introduced to Antioch High School's summer reading list for incoming ninth graders. It was not long before local parents caught wind of the book's references to alcoholism, sensitive cultural topics, and sexual innuendos" are examples of this essay writing that distracts from a direct and to-the-point article about the novel.

The citations in this section work smoothly. They back up the statements made in the article. The talk page does not have any discussion of syntax, so I added a line stating my intention to edit the syntax.

Proposed Changes: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian has faced removal from libraries and school curricula and exclusion from student reading lists, among other barriers designed to stop students from accessing the book. The National Coalition Against Censorship has called The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian the book it defends more than any other. The topics addressed in the book that have been controversial are its perceived cultural insensitivity, provocative and explicit language, scenes that are sexually explicit or anti-family, and depictions of bullying and violence.

Original Text: Since its publication in 2007, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian has earned a variety of awards, but has also been met with censorship. Examples of censorship include the removal of the book from libraries and school curricula, its exclusion from student reading lists, and other barriers to stop students from accessing the book. The National Coalition Against Censorship has called The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian the book it defends more than any other. The root of some people's opposition to the book might be seen in Alexie's unapologetic statement that he writes for who he is: "kind of mixed up, kind of odd, not traditional. I'm a rez kid who's gone urban, and that's what I write about. I've never pretended to be otherwise."  The topics addressed in the book that have been controversial are its perceived cultural insensitivity, provocative and explicit language, scenes that are sexually explicit or anti-family, and depictions of bullying and violence. For its grappling with these issues, "some people thought it was the greatest book ever, and some people thought it was the most perverted book ever," said Shawn Tobin, a superintendent of a Georgia school district. Some have criticized efforts to reduce the book to these objectionable aspects in order to have the book censored or removed from schools. Cari Rerat, a public librarian in Missouri, claims that a section of the book that was only 15 sentences long that referred to masturbation was enough to earn the banning of the book in one school.

Defense of the Novel

Teachers and students, as well as Alexie himself, have spoken out in defense of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Many complaints from upset parents had to do with the gritty themes of the novel. Alexie responded to such complaints in a 2011 Wall Street Journal article 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.

In the same article, Alexie explains that he has visited many classrooms and received numerous 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.

Some defenders discuss the brighter messages of the book, pointing out that the novel shows positive perspectives on life and holds an anti-alcohol message. In a Chicago Tribune article entitled "Some Parents Seek to Ban The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian", John Whitehurst, an English teacher at Antioch High School, argues that Alexie's book should still be a part of their school curriculum:

While there is graphic language, keep in mind that Arnold [the main character] uses this language to express his own feelings to himself or to exchange taunts with his best friend, he never uses this language in front of girls, to his family or to other adults, and he doesn't act on such thoughts. He is consistently polite.

Other defenses have more to do with the nature of censorship in general, while still focusing on the value of the novel. In Richland, Washington, the School Board voted to ban the book, despite the voting members not having read it themselves. There was a public outcry following this censorship, and the decision was later reversed. Board member Rick Donohoe issued this statement:

The book’s 14-year-old protagonist struggles with poverty, racism and death. Those themes, and particularly the main character’s perseverance in the face of these challenges, bear important lessons for students. When I’m voting a book out of the classroom, I’m denying parents the right to choose to have that book read by their students. In the future, I will read every book I vote on.

Not all opinions on the novel are completely polarized. Some have discussed the merits of the book, while also mentioning the risks of exposing children to the harsher scenes. Young Adult Fiction author Raquel Rivera wrote in an essay on censorship:

I recently insisted my son, now 12 years old, read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. It is an excellent book and happens to have much useful material for a boy entering his teens... But there is a scene in Part-Time Indian in which a racist joke is told, and the protagonist is compelled to fight. For me, the joke was nothing more than a tool to propel the plot. In the story it is duly vanquished and forgotten. But the joke stayed with my son, and he continued to be bothered by it.

Historical Trauma of the Spokane Indians

Sherman Alexie grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington. While living on the reservation, he had to make sacrifices and choices that guided the direction of his future. In Diary, he writes a story about his own personal experiences he faced once he left the reservation, and how his decision to go to school for a proper education was quite difficult to adjust to.

In "Healing The Soul Wound," Jan Johnson, a writer and literary critic, discusses Sherman Alexie's purpose in sharing stories of marginalization and oppression in Native American communities. Johnson identifies the "soul wound," a concept that evolved from the historical oppression of Native Americans. This phenomenon is responsible for the characterization of Native Americans as individuals who are constantly suffering, and according to Johnson, this struggle has become a cultural trait. Johnson writes, "Alexie feels that—as a result of this grim history—suffering and trauma are fundamental to the experience of being Native American. Ceaseless suffering attains an epistemological status." Johnson also talks about how Junior went from being one of the smartest kids on the reservation, to being a target in his new prominently white school. Johnson explains that behaviors of the characters in Flight is a reflection on the traumas Native American Indians went through. On the other hand, Diary is a possible indication of the healing process from the tragedies and traumas the Spokane Indians faced throughout history. It is important for people to understand how this specific group and other groups of Native Americans were dehumanized and ripped of their cultural values, which is what Johnson considered to be the "soul wound" of American Indians.

In Sherman Alexie, A Collection of Critical Essays, critics Jeff Burglund and Jan Roush interpret Jan Johnson's definition of the soul wound as "intergenerational suffering." On pages 10 and 11 of Diary, Alexie elaborates on the concept of generational poverty when he reveals that Junior's family is too poor to care for the family's sick dog: "My parents came from poor people who came from poor people who came from poor people, all the way back to the very first poor people," he writes. Junior is "wounded," which Alexie shows through Junior's alcoholic father, his misguided sister, and his defeating social life. Through Diary, Alexie aims to make a larger statement about the need for change in both the internal structure and the external perception of Native American communities in the United States.Columbus and his men colonized the new land they encountered in horrid ways that diminished Native people of anything they had. Violent invasions by Columbus and his crew left the Indians with nothing to call their own. Sacred land, animals, plants, and relatives were all lost during the time of what Maria Yellow Brave Heart and Lemyra DeBruyn called the "American Indian Holocaust." The ones that were somewhat fortunate enough to stay alive were brainwashed of everything they knew, and were forced to believe and follow the religious practices of the Christian faith despite the fact it was not what they believed in. The Indians were also forced to relocate and leave everything, which led to many of them dying due to illness or unbearable conditions they had to walk in. Some Native peoples are still affected by this trauma. Many argue that "historical unresolved grief" is the cause of high crime rates and mental health issues among Native American people today. Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart and Lemyra DeBruyn explain the meaning behind "historical disenfranchised grief" and how it is overlooked by Americans. American Indians are experiencing disenfranchised grief because of how this group of people was and still is seen as savage, emotionless, and lacking of right or reason to mourn and grieve.

Multicultural literature

A textbook called Sherman Alexie in the Classroom was recently published in order to help teachers and educators explore how multicultural texts can impact the learning outcome of students––especially for Native Americans in the modern times. This text explores the significance and the message behind the works of Sherman Alexie, including poetry, novels, films strips, and much more.

Sherman Alexie's novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, is a multicultural text that many English teachers use in order to educate their students about the Native American heritage. The author, Alexie, himself is of the Spokane heritage. This means that he has had first hand experience of being Native American and facing racism, which gives him the ability to be able to discuss these issues in the context of his ethnicity. As a result, he uses his own background and personal experiences to write this specific novel in a semi-autobiographical format. However, many adults, especially parents, have rejected this book because they claim that the content and language of the novel are unsuitable for high school students. Other adults also claim that the presence of alcohol in the novel forms a mood of despair and sadness, which could influence children in negative ways. However, many teachers argue in defense of the novel. They refer to the textbook, Sherman Alexie in the Classroom, to claim that the book provides an opportunity to educate non-Native American students to "work through their white guilt and develop anti-racist perspectives."

Having read and discussed the topics of Alexie's novel as a multicultural literature, a student named Hannah Wolf also argued in favor of Alexie's novel. She claimed that the beginning of the book was very depressing and made her cry. However, as she kept reading, she discovered that Junior, the protagonist, started to stand up for himself and build more confidence. This testimony shows that a multicultural text such as this novel not only teaches students of one specific race to stand up for themselves, but also influences students of any race or ethnicity to maintain confidence and stick up for what they believe in.

Furthermore, Alexie's texts encourage educators to initiate discussions in their classrooms about the Native American culture as a whole. Many stereotypes of Native Americans exist in the United States; therefore, many people have erroneous views of what modern Native Americans' lives are like. 11th and 12th grade English teacher, Bryan Ripley Crandall, believes that learning about different cultural backgrounds creates a diverse learning environment. Crandall also states that the Native American narrative of Alexie's book is a way of giving minority students an access to their own background and heritage within an American education. Therefore, Alexie's multicultural literature of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian provides an expanded perspective of the daily lives of Native Americans living on the reservation in today's world.

Autobiographical elements

Author, Sherman Alexie, at the Texas Book Festival in 2008

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is semi-autobiographical. The novel started as a section of Sherman Alexie's family memoir, but after the persistence of a young adult editor, he decided to use it as a basis for his first young adult novel. Sherman Alexie states, "If I were to guess at the percentage, it would be about seventy-eight percent true." Like Arnold, Sherman Alexie grew up on the Spokane Reservation in Wellpinit with an alcoholic father. He was also born with hydrocephalus, like Arnold, but Alexie did not have any speech impediments. Like Arnold, Alexie was also teased for his government-issued, horn-rimmed glasses and nicknamed "The Globe" by fellow students because of his giant head. Another similarity between Alexie and his character is that Alexie also left the reservation to attend high school at Reardan High, but Alexie chose to go to Reardan to achieve the required credits he needed to go to college. Like Arnold, Alexie also became the star player of Reardan's basketball team, and was the only Indian on the team besides the school's team mascot. The scene where Arnold finds that he is using the same textbook his mother did thirty years before him is drawn from Alexie's own experiences. The only difference from Alexie's life and the novel is that Alexie threw the book against the wall out of anger, and did not hit anyone as Junior did.

In his own writing, Alexie unapologetically describes himself as "kind of mixed up, kind of odd, not traditional. I'm a rez kid who's gone urban, and that's what I write about. I've never pretended to be otherwise." "A smart Indian is a dangerous person," Alexie states in a personal essay, "[a smart Indian is] widely feared and ridiculed by Indians and non-Indians alike." Junior encapsulates this type of experience when he receives strong censure both from his tribal community and from his peers and teachers at his new school, Reardan. In the personal essay, Alexie's continued explanation of his own experience is reflected in Junior's. Alexie recalls, "I fought with my classmates on a daily basis. They wanted me to stay quiet when the non-Indian teacher asked for answers….[W]e were Indian children who were expected to be stupid. …[W]e were expected to fail in the non-Indian world." Through Junior's success at Reardan and his realizations about life on the reservation, Alexie represents a possibility for the success of Native American children—by defeating the expectation that he is doomed to fail, Junior crosses social boundaries and defeats unfavorable odds. Alexie's reflections again demonstrate that Junior's experiences are semi-autobiographical.