essay on the absolutely true diary

The Practical English Teacher

Free Resources for Secondary English Teachers

• Sep 28, 2023
• 12 min read

Free Resources for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Updated: May 29

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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian , was a favorite in my classroom for many years. It was one of those books that kids would stop me on the stairs about and say “Ms. L-I haven’t read a book in years but I finished that one in one night! It was soooooo good!” Those kinds of comments would make my whole day... maybe even my whole year.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a hard sell to administrators and parents in the first place because of its racist and sexual content, but the kids loved it, so I would teach it whenever I could. After Sherman Alexie’s sexual assaults went public around 2018 , I was so mad, for all the obvious reasons, and the book itself is it no longer on the reading list for 9th grade. I remember one of my coworkers saying that we should separate the art from the artist and I am still working through this idea. I don’t know how I feel yet. I am reluctant to not teach or offer one of the few books my struggling readers like.

That all being said, i used to really enjoy it and so did my kids. it's been a few years since i last taught it, as i haven't had a class that has chosen it as their class text. (i usually let kids vote on the book we are going to read as a group. i describe the simple process in this post.) below are some free resources that could be helpful to others who are teaching the absolutely true diary of a part time indian . i taught it a few times over a few different years so some of the materials below overlap in some places., my objectives for the unit were simple: i wanted kids to learn about native americans and reservations, make connections between texts, increase their vocabulary, write a character analysis essay, and explore themes connected to identity and hope., i started this unit with a character quote activity . i posted them on butcher paper that i then hung around the room. students had to read the quotations and then write down something they inferred about the character or learned about the character. they could also react to the passage., students then had to choose one quotation and turn the information on the butcher paper into a paragraph. i called this the “character prediction paragraph.”, once the kids were done with their predictions, we talked through each sheet of butcher paper, summarizing, and i explained that all of these quotations were about the main character in a book called the absolutely true diary of a part time indian ., next, we previewed the book cover and made some predictions. after the predictions, i read chapter 1 out loud to the kids and we talked through what we learned. i used this handout to guide the students through it: absolutely true diary day 1 prediction guide, after introducing the main characters and hopefully hooking the kids in a bit, i tried to build a bit of background knowledge about reservations by having them watch an episode of 30 days titled “life on an indian reservation .”.

We used a modified “KWL” chart for lesson... actually I guess it’s more of a “KL” chart now that I think about it, but, anyway, first kids wrote down what they knew about reservations , then they filled in whatever they learned about reservations while listening to Chapter 1. They then filled in the rest of the chart as we watched the episode.

Once we finished watching “ life on an indian reservation ” and filled in the kl chart, i asked students to write a short essay about what they learned. i think i did this as a writing diagnostic because it seems like a buzzkill to do at this point in the unit. i had students finish their short essay for homework., we also previewed a few vocabulary words., after building some background knowledge about reservations, we revisited chapter 1. this time, i asked the kids to read pages 1-14 on their own and fill in this chapter 1 character chart ., one thing i consistently tried to focus on during this unit, which i usually taught to grade-level freshmen, was annotating. this was usually a new concept to them, so i always started by introducing text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world type annotations, which i think are pretty accessible for kids just learning to annotate., after introducing students to the different types of connections (explaining them, defining them, and modeling how to make them), i asked students to read through page 24 and annotate by finding two examples of each type of annotation. this usually turned into homework., another year, i asked students to fill in this reading guide, “ reading guide 2 , ” where the kids continued their study of rowdy and junior’s friendship and then compared rowdy to their own best friend., i started the next day of class by having the kids turn to the others at their table and share out three text connections that they made, and then i asked them to read the next chunk of pages (24-53) and continue making connections..

Once kids covered some ground in the book, we stopped to process. On this day, I started with a journal prompt and discussion.

Prompt : Junior thinks that white people have the most hope. What do you think? Write for 10 minutes and be prepared to share one idea from your journal.

Once we discussed the journal, we filled in a character chart to process some of the new characters. First I lectured on direct and indirect characterization(paid product) and then I had the kids work at their tables to fill in as much as they could of this Absolutely True Diary character chart .

As an exit ticket, I gave kids a blank sheet of scrap paper and asked them to list five characters AND one major issue that this novel is going to tackle.

For homework, i asked students to read and annotate pages 54-80., i started this class off with another journal prompt ., prompt : in one paragraph, write about a time when you felt that you or someone you know were stereotyped. or, write about a time when you stereotyped others. connect your experiences to junior’s arrival at his new school., after journaling, i handed out scrap paper and had students write down any questions about the story or a line from the story that they thought was funny. we then went around the room and shared out., this part of the book was about how to fit into your neighborhood. i asked the kids to make a “rules” list for their neighborhood, family or other group that they are a part of. we then talked about the “rules,” which ones made sense and which ones didn’t., for homework i asked kids to read pages 81-100., as i have started many other classes, i started today with a journal. the kids could choose from one of the following prompts:, option 1: junior make’s friends with gordy. why do you think he did this would you make friends with gordy, option 2: junior’s sister up and left the reservation and got married. what do you think about this decision do you know anyone who has done something like this before, next, i had kids complete this character review handout ., after the review, i talked to kids about the characteristics of healthy decisions vs. unhealthy decisions and had them fill in the “pre-reading” section of this handout: absolutely true diary reading guide for pages 100-117., after the whole class discussion, i put kids with partners and asked them to read pages 100-117 and complete the rest of the handout., for homework, i asked them to finish the “during” section of the handout and then and read through page 134..

Today I started with a journal. I gave students a choice of two prompts:

Prompt 1: In this chapter, Junior/Arnold’s discusses his dual personality. In one paragraph, write about a time when you were caught between two worlds or someone whom you know was caught between two worlds.

Prompt 2: I read somewhere recently that we have many identities that serve us in different parts of our lives. Write about your different identities.

Next, I asked students to complete the partner essay on their Absolutely True Diary Reading Guide for Pages 100-117. The essay prompt was: What are some healthy and unhealthy ways to deal with stress? Do the characters in The Absolutely True Diary... deal with their stress in a healthy manner or an unhealthy manner?

First, I had the kids get with their assigned partner, brainstorm ideas, & outline for 10-15 minutes. Next, I called them back together as a class and did a mini lesson on introductory paragraphs (paid product). Then I released them back to partners and had them write a hook and book summary for their intro paragraph.

For homework, I asked students to catch up on their reading.

Today we continued with the partner essay. i reviewed the elements of an introductory paragraph and then had the students try and write a thesis statement with their partners., once the kids had good thesis statements, i did a whole-class mini lesson on how to write body paragraphs, and then i asked the students to work together to try and write two body paragraphs., once they completed the body paragraphs, i reviewed the elements of a conclusion paragraph and had the kids attempt their own conclusions in order to finish up their partner essays., for homework, i asked kids to catch up on any reading they were behind on..

Once we finished the partner essays, we went back to doing a bit of informal writing. For today’s prompt, I posted quotations from the previous night’s reading and asked students to reflect on one of them OR to write about a connection they made to one of them.

Here were the quotations I chose:

Page 129: “If you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing.”

Page 131: “ I know, I know, but 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. If that were true, then wouldn’t all white people be successful?”

Page 132: “Well, life is a constant struggle between being an individual and being a member of the community.”

Once the kids were done writing, I asked them to share out with a person sitting near them, and then I gave them time to start their homework.

For homework, I asked kids to read pages 134-168 in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian . This section of the text is very sad (Junior’s grandma dies), so I always give the kids a bit of a warning.

I usually start the class after last night’s reading by acknowledging the sadness in it, and then we mimic what Junior does at the end of the chapter to try and cheer himself up. The prompt I give the students to start class is as follows:

“at the end of the reading, junior tries to cheer himself up by making lists of things that make him happy. these are some of the lists he creates:, people who give you the most joy in life, -musicians who play the most joyous music (according to you), -my favorite foods, -my favorite books, -my favorite sports players, using junior’s list headings or your own, create two lists of things that make you happy. you could also have kids u se this handout, if you would like., after writing time, share out is voluntary since this is a personal topic., after writing time, i wanted to do a lesson on irony since there were a few good examples in last night’s reading. i also had the kids try and explain why the author would include these moments in the story, but this was a big leap for my freshmen. i briefly lectured, using just a generic powerpoint that i made and use whenever i want to talk about irony. i had the kids take notes while we talked through the slides., here are the slides and the note-taking guide:.

Irony PowerPoint

Irony notetaking guide

Next, I introduced some of the vocabulary words that were going to pop up in tonight’s reading. I did this by putting the words on a PowerPoint with an example sentence and asking students if they had heard the word before and if they knew what it meant, OR if they could figure out the meaning from the question. If I am really on my game, I put the actual sentence from the story on the PowerPoint, so then the vocabulary preview also serves as a story introduction.

Here were the words i chose for pages 170-196: scintillating, demoralized, primitive, and blubbering and here are the slides for the absolutely true diary vocabulary preview., for homework i asked the kids to do the following:.

Read pages 170-196 of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian and annotate by making 10 text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections.

Complete this vocabulary handout. The vocabulary handout asked students to choose the definition that best matches the way the word was used in the story.

Today I had kids complete this assignment: Write like Sherman Alexi assignment (paid product) . It is a simple assignment where I asked the kids to mimic Alexi’s writing and I made this handout to give the activity a bit of structure. Once we finished, I gave them the rest of class to finish reading the book.

I assigned the following homework : finish reading the absolutely true diary of a part time indian ., whenever kids get to the end of a book, i love to give them a chance to vent or talk about the ending. to start class, i had them complete this end of book reflection , and then i let a bunch of kids share their answers., next, i gave kids time to prepare for a socratic seminar by filling in this handout: socratic seminar . this usually takes a while, so i give kids a lot of class time to work on it., on this day, students participated in a socratic seminar., there’s a lot that goes into a socratic seminar. sometimes i love them and sometimes i don’t. sometimes i am good at setting them up and sometimes i’m not. but a socratic seminar is basically a student-led discussion. in short, students should prepare some ideas ahead of time and then sit in a circle to discuss their answers without much teacher involvement. the teacher should be busy tracking the quality of everyone’s answers. i had a very helpful resource teacher when i started at my new school, and she came in and did two 90-minute lessons to help my students (and me) understand how to participate in a seminar., i am not an expert at seminars, and, as i mentioned before, i usually break the rules, etc., but if you would like to run a student-led discussion in your classroom, here are some books that may be helpful:.

Socratic Circles by Matt Copeland

The Power of the Socratic Classroom by Charles Ames Fischer

After the seminar, I wanted to help the students write an essay, so I gave them this assignment sheet with three choices:

Option 1 : Choose a character and describe how he/she changes over the course of the novel. Discuss the characters in the beginning, middle, and end. You can also choose a character and discuss how they do not change from the beginning of the novel.

Option 2 : The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian is a controversial book. Write a persuasive essay explaining why your school should or should not have students read this book.

Option 3: Create your own prompt and pitch it to me. The idea must lend itself to an analytical essay.

Once we talked through the prompts, I showed kids the essay rubric to see if anyone had any questions.

Once students settled on a prompt, i gave them time to outline ideas and write out a rough draft while my coteacher and i circulated., once the students had a rough draft, i gave them each a copy of an essay one of my ap students wrote and asked them to identify what made it such a strong essay. from there, we helped kids to improve their own essays and submit., after the essay writing, i was not done yet i wanted students to take a unit test. to review the story, i had students watch this interview with sherman alexi and then compare and contrast his life to junior’s., i had students track their ideas in this note taking guide ., the unit test that i gave the kids was part multiple choice (for ease of grading)., the multiple choice questions are for sale in my tpt store:.

31 Question Multiple Choice Test for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian (paid product)

Sometimes I feel fine with just the multiple choice questions, depending on how the essays go, but if you wanted to add some open-ended questions, here are a few that you could add: Open-ended questions you could add .

Annnnnndddd that’s the end of my Absolutely True Diary unit. I hope some these free resources for The Absolutely True Diary are helpful to you.

Below are other odds & ends.

Other random handouts i must have used at some point.

Create a Board Game for Absolutely True Diary

Blank Character Chart

Advanced Texts Connected to The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian

Shows & Media Connected to The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian

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Annotations group 1 block a2.

Julianna Cooper , Ben Soukup, Bianca Salazar

   Photographer Dorothea Lange was employed by the Farm Security Administration to record the Dust Bowl exodus when drought and hard times forced thousands of farm families to move west in search of work. This photograph, "The Migrant Mother" was taken of Florence Owens Thompson and her children. Dorothea's intention for her photography, including the collection from which this piece came from, was to bring people's suffering to public attention and inspire others to help. In an interview with the magazine "Popular Photography", Lange said "I was following instinct, not reason; I drove into that wet and soggy camp and parked my car like a homing pigeon. I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother, as if drawn by a magnet." Her natural sense of obligation to shed light on the terrors the photographed family faced was her motive to compose the picture. The photograph since then has become major piece of American History as well as a symbol of the Great Depression and poverty and suffering as a whole. The photo itself offers a distinct and cutting image of fear, helplessness and a mother's passion for her children.    "The Migrant Mother" connects to "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by illuminating Junior and the Native American's home lives and struggles with poverty. In the novel, Junior and his tribe are so accustomed to poverty that they are almost numb to it. "My day began as it usually did. I got out of my bed at dark-thirty, and rummaged around the kitchen for anything to eat. All I could find was a package of orange fruit drink mix, so I made a gallon of that, and drank it all down"(70). The photograph compliments the severity of the situations characters face in the novel. The agony on Florence Owens Thompson's face in "The Migrant Mother" expresses how much of a tragedy poverty really is; it helps illustrate the pain of poverty while the characters in "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" do not express it in such a way, due their poverty having become such a standard part of life. From another perspective, the photo brings out the theme of a parent's devotion to their children. "She was freaking out... She'd lost her... daughter.... Who ever recovers from a thing like that?... she'd always be broken. 'Don't you ever drink,' my mother said to me.... She slapped me HARD"(208). In both works, a mother's dedication and irrevocable love for her children is an accentuated theme. The picture's and the novel's roots in deep pain and love give them an edge and element of genuine humility.

Bianca Salazar Chávez, Julianna Cooper, Ben Soukup ( Group 1)

Preston, Julia. "Young Immigrants Say It’s Obama’s Time to Act." The New York Times [New Haven] 30 Nov. 2012, U.S.: n. pag. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/01/us/dream-act-gives-young-immigrants-a-political-voice.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0>.

When writing the article “ Young Immigrants Say It’s Obama’s Time to Act ”, the author Julia Preston was not only hitting the political aspects of the Dream Act but also approaching it as a reality by giving testimonies of first hand dreamers, that as of right now are still dreaming and fighting to make a change. Written for a variety of audiences including politicians, Dreamers, and any American that reads the New York Times, the article emphasizes the struggle and need for a Dream Act across the nation. It’s also letting the audience know what has been done, for example President Obama passing an executive order for the Differed Action Plan and what is still left to accomplish including legalizing those 11 million of immigrants living in the United States. With anecdotes of several activists, the public can see the impact these decision have on those who could be our next door neighbors and closest friends. However the question still remains, will President Obama keep his word? When will the reform be passed? And will the republicans, once again, stand against it?

            This article connects to The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by conveying the idea of struggle and inequality of opportunities, which were major topic though out the story. In the book Junior and the kids in the reservation are used to being treated as less than those outside of the reservation. In the article, Preston mentions the students who have to let go, or postpone their dreams of a better future the same way Mary did in the book, “Had she been hanging on to her dream of being a writer, but only barely hanging on, and something made her let go?” (39). In The Diary of a Part-Time Indian, there is always an obstacle that Arnold must face, but in the end confronts it coming our successful; the same occurs with the Dreamers, they won’t back down until there is a significant change, and they know that one day, everything will just seem as an obstacle that they had to encounter and managed to benefit from it.  

Ben Soukup, Julianna Cooper, Bianca Salazar          

Alexie, Sherman. "Analog." Sherman Alexie. Sherman Alexie, n.d. Web. 5 Mar.

     2013. http://www.fallsapart.com/analog_a_short_story/ .

Sherman Alexie, the author of this short story, illustrated a minor yet major aspect of his life in this text. This passage takes the audience into his life and it shows what kind of person he is. It illuminates how he has basic standards, but he cherishes them with all his heart. He still has a simple answering machine from the 80’s; he even prefers it over a cellphone, however, those messages mean the world to him. “I’m waiting for you. I’m keeping count. We’re all in this together.”(line 22-23) The audience he is trying to connect to is pretty much anyone with problems in their life or need someone to talk to. As he said, his phone is always on. Throughout life, people need help, assistance, advice, Sherman Alexie wants to person in people’s lives giving them guidance.

In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian , Junior has many emotions flow through him in his young life. He cherishes the friendship he has with Rowdy especially, he would do anything to keep it perfect, and when it went wrong, you could tell it ripped a major part of his life away from him. The same is true with Alexie, “I record my friend’s voices. I like to play their messages a dozen times before I erase them to make room for more.”(line 14-15). Alexie demonstrates how he gives his heart to his friends and wants to keep them in his life as long as he can. In my personal life I have been in the situation where my best friend and I just split apart. In 7 th grade I was all ready for a new school year with my really close friend; however, his family made a last minute decision and moved to Colorado. I felt as if I had lost a part of me, just like Junior did. The theme of friendship was extremely relevant in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian , as well as in this short story. It is safe to say that friendship is very important to Sherman Alexie.

Annotations Group 2 Block A2

Emily Jensen , Evy Olsen, Quinton K.

Michelle. "How will I get over the loss of my best friend?" Partners to the

Bridge. Michelle, 16 July 2012. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. http://partnerstothebridge.com/

how-will-i-get-over-the-loss-of-my-best-friend/>

   In the article, "How will I get over the loss of my best friend?" demonstrated some very intriguing information. The author talks abou getting over the loss of a best friend. In the book, Junior deals witht the loss of a bestfriend and never truly gets over it. The article states, "You don't get OVER a loss, you get THROUGH it." (P3) The author demonstrates different things you could do to recover from the loss of someone close to you. She says that you must maintain your routine in order to continue to be your well-functioning self. Also, you need to surround yourself with unconditionally supportive people.

In the article, it talks about different things you could do to get through this hard time. It says different ideas like, "Eat right, Sleep well, exercise, and seek moments to center yourself." and "Distill your life down to component parts and decide what is important to continue." (Pg2.)

   This article relates to the book by how it is dealing with the same situation that happens in the text. In the book, Junior loses his best friend. The article demonstrates numerous ways of trying to get over losing a best friend. This article could of helped Junior throughout the book because Junior tried contacting Rowdy and kept reminiscing about the past. Also, If Junior would of had someone there for him, he may of gotten through that hard time in his life. But, Rowdy and Junior become friends again by the end of the book.  

Trez’von Miers, Liz, Carrisa(Group 2)

The article “Gang Violence Grows on an Indian Reservation” was written because of the growing violence of guns, drugs, suicide, and gang wars within the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The gangs show a case of loss of identity within the community, “They’re into the subculture of African-Americans and Latinos. But they are Lakota, and they have a lot to be proud of.”   Said Melvyn Young Bear the tribe’s appointed cultural liaison. Erik Eckholm believes that there is still hope as Mr. Wilson a 24 old gang member starts to seriously think about his future “I still get drunk and hang with my homeboys, but not like I used to,” this shows he is questioning if his life would just be this. He end this interview leaving us with a few but powerful words “Ever since birth I been waitin’ for death…”

This article connects with The True Diary of An Part-Time Indian because it shows the cycle of the reservation that is killing the people on the Rez. It creates one of those moments that bring up what if questions like for example what if Arnold never left the Reservation? The article give the book a more serious feel to it. It showed just about everything the book talked about drugs, beer, fighting, and death.

Annotations Group 2 Block A4

Quinton Kelley,  Evy, Emily

Williams, Timothy. "At Tribe's Door, a Hub of Beer and Heartache" The New York Times, n.d. Web 5 March 2013.   <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/06/us/next-to-tribe-with-alcohol-ban-a-hub-of-beer.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0>

The article "At Tribes Door, a Hub of Beer and Heartache" is about the alcohol problems on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Alcohol had lead to many fatal drunken driving accidents and drunken related murders. Oglala Sioux filed a lawsuit against the stores and large brewing companies accusing them of all the problems. The rad in has many people who are drunk or have passed out in front of buildings.the Sheridan Country sheriff's office says it has to few of resources to go out and patrol the town that is 19 miles away from the office. John Yellow Bird Steele, the tribal president, says 90 percent of the problems on the reservation goes back to alcohol.

This Article relates to the book "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" because Junior's reservation is just like this one in having problems with alcohol. His dad's best friend Eugine was killed by a drunk man. Also his grandmother was run over by a drunk driver. His dad runs away around Christmas to get drunk. A lot of people on this reservation get drunk. The article and this book show the power of drinking and how it will negatively affect you.

Annotations Group 2 Block A3

Trix Saaveda, Chave P., Jake H., tristan

Alexie, Sherman. "Superman and Me." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 1998. Web. 04 Mar. 2013. <http://articles.latimes.com/1998/apr/19/books/bk-42979>.

   This is another one of Alexie's work, related to the same topic that his book was about. In "Superman and Me", this is Alexie explaining the struggles and experiences that he faced as a young boy due to stereo-types about Indians. His audience is anyone who has ever felt like they've been judged because of a stereo-type. I believe the purpose of Alexie here is to inform us using ethos and pathos. He uses ethos by discussing honest and intelligent things about how he felt, what he saw, and what he was told. He strongly and excessively uses pathos by connecting his hardships to the hardships of other young Indians going through the same things he did many  years ago. This emotionally connects to the audience reading because it gives us a sense of hope that there are people willing to try and break themselves free from the chain of stereo-types that all people hold against others in all of society. He discusses the "facts" that were lived by: "As Indian children, we were expected to fail in the non-Indian world. Those who failed were ceremonially accepted by other Indians and appropriately pitied by non-Indians." (Alexie). As an Indian, failing was acceptable and nothing new. Alexie tells about how determined he was to break through the stereo-types. He is clearly demonstrating that despite all the things Indians were expected to become, he broke out of them and succeeds. He wanted to be free.

   Alexie's "Superman and Me" is strikingly similar to his book, "Part Time Indian"; yet very different point of views as well. In "Superman and Me", Alexie is discussing his own experiences as a young boy, and also including his current life as a writer. In '"Part Time Indian", Sherman is in a sense speaking as himself, yet portraying DIFFERENT and TRUE experiences that Indian boys go through today. This helped me understand Alexie's book much better because of the fact that anyone could have easily connected his experiences and traditions with the ones in the book, seeing how it is the same culture. It also helped me because Alexie uses a little boy with disabilities, who somehow still has hope or himself. Not only does Junior have hope for himself, but he sets out to seize his chance at being the best he can be; which is exactly what Alexie did on his own with learning how to read. Relating "Superman and Me" with "Part Time Indian" made it much simpler to understand the true and deep meanings behind what an Indian really feels when he has no hope, finds hope, loses hope, and then discovers who he really is.

Tristan Anguiano, Jake H., Chave P., Trix S.

  Alexie, Sherman. "Analog." Sherman's Stories. Sherman's Stories, 3 Mar. 2013 http://www.fallsapart.com/analog_a_short_story/ .

      The short story written by Sherman Alexia titled, "Analog" really connects with the inner feeling of him as an author and how he repsects his own ways. Right off the bat Alexie explains to the audience how he doesnt use his comapany's voice mail sytem, he uses his own recording machine from the 80's. I feel Sherman Alexie is wanting the audience to realize that eh doesnt let other people's feelings on his actions affect him. With that, Sherman Alexie does use a metahaphor describing the tapes that he has with all of his friends voice recordings on as ghosts that haunt him in somewhat of a good way (Line 7). Theyre always there to remind him that he stands as himself and doesnt care what people think of him because he uses the vintage tape recorder. He wants his audiece to infer that he is happy with who he is and that he respects his ways even if the majority of the modern society finds it silly. This really intertwines with the further meaning behind The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

      Throughout the whole book Sherman Alexie provides the audience with examples of how the main character needs to find himself, and not let others affect him. A continuous discussion question was will Junior ever have a breaking point in regards to being stereotyped constantly. This question constantly sparked discussion throuhgout our group because Junior was always facing struggles with peers because of the person he was. Sherman Alexie is essentially writing a response to the novel with this short story, Analog. He explains at the end of this short story how he wants people to bring on the continuous voice recordings of his friends giving him grief about having such a goofy voice mail system. He's not afraid of who he is. He's not nervous about who he is. He's proud of who he is

Jake Trix Tristan Chave

  Konigsberg, Eric. "In His Own Literary World, a Native Son Without Borders."            New York Times . New York Times Company, 20 Oct. 2009. Web. 5 Mar. 2013.

      This is an article written by Eric Konigsberg that talks to Sherman Alexie and finds out why he wrote   The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.  He finds out that this book is actually really close to the events that occured in Sherman's life. He also finds out that Alexie turned down people offering to make a movie about his "diary" book because he did not think they could find a good Indian actor that was good enough at basketball to play his part.  He feels that basketball is more important to him rather than getting his "Indianness" correct.  Alexie also believes that if a 15 year old reader does not enjoy his books, then nobody will.  This really helps me understand why he wrote The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

       Throughout this article it made me think back to the part of the book when Arnold played against his best friend Rowdy and blocks his shot and dribbles down to the other side and shoots a three right in his face. In the article he talks about how much he likes basketball and how much it means to him, that is why i connected these two things to eachother.  The article really helps me understand the book better bcause i understand how important the game of basketball is to him, and why he added so much detail and triumph when talking about the games. 

Annotations Group 1 Block A4

Konigsberg, Eric. "In His Own Literary World, a Native Son Without Borders." New York Times . N.p.,

     20 Oct. 2009. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/books/

     21alexie.html?_r=0>.

               Eric Konisberg when writing the article, “In His Own Literary World, a Native Son Without Borders”, described Alexie’s relaxed attitude towards his success.   Alexie explained to Konisberg, who then conveyed to the curious audience of the Native-American author fans, his process is unique, and he doesn’t just take what he can get.   In fact, he turned down selling movie rights to one of his most successful literary works, in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian .   Konisberg sought out to show the way that Alexie operates as a writer, successfully releasing hits while doing so in a calm manner.   The article also addresses how being a Native American has added an extra bit of responsibility on Alexie’s shoulders and how he communicates with the public what that’s like.   I feel like Konisberg had enough knowledge to write over Alexie and correctly elaborate on who he really is.  

               Konisberg was able to let Sherman Alexie’s strong tone found in several of his works, take over his article.   Such as using the sarcastic tone found in many of Alexie’s works.   Especially when he included how the former basketball-playing author was afraid that if a movie was made, the actor wouldn’t be as good as him.   The author of the article uses ethos to develop credibility in Alexie’s writing, so that the article he wrote had some as well.   Konisberg made sure his audience knew of the award-winning author’s prior success.   Then, explained that Alexie, as a Native American, upheld the responsibility to keep the image of the Native American community as pure and accurate as possible.   I think that Konisberg correctly evaluated and portrayed Alexie’s style of writing, his method, and the overall message that he likes to include in his work.

Tanner Hawkins

Axelrod, Julie. "The 5 Stages of Loss and Grief." PsychCentral . N.p., n.d. Web.      5 Mar. 2013. <http://psychcentral.com/lib/2006/      the-5-stages-of-loss-and-grief/>.

The 5 stages of loss & grief is one of those concepts that has left the bounds of psychology and into fiction. Axelrod describes it as "universal and expirenced from all walks of life." The 5 stages are: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. While the universality of the phenomena may be contested, the 5 stages have persisted in the minds of fiction-writers.

I believe Alexie wrote the funeral of Junior's grandmother with at least an awareness of the 5 stages. After Ted left the scene, the tribe suddenly became much more joyous, and they were also able to cope with the loss suddenly. It's almost as if they had been elivated from depression and into acceptance.

Evy Olsen , Emily Jensen, Quinton Kelley

            ABC News . Denise Martinez-Ramundo, n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2013.

     <http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2011/10/

     first-alcoholic-drink-at-age-5-reservation-counselor-says-its-happening/>.

            In this article Denise Martinez-Ramundo, talks about what she saw on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. She talks about how much and how severe the alcohol abuse is on the reservation. She says that children as young as five or six years old have had alcoholic drinks. She also gives us the staggering statistic that 80-90% of adults on the Reservation have severe alcohol abuse problems. Lining the streets of the Pine Ridge Reservation there are signs urging people to drive safe. There are also signs remembering all of the lives lost to drunk driving accidents. Last year there were seven-thousand alcohol related arrests. Pine Ridge is currently in the process of trying to get out of this crisis and end the alcohol abuse on the reservation.

            This article is very relatable to “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”. In the book the Reservation that Junior lives on has the exact same issue with alcohol. So many of the adults in this novel have alcohol addictions. In the book, almost all of the deaths that occurred were due to alcohol in some way. First there was Grandma who died from a drunk driving accident, then there was Eugene who was shot by a drunk man, and then Mary who was burnt to death because she was so drunk she couldn’t feel herself burning. The Pine Ridge Reservation is going through the same problems. It is such a sad thing and I really hope that this can end in the future. 

Annotations Group 1 Block B1

Nick Thurber , Abbey, Lauren, Carly (Sorry for any misspellings *please change if need be)

Konigsberg, Eric. "In His Own Literary World, a Native Son Without Borders."       The New York Times . N.p., 20 Oct. 2009. Web. 6 Feb. 2013.      <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/books/21alexie.html?ref=shermanalexie>.

            The author of the text “In His Own Literary World, a Native Son Without Borders.” is Eric Konigsburg. I believe the purpose of Konigsburg was to portray Alexie in a selfish, arrogant light, which I did not approve of. Ever since you hear the first sentence; “The author Sherman Alexie doesn’t believe there is such a thing as selling out.”, you know Konigsburg isn’t very fond of Sherman Alexie. Konigsburg then goes into a description of how Alexie doesn’t care about the success of his books, but still will not sell the movie rights to his most popular book, Part-Time Indian . It ends with direct quotes making Alexie sound very chillaxed about his writing ethics. I felt a very strong sense of the twisting of Sherman Alexie’s words in this article and a prime example of modern bias reporting. I believe if you truly must form an opinion about an author you should read his/her books and form your own conclusions.

               In this article the author, Eric Konigsburg, says one of the primary themes is “‘Get off the rez. Be nomadic.’”. I disagree. I have a feeling this guy never even read the novel. I believe one of the primary themes of Part-Time Indian is overcoming diversity in order to find hope. This article is more focusing on stereotyping and using logos to demonstrating the true personality of Sherman Alexie. Konigsburg uses a lot of direct quotes and lines from Alexie’s novels to persuade the audience to believe what he wants them to believe. In fact, the whole of Part-Time Indian is one big persuasive essay using all three rhetorical devices, but primarily logos. By stating facts from his live the main character, Junior, is able to express to the audience how he overcame the difficulties in his life and how he found hope. I bet Konigsburg didn’t think he would be using the same tools as Sherman Alexie when he wrote his article.                                                                

Carly Richter, Nick, Abby, Lauren

Annotations Group 2 Block B1

Scott Herrera , Shelby Tibke, Sam Brown, Noah Hogberg

Konigsberg, Eric. "In His Own Literary World, a Native Son Without Borders."            New York Times . New York Times Company, 20 Oct. 2009. Web. 5 Mar. 2013.            <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/books/21alexie.html?_r=0>.

            Eric Konigsberg wrote an article about Sherman Alexie and the reasons behind why he chose to write The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian .   After talking to Alexie, Konigsberg was able to find out that the main reason that Alexie chose to write the book was because his life heavily relates to it, and some of his other texts that he wrote.   He describes it as the book almost being a re-run of the experiences that he encountered as a child growing up on the reservation.   He says the main connection that he was able to relate with the book was his love for basketball and how it was able to help him throughout his childhood.   The purpose that the author was trying to make by publishing this article was to let everyone know of Sherman Alexie’s reasons for writing the book.   The audience would anyone who is curious as to why Alexie chose to write about such graphic events and awful experiences.  

            This article has really helped me understand the point of view that the novel is written in.   Obviously I was aware that it was in first person, but the article was able to help me understand the emotions and the emotions that Alexie had to have been feeling as he was writing this book.   After I read this article and did a role work assignment for it, it made me think of the book in a different way as I was reading it.   It also made me go back to the beginning of the book and made me relate to the scene where his dog died, to the time in my life where my dog died.   It gave me a sense of how Alexie must of felt as he was writing the book and being able to relate to most of the problems he was writing about.

Parents at the Antioch school believe that this book should get banned because it is vulgar and their freshmen aren’t ready. The author wrote this because she wanted readers to be aware of the different perspectives of this book, written by Sherman Alexie. Since it's so controversial, it affects how others see it, how others read it, and how it is taught. The content of the article mainly reflects the parents because they don't understand how it is appropriate for their 13-14 year old. It basically covers the topic about the parents not the teens. Once teens get to high school, we put in their head that they can make their own decisions but they aren't even letting them.      After reading and evaluating the article it is easy to understand that parents aren't putting the book into other perspectives like Romeo and Juliet's suicide, or other factors like drugs in other books. If parents constantly complain about a little inappropriateness and not focus on the context of the book, then their children won't be exposed to things like this. Also, it isn't like kids their age don't talk to their friends like that.  It's literary because parents are just looking at the text they aren't looking at the true meaning or inferring truly what Sherman Alexie meant. I believe this article is significant because it proves and helps this book become better, because it is doubted and makes me want to read it more. (If I hadn't already read it.)

Shelby Tibke , Scott Herrera, Sam Brown, and Noah Hogberg

Alexie, Sherman. "Without Reservation 'Blasphemy'" Ny Times . Ny Times, 21 Nov. 2012. Web. 6 Mar. 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/25/books/review/blasphemy-by-sherman-alexie.html?ref=shermanalexie&_r=0

Sherman Alexie has become a well known author because of his creative works of literature about Native American life and culture.  He throughout his career has written mulitple stories about how Native Americans are different then white people, they are treated differently and are viewed differently.  In this article the author brings up the fact that in all other Indian stories and books the authentisity of the characters and events are not as sereal as those in all of Sherman Alexies publishings. The perspective of the books help the audience better understand what reservation life was like and other things that Native Americans have to go through such as alcoholism and absent fathers.

 After looking over the article and thoroughly trying to understand the opinion of the peice, it is easy to see that Alexie is an authentic author.  he is different from other authors in the ways of his writing because he puts his own experiences into the stories.  when putting the author's own experiences in, it really captures the true meaning of the scenes and body of the stories that other books don't capture as well.  Reading this article helped me better understand the meaning of his writing and why Alexie adds such descriptive and sometimes harsh things in his writing, because it all happened, each story has a bit of truth in it.

Annotations Group 1 Block B3

EmiLeigh Maloof,  Robert , Jacob, and Tayliah

Row, Jess. "Without Reservation."  NY Times  [New York City] 21 Nov. 2012: n. pag. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/25/books/review/blasphemy-by-sherman-alexie.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0&ref=shermanalexie>.

   The article called, "Without Reservation" was written by Jess Row. Who was writing about Alexie's "blasphemy" used throughout his text. The purpose that Row had behind this was to show what makes Alexie's stories so powerful. His use of pathos and imagery help the reader who may be a dreamer or someone who is realistic with true reality. What makes the stories so good is because of his passion and his truth that he speaks from his own personal experience. Which is what Row wants to portray in her article. This text is about Alexie and his way of writing to his audience to convey his ideas. His stories are told in a casual "storyteller" way that makes it very easy to follow, yet the true meaning behind the text is more complex then what is at the surface.

   This article helped prove my theory of why Alexie's writing is so easy to follow. Because from knowing that he writes with a storyteller point of view, makes his art of language very easy and laid back. His voice is conveyed throughout his characters he bases on fictional yet real life characters that could be applied to someone on a reservation. His use of pathos is incredible, because of the deep emotional connection made throughout his works, he uses simple words to have a complex meaning. His stories may seem like they are only to be humorous yet hidden behind these words one must dissect to read the true meaning of what has been his true moral of the story all alon g.

EmiLeigh Maloof ,  Robert , Jacob , and Taylia

Barcott, Bruce. "Off the Rez" NY times [New York City] 11 Nov. 2007: n. pag. web. 5 Mar. 2013.

<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/books/review/Barcott3-t.html?ref=shermanalexie>

    The article "Off the Rez" was written by Bruce Barcott, and in this article he talks about Sherman Alexie as a poet and a comedian. He also gives a brief summary of the book, which also proves the point of his article which is that living off of the Reservation for Sherman Alexie was a huge challenge; Probably the most challenging thing he has ever faced. Sherman Alexie is a cartoonist, comedian, and a poet, all in one. In his book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian he clearly shows all of these skills as he uses imagery, comedy, formal language, and most of all pathos, to portray specific feelings in the book. He organizes his book in a way in which something good happens, then something bad happens, and then it repeats. I'm not exactly sure why he does this, as many people could view this in a different way. But the way I view it, is that everything happens for a reason and he is trying to show the good things in life we have that we take for granted. Throughout his book he uses very formal and easy-to-understand language which may seem simple, but in reality has a complex meaning which, depending on the reader, can have a huge affect. There were many parts where I can relate to him, like when he talks about how he absolutely loved his dog but his dog had to be put down. Bruce Barcott uses lots of quotes from Sherman Alexie to prove his point as a formal, yet poetical writer. "I think the world is a series of broken dams and floods," he says, "and my cartoons are like tiny little lifeboats."

   This article helps me understand even further the significance of Sherman Alexie's use of formal language makes such a complex meaning behind it, even if the words are simple. He uses characters like Rowdy (his best friend), his dog, Gordy, his sister, etc.. to portray how everything that happened affected him. The thing I found most interesting was how when he told his story in his story telling tone, is that frequently in the story he reviews his past and even questions some moments, like when he says "I think Rowdy might be the most important person in my life. Maybe more important than my family. Can your best friend be more important than your family? I think so. I mean, after all, I spend a lot more time with Rowdy than I do with anyone else." This is just one of many examples that help us understand that Sherman Alexie really reviews his passed, asks questions, and thinks of perhaps another way to view it. Sherman Alexie also uses pictures to convey his meaning, as he states that words are too "unpredictable" and that if you show someone from am different country a word, they might not understand, but if you show them a picture, they will understand a lot more. He uses comedy in these pictures and uses comedy in words, not only to make the story humurous, but to portray a deep meaning.

  ROBERT SULLIVAN

MLA Citation : Angelou, Maya. "Still I Rise." Poem Hunter . Maya Angelou, 4 Apr. 1928. Web. 5 Mar. 2013. <http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/still-i-rise/>.

I love this poem because of the swagger it has to it. She talks like there is no one who can touch her and no one who can tell her anything. She is completely at piece and has s much confidence in herself that she sways and moves with no sense of doubt. This poem makes one feel empowered and proud to be an African American to have been through so much but to still have that type of personality and spirit to rise up through it all. She portrays the “slave” from the time to be a person who is beat up and put down but still can find time to smile.

This poem to me means a person who can become a champion without a team or build an empire with the bricks someone through at him/her. Just as the slaves did back in the 1800’s at the very end of the slave trade, to keep the pain at bay and continue to fend off the worst of times, they rose. I saw a couple of schemes such as a simile, “because I dance like I have diamonds at the meeting of my thighs.” This means that she sways and holds herself up and dances like she holds all the cards or something that you want. I also saw the rhetorical device called amplification were you expand on detail to clarify a point. She stated, “I am the dream, and hope of the slave, I rise, I rise, I rise. She stated this in the poem and at the end to keep the mind focused on the point of the poem. She stressed this to clarify the meaning of main idea.

Annotations Group 2 Block B3

Victoria, William, Kristina , ASha

"Los Angeles Times." Los Angeles Times . N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 1998.

     <http://articles.latimes.com/1998/apr/19/books/bk-42979>.

Sherman Alexies purpose in Superman and Me is to save the Indian children and to inspire them to not give up on their selves when society does. We as the audience can relate to this because we have the knowledge to understand what its like to not be accepted by your own community. Sherman Alexie visits schools to teach creative writing to Indian children. Indians were not expected to write well. The author speaks of his childhood and father inspiring him to read and his teachers and classmates never giving him a chance to shine. He wanted to give back the Indian children the education and attention he wished to have growing up. Sherman Alexie is a great author and an inspiring spoken Indian.

In Diary Of A Part Time Indian, the central argument is to find yourself, accept your roots and follow your dream. Even though the teachers give up on their Indian students, everyone says NO you keep on going, that is what Alexie is saying. Junior gets caught up in his lies while trying to be someone he’s not because he isn’t accepted at his home nor his new school. He soon realizes he doesn’t belong to just the reservation, he belongs to many other “tribes” and accepts himself.

Victoria Jordan

" Borderlands. '' Worth A Thousands Words ''

http://archive.hbook.com/magazine/articles/2008/jul08_hunt.asp

This article was basically about how writing and pictures are both a form of reading.In fact most people look at the pictures in the article or book before even reading the words.They stated that pictures tell a story sometimes better than the words can.The article stated that more teens in fact will read a book that has pictures in it. The picture books demands that readers use their powers to inference to determine what is happening, wheter it is really an eerily tense dystopian vision or simply the product of a deranged mind. Picture books lead the conversation without even using words. The article also stated that the pictures can retelling or recreate something that happened in  the passed like a wedding or you going to see your favorite team play.

This relates to Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian because on page 5 junior made a very good point about why he draw more than write.'' I draw because words are too unpredictable.'' '' I draw because words are too limited'' ''If you speak 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.'' ''If i draw a cartoon of a flower, then every man, woman, and child in the world can look at it and say, '' that's a flower'' This is a very good and strong point because many people speak a lot of different lanuages and by using a picture everyone can look at it and tell that its a flower.

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

• Sample Annotated Bibliography
• Chave Payne

Annotated Bibliography

Definitions

A bibliography is a list of sources (books, journals, websites, periodicals, etc.) one has used for researching a topic. Bibliographies are sometimes called "references" or "works cited" depending on the style format you are using. A bibliography usually just includes the bibliographic information (i.e., the author, title, publisher, etc.).

An annotation is a summary and/or evaluation.

Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources. Depending on your project or the assignment, your annotations may do one or more of the following:

·          Summarize : Summarize the text using its rhetorical situation. Who is the author , what is its purpose ? Who is the audience ? What is the context/exigence? What are the main arguments ? What is the point of this story or article? What topics are covered? If someone asked what this text is about, what would you say? This should be a paragraph in length.

·           Evaluate : After summarizing a source, it may be helpful to evaluate it. How does it illuminate to the novel you read? Identify and explain the significance of at least one connection. Connections can be rhetorical, poetic, thematic, historical, stylistic, political, and/or relate to your experiences.  This should be one paragraph in length.

Instructions

Click on "edit" in the upper right hand corner to add text.

Write the first name of each group member. Place your name in bold.

Be sure to spell check.  There is a spell checker in this program or you can type in word first.

Greg, Marsha , Jan, Cindy

Cabera, Nolan L., and Amado M. Padilla. “Entering and Succeeding in the Culture of College: The Story of Two Mexican Heritage

         Students.” Hispanic Journal of BehavioralSciences 26.2 (May 2004): 152-169. Academic Search    Elite  (Ebsco).  Web.    

         7  February 2009.

         Cabera and Padilla discuss the academic resilience of two Stanford Latino students using

in-depth interviews. Intended for an academic audience from both higher education and social work, the article provides insight into the common struggles faced by many first-time college students who rely on emotional support of families and academic support from faculty and staff at institutions of higher education. Cabera and Padilla evaluate various services available to students at crucial points in a college career and the strategies that assist in the efforts for academic success. The authors argue that without intervention many first-time college students, regardless of race or gender, would fail to be successful. Furthermore, those students must adopt an expanded sense of self in order to see themselves as successful in a college setting.

            Cabera and Padilla’s study illuminates Sherman Alexie’s central argument, that students who are economically disadvantaged and from a culture other than the dominant culture must redefine themselves in order to succeed, in Diary. Although the students highlighted in the study receive support from friends and family within their identified cultural context, they are forced to redefine themselves as members of the dominant culture associated with their institution. Junior, while maintaining his identity on the reservation, adopts an expanded version of self when he enters Reardon. Thus, the crux of the story focuses on Junior’s ability to reconcile his two selves.

Citation Information

• MLA @ Purdue OWL Explore this site for many examples
• Last Updated: Dec 8, 2015 3:11 AM
• URL: https://libguides.ops.org/burkeapenglishdiary

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Las Escuelas Públicas de Omaha no discriminan basados en la raza, color, origen nacional, religión, sexo, estado civil, orientación sexual, discapacidad , edad, información genética, estado de ciudadanía, o estado económico, en sus programas, actividades y empleo, y provee acceso equitativo a los “Boy Scouts” y a otros grupos juveniles designados. La siguiente persona ha sido designada para atender estas inquietudes referentes a las pólizas de no discriminación: El Superintendente de las Escuelas, 3215 Cuming Street, Omaha, NE 68131 (531-299-9822).

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

By sherman alexie, the absolutely true diary of a part-time indian literary elements.

Young Adult

Setting and Context

Early 2000's in Washington State - on and around the Spokane Indian Reservation

Narrator and Point of View

Junior is the narrator. The story is told from his first person point of view as the novel is written in the form of a personal diary.

Tone and Mood

The mood of the novel is light-hearted, as Junior is an awkward but humorously honest fourteen-year-old boy writing in his diary. At its core, this is a coming-of-age novel with a dramatic narrative arc. Because of this, Absolutely True Diary resonates with a universal audience. It is also educational for those who are unfamiliar with Indian culture and the problems currently facing people who live on reservations in the United States.

Protagonist and Antagonist

Junior is the protagonist. Rowdy, Roger, Mr. Dodge, and the Indians on the reservation are all antagonists at some point in the story; the most prominent antagonistic forces are racism and alcohol addiction.

Major Conflict

The major conflict is whether or not Junior and Rowdy will be able to repair their friendship after Junior goes to Reardan. Their relationship is symbolic of Junior's struggle to reconcile his roots and his ambition to build a life outside of the reservation.

The climax of the novel occurs when Junior leads the Reardan team to victory over his former classmates from Wellpinit; this is a turning point for Junior because he realizes that going to Reardan has given him hope for his future, but his old friends do not have that luxury.

Foreshadowing

1) Junior calls his sister "Mary Runs Away" (27) because she runs away from life and lives in their parents' basement. However, this nickname foreshadows Mary's impulsive decision to marry a man she has just met and run away to Montana with him.

2) Mr. P. tells Junior, "your friend Rowdy, he's given up. That's why he likes to hurt people. He wants them to feel as bad as he does" (42). This accurate analysis of Rowdy's mentality foreshadows the rejection and abuse that Rowdy inflicts on Junior once he chooses to leave Wellpinit for Reardan.

3) After Rowdy shaves off the Andruss brothers' eyebrows as penance for bullying Junior, Junior admits that "revenge... feels pretty good" (22). This foreshadows his decision to play aggressively in Reardan's rematch against Wellpinit so that he can humiliate Rowdy, a moment in which he finally realizes that revenge can be just as hurtful as the action that seemingly justified it.

Understatement

1) "'Uh, er, um,' I said. Yeah, I was so articulate" (84). Alexie uses understatement to convey Junior's self-awareness that he is nervous while defying his science teacher.

1) "Tonto" (64) - An allusion to the Native American sidekick to the Lone Ranger, a popular character from the American western genre. Tonto started appearing in serialized radio shows in 1933 and his characterization has contributed to the stereotype of Indians as "Noble Savages."

2) "Prince Charming" (81) - An allusion to the popular fairy tale trope of a dashing, handsome, white royal who always rescues damsels in distress. Junior imagines Rowdy telling him that he (Junior) is the antithesis of Prince Charming and therefore will never have a chance with Penelope.

1) "My hopes and dreams floated up in a mushroom cloud" (31). This description evokes the sense of hopelessness that overwhelms Junior once he discovers that he is expected to study geometry from the same textbook his mother used more than thirty years before. The image of a mushroom cloud is one of complete destruction, as it is commonly associated with massive bombings.

2) "...I could smell his breath. Onions and garlic and hamburger and shame and pain" (42). This imagery invokes Mr. P's sloppiness as well as the weight of his guilt about having purposely squashed Indian culture in his classroom. It is effective in showing how open Mr. P. is being with Junior - he is close enough so Junior can tell what he had for lunch, and he is also revealing the source of his pain.

3) "Those kids weren't just white. They were translucent. I could see the blue veins running through their skin like rivers" (56). This imagery emphasizes how different Junior feels at Reardan because of his brown skin.

1) Junior's dad misses Christmas to go on a drunken binge, but he manages to save a five-dollar bill for Junior in his boot. Junior calls the money "a beautiful and ugly thing" (151) because he knows how badly his dad probably wanted to use the five dollars to get more drunk, yet he resents his father for being drunk and missing the holidays in the first place.

2) Junior claims that many of his Reardan classmates' fathers are "good at hiding in plain sight" (153). This paradox invokes the mental absence of these parents, who may be home every night but do not pay any attention to their children.

Parallelism

1) "We were supposed to kill the Indian to save the child" (35). This use of parallelism underlines Mr. P.'s point that many white Americans have treated Indian culture as somehow threatening to American culture, thus encouraging white reservation teachers to force their Indian students to assimilate.

2) "My cartoons weren't just good for giggles; they were also good for poetry" (95). Here, the use of parallelism emphasizes the importance of Junior's (often humorous) cartoons - they are his way of expressing himself.

3) "They were constantly scraping together enough money to pay for gas, to get me lunch money, to buy me a new pair of jeans and a few new shirts" (119). This repetition emphasizes how hard Junior's parents are working to support their ambitious son.

Metonymy and Synecdoche

1) "I kept glancing over at Wellpinit as they ran their layup drills" (190). This is an example of synecdoche because Alexie uses "Wellpinit" to refer to the Wellpinit High School basketball team.

Personification

1) "That old, old, old, decrepit geometry book hit my heart with the force of a nuclear bomb" (31). By personifying the thirty-year-old geometry textbook that Junior is expected to study in his class at Wellpinit, Alexie makes the book a powerful symbol for the lack of educational resources on the reservation.

2) "The grief didn't hit me right away" (201). By personifying Junior's grief after hearing about Mary's death, Alexie gives the loss a physical presence, which reflects the devastating effect that the tragedy has on Junior's life.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

The absolutely true diary of a part time indian

1) blackjack dealer

2) paper route

3) mowing lawns

Why does Mr.P say the following ?

Mr. P makes this comment because he not only blames himself for the condition of his students.... he puts them equally at blame for how they treat each other..... and for giving up.

"You were right to throw that book at me. I deserved to get...

On page 194, junior states that "one play can change your momentum forever." How does this quote describe his life after the basketball game? When, in your own life, has "one play" changed everything after? Explain

Junior finds a new sense of validation after his three point play. For once in his life, he is accepted by the main white social circles of high school. Jinior however feels ashamed that his new appreciation probably came at the expense of Rowdy....

Study Guide for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian study guide contains a biography of Sherman Alexie, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Summary
• Character List

Essays for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.

• An Exploration of Double Consciousness in Sherman Alexie’s The Absoultely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
• “A Time of Togetherness”: How Alexie Sherman and Velma Wallis use Christmas to Present Contemporary Native American Issues
• Race and Identity: 'The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian' and 'Monster'
• Exacerbating Oppression

Lesson Plan for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

• Introduction

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

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Chapters 13-15

Chapters 16-18

Chapters 19-21

Chapters 22-24

Chapters 25-27

Chapters 28-30

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Near the beginning of the novel, Junior asks his parents “who has the most hope?” and his parents respond, “white people” (45). Similarly, Mr. P tells Junior he’ll find more hope the further he gets away from the reservation. Junior, however, says “I don’t know if hope is white” (51). Discuss the nature of hope in Absolutely True Diary , considering how it relates to race and white privilege. What gives Junior hope? Does he have more of it by the end of the novel? What role does Whiteness play, if any?

Junior’s father goes on a drinking bender, and when he returns, he gives Junior his last five dollars as a Christmas present. Junior describes the gift as a “beautiful and ugly thing.” What does Junior mean by this? What else is Absolutely True Diary might be considered “beautiful and ugly”?

Junior’s relationship with the Reservation is complicated and often contradictory. At times, the reservation seems like a place of despair, yet other times it seems a place of love and great joy. How has the reservation shaped the way Junior sees the world, and how does his relationship to it change and grow?

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Home — Essay Samples — Sociology — Stereotypes — The Issue Of Stereotypes In ‘The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian’

The Issue of Stereotypes in 'The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian'

• Categories: Native American Sherman Alexie Stereotypes

About this sample

Words: 866 |

Published: Dec 16, 2021

Words: 866 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

Conflict of Stereotypes Between Native Americans and Caucasians

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