What grade is junior in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part time?
ninth gradeThe novel starts with Junior getting expelled for throwing a textbook at his teacher out of frustration. It's the first day of ninth grade, and Junior's “new” textbook is over thirty-years-old.
Who did junior fall in love with when he was 12?
Junior remembers how, at the age of twelve, he fell in love with an Indian girl named Dawn. Dawn is the best traditional powwow dancer on the rez, and she has beautiful braids. One night, when Rowdy is sleeping over Junior's house, Junior tells Rowdy he's in love with Dawn.
What was junior born with?
excess cerebral spinal fluid(“Junior”) describes how he was born with excess cerebral spinal fluid, or “water,” on his brain. A surgery to remove the fluid during Junior's infancy is supposed to make him brain dead, but the complications turn out to be relatively minor. As he grows up, he ends up having 42, instead of 32 teeth.
What was junior born with in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian?
The Absolutely True Diary begins by introducing Junior's birth defects: he was born with hydrocephalus and therefore is small for his age and suffers from seizures, poor eyesight, stuttering, and a lisp. As a result, Junior has always been picked on by other people on the reservation.
Why does junior hit Roger the giant?
One day at lunchtime, one of the jocks, Roger, tells Arnold a horrible racist joke (8.119). Junior is, of course, infuriated. Since he has been insulted, and since he lives by the "Indian Rules of Fisticuffs," Junior punches Roger dead in the face. Roger is so shocked he can only stare at Junior.
What is the biggest problem junior has at Reardan?
Poverty and Privilege One of the main differences between life on the reservation and life in Reardan is that most of the families on the reservation, including Junior's, are poor. This means that Junior often misses meals and school because his parents have no money for food or gas.
Why is Diary of a Part Time Indian banned?
Banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references, and allegations of sexual misconduct by the author.
How does Junior think of himself?
Though he is often lonely and thinks of himself as weak, invisible, and unable to fight back physically, other characters recognize him as a “warrior,” a smart, brave, and highly committed person who has been “fighting since [he was] born” to keep his hope despite the oppressive, depressing atmosphere of the ...
When was Arnold spirit born?
Arnold Spirit Jr., nicknamed Junior, is a fourteen-year-old boy who lives on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington, USA. He was born on 5th November 1992 at Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane.
Why does junior call himself a Part-Time Indian?
Summary: Dance, Dance, Dance Junior spends half his time in Wellpinit, half in Reardan. He feels half white and half Indian. He says being an Indian is like his job, but only a part-time job that doesn't pay well.
What are junior traits?
Junior is...Positive.Willing.Driven.Outgoing.Reliable.Enthusiastic.Focused.Athletic.
Is there a movie for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian?
Hugh Jackman, Fox's 'Part-Time Indian' Will Be First “Culturally Authentic” Studio Film. Hugh Jackman is set to co-star and co-produce the upcoming movie adaptation of Sherman Alexie's 'The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. '
Who is Junior's grandmother?
Junior’s grandmother. (The text identifies her as Junior’s mother’s mother, although there seems to be a small discrepancy here: Grandmother’s last name is Spirit, the same as Junior’s, whereas his mother’s maiden name is Adams.)… read analysis of Grandmother Spirit
Who is Junior's best friend?
Junior’s best friend from the reservation. Rowdy is the toughest kid on the rez and all the other kids are afraid of him, but he always protects Junior from bullies (or beats them up in… read analysis of Rowdy
What does Junior call Roger the Giant?
A star basketball and football player and a popular senior at Reardan High School. Junior calls him “Roger the Giant.” When Junior first arrives in Reardan, Roger calls him “Chief” and tells him a racist… read analysis of Roger
What does Junior see Oscar as?
Junior sees Oscar as “the only living thing that I could depend on” and “a better person than any human I had ever known.”. When Oscar gets sick early in the novel, Junior’s… read analysis of Oscar.
Who gives Junior the news of Mary's death?
The Reardan guidance counselor, who gives Junior the news of Mary’s death.
Who was Junior's first crush?
Junior’s first crush, an Indian girl from Wellpinit. When Junior and Rowdy are twelve, Rowdy promises never to tell that Junior cried about loving the unattainable Dawn (who, Rowdy noted at the time, “doesn’t give a shit” about Junior).
Why is Junior bullied?
Junior is frequently bullied because of his “weird” physical attributes, the result of the hydrocephalus he was born with. Though he is often lonely and thinks of… read analysis of Junior (Arnold Spirit, Jr.)
How old is Arnold Spirit Jr. in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian?
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a first-person narrative novel by Sherman Alexie, from the perspective of a Native American teenager, Arnold Spirit Jr., also known as "Junior", a 14-year-old promising cartoonist. The book is about Junior's life on the Spokane Indian Reservation and his decision to go to an all- white public high ...
What disability is in the diary of a part time Indian?
Dr. Bryan Ripley Crandall, director of the Connecticut Writing Project at Fairfield University, posits in his critical essay "Adding a Disability Perspective When Reading Adolescent Literature: Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian " that the book presents a progressive view of disability. Arnold has what he calls "water on the brain", which would correctly be referred to as hydrocephalus. Crandall points out that Arnold is never held back by his disability, but in fact laughs at himself: "With my big feet and pencil body, I looked like a capital L walking down the road." According to Crandall, the illustrations by Ellen Forney, which are meant to be the cartoons that Arnold draws, represent a new way for the disabled narrator to communicate with the readers: they "initiate further interpretations and conversations about how students perceive others who are not like them, especially individuals with disabilities." Arnold's hydrocephaly doesn't prevent him from becoming a basketball star at his new school. His disability fades as a plot device as the book progresses.
What is the plot of Junior's first day of high school?
Junior's first day of high school is pivotal to the plot of the novel. When Mr. P, his geometry teacher, passes him his textbook, he sees his mother's name in it and realizes how old the book must be. Angered and saddened by the fact that the reservation is so poor that it cannot afford new textbooks, Junior violently throws the book, which hits Mr. P's face, breaking his nose. When he visits Junior at home, Mr. P convinces Junior to transfer to Reardan High School, sensing a degree of precociousness in the young teenager. The town of Reardan is far wealthier than Wellpinit—Junior is the only Indian at Reardan. Although Junior's family is poor, and although the school is 22 miles away and transportation is unreliable, they support him and do what they can to make it possible for him to stay in the new school. Rowdy, however, is upset by Junior's decision to transfer, and the once-best friends have very little contact during the year.
How old is Arnold from the Indian Reservation?
Nicknamed Junior, Arnold is a fourteen-year-old boy who lives on the Spokane Indian Reservation. He enjoys playing basketball and drawing cartoons in his free time. Junior and his family, along with the others on the reservation, feel the daily effects of poverty and financial shortcomings—there is often not enough food to eat in their home or enough money to fill the gas tank in the car, forcing him to hitchhike to school or not go at all. He is incredibly smart; he transfers from the school on the reservation to Reardan, where almost all the students are white.
How old is Arnold Spirit Jr?
The book follows a fourteen-year-old Arnold Spirit Jr., also known as "Junior", living with his family on the Spokane Indian Reservation near Wellpinit, Washington for a school year. It is told in episodic diary style, moving from the start of the school year to the beginning of summer.
Why was Diary pulled from the reading list?
In April 2014, Diary was pulled from the Meridian district's supplemental reading list after significant parental disapproval of the novel's subject matter. The book had been a part of its curriculum since 2010. Students protested to remove the ban but were unsuccessful.
Why was the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian banned?
In 2020, the book was also banned and challenged because of the author's sexual misconduct.
What does Junior say about Rowdy's fists?
Junior says, "I realized how much of my self-worth, my sense of safety, was based on Rowdy's fists" ( Alexie 68). How does Junior learn to stand up for himself?
What happens after Junior beats up Rowdy?
After they beat up Junior, they get drunk and pass out... Rowdy shaves off their eyebrows and cuts off their braids, probably the worst thing that can be done to an Indian
Does Junior have a black eye?
Junior is constantly being beaten up by other Indians on the rez, so he often has a black eye.
What does Junior think of Rowdy?
Junior thinks he and Rowdy will be friends forever, for example, that they are closer than family. But shortly after Junior describes their inseparable bond, Rowdy rejects Junior’s friendship for the rest of the novel. Junior still has things to learn about family and friendship.
What are the names of the white kids in the movie Junior?
Junior struggles to find acceptance in both communities, and his positive character traits, especially his persistence, eventually secure him friends among the white kids—Penelope, Gordy, Roger and others—at the Reardan high school.
What is the story of Junior waking up to his blind spots?
Such is the case when Rowdy and Gordy show Junior that his infatuation with Penelope’s whiteness is only a subtle variation of the racism and prejudice to which bigoted white people treat him and other Indians every day.
Is Junior a narrator?
Junior is the unreliable narrator of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Unlike many unreliable narrators, however, Junior is never unreliable as the result of maliciousness or intentional dishonesty. Rather, the gap between Junior’s version of events and what Alexie suggests really happens, is the result of Junior’s youthful naiveté or an emotional shock. Junior thinks he and Rowdy will be friends forever, for example, that they are closer than family. But shortly after Junior describes their inseparable bond, Rowdy rejects Junior’s friendship for the rest of the novel. Junior still has things to learn about family and friendship. Many of the novel’s episodes are stories of Junior waking up to one of his biases or blind spots. Such is the case when Rowdy and Gordy show Junior that his infatuation with Penelope’s whiteness is only a subtle variation of the racism and prejudice to which bigoted white people treat him and other Indians every day. Still, for the most part, Junior is sincere, compassionate, resilient, and persistent. When he recognizes them, he is honest about his faults with himself and readers.
Overview
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a first-person narrative novel by Sherman Alexie, from the perspective of a Native American teenager, Arnold Spirit Jr., also known as "Junior", a 14-year-old promising cartoonist. The book is about Junior's life on the Spokane Indian Reservation and his decision to go to a nearly all-white public high school away from the reservation. The graphic nove…
Plot
The book follows a fourteen-year-old Arnold Spirit Jr., also known as "Junior", living with his family on the Spokane Indian Reservation near Wellpinit, Washington. It is told in diary style, moving from the start of the school year to the beginning of summer. It includes both Junior's written record of his life and his cartoon drawings, some of them comically commenting on his situations, and others more seriously depicting important people in his life. The Absolutely True Diary begins by …
Background
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 commented, "If I were to guess at the percentage, it would be about seventy-eight percent true." Like Arnold, Sherma…
Characters
Agnes (Adams) Spirit (Junior's Mother) A Spokane Indian, Agnes has lived on the reservation her entire life. She is a bad liar, likes to read books, and is considered to be very smart by her children. She is an ex-alcoholic and is seen as eccentric by Junior: "She's a human tape recorder," Junior explains, "Really, my mom can read the newspaper in fifteen minutes and tell me baseball scores, the location of every war, the latest guy to win the lottery, and the high temperature in Des Moine…
Reception
Bruce Barcott of The New York Times said in a 2007 review, "For 15 years now, Sherman Alexie has explored the struggle to survive between the grinding plates of the Indian and white worlds. He's done it through various characters and genres, but The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian may be his best work yet. Working in the voice of a 14-year-old forces Alexie to strip everything down to action and emotion, so that reading becomes more like listening to your smart, funny be…
Controversy
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian has been at the center of many controversies due to the book's themes and content, as well as its target audience of young adults. The book has both fervent supporters and concerned protesters: "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.
Historical trauma of the Spokane Indians
The autobiographical nature of the novel reflects the internal struggle for identity that Alexie dealt with as a child. His personal experiences then tie into the idea of the trauma that Native American tribes live with as they still struggle to balance assimilation with identity. This phenomenon has been explored and analyzed since the publication of the novel.
Jan Johnson, clinical assistant professor of American Indian and African American Literatures a…
Multicultural literature
There are many arguments for why The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is an example of 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…