Current Reads & Reviews: A Culturally Diverse Novel

Alexie, Sherman, and Ellen Forney. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Boston, MA: Little Brown, 2007. Print. ISBN: 0316013684 

Summary: Meet Junior, a Native American living on the Spokane Reservation with the rest of his alcoholic family, who wants more out of life. Leaving the “rez” to attend an all-white high school, Junior is torn between two places… his heritage and his future. This is a story about hard choices, acceptance, grief, and perseverance.

Analysis: A multicultural diverse novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian shows the reader a glimpse of what it is like to be an American Indian today, and the effects historical oppression has had on their lives. The inequalities and injustices between white people and American Indians is astounding.

Author Sherman Alexie grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington State, which is the setting in the novel giving the reader an honest look inside life there. “On the rez, you know every kid’s father, mother, grandparents, dog, cat, and shoe size. I mean, yeah, Indians are screwed up, but we’re really close to each other. We KNOW each other. Everybody know everybody” (Alexie 153). The main character, Junior, is a young lad with high hopes. He attends his school on the reservation and is so disappointed in the quality of education provided he decides to seek an education elsewhere. Now Junior has never truly fit in at home.

Being ill at a very young age, Junior is bullied by his own people quite a lot all while also dealing with his father’s alcoholism. He is viewed by his people as rejecting his own culture to live in a white people world. He loses his best friend along the way and has to deal with his own guilt at leaving his behind. This is a story of a struggle to fit in to two very different worlds. Junior tries hard to be a part of both while still seeking a better life for himself. “… some Indians think you have to act white to make your life better. Some Indians think you become white if you try to make your life better, if you become successful” (Alexie 131).

Ellen Forney’s quirky illustrations shown as Junior’s own personal cartoons, help tell the story while also making it funny along the way. “I draw because words are too unpredictable. I draw because words are too limited. If you speak and write in English, or Spanish, or Chinese, or any other language, then only a certain percentage of human beings will get your meaning. But when you draw a picture, everybody can understand it” (Alexie 5).

            “The quality of a man’s life is in direct proportion to his commitment to excellence, regardless of his chosen field of endeavor” (Alexie 148). This story will appeal to middle school age students on up to adults. There is some sexual innuendos and language but it is done in quite a humorous way… all natural thoughts for a high school age young man. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian should be on the main display at school libraries promoting cultural diversity awareness. It is an excellent look into the lives of Native Americans and their continuous struggle in an unfair world.

Activity: Before reading, students will conduct research on the Spokane tribe, leading them to the author, Spokane native Sherman Alexie. Students will learn about the tribe’s culture, their location, history, and present life. After completing their research, the students will work in groups to come up with three predictions regarding the novel based off the summary and what they have learned thus far.

Related Resources: To expand on multicultural themes and characters who are outsiders that love to play basketball and are looking for their place in life, below are two novels that come highly acclaimed:

Peña, Matt De la. Mexican Whiteboy. New York: Delacorte Press, 2008. Print.

In Mexican Whiteboy by Matt De La Pena, Danny, being half Hispanic, is completely out of his element no matter if he is at home with his fellow Hispanic family or when he is away at private school surrounded by white people.

Walker, Brian F. Black Boy White School. New York: HarperTeen, 2012. Print.

In Black Boy White School by Anthony Jones, a young man growing up in poverty just like his family before him, receives a scholarship to an elite prep school. He leaves in search of something better but will he be accepted there and will he be welcome back home if he succeeds?

Scholarly Review:

School Library Journal 09/01/2007; Publishers Weekly 08/20/2007; Booklist 08/01/2007; Kirkus Reviews, 07/15/2007

Alexie, Sherman and Ellen Forney. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Little, Brown,   2007. EBSCOhost, ezp.twu.edu/login?url=http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2060/login.aspx?         direct=true&db=kdh&AN=BK0007245533&site=ehost-live&scope=site.