When Sherman Alexie created Arnold Spirit Jr., (aka Junior) he was entrusting his main character to tell the story of Alexie’s own experiences growing up on a reservation and his decision to attend a predominantly White public high school instead of remaining at the school on the reservation.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie was on the Banned Books List for nine of the first ten years after it was written.
Alexie often jokes that it never made the number one spot often hovering at number two. The controversy surrounding this novel isn’t as straight-forward as many books that make the list.
The book contains references to masturbation, bullying, alcoholism, homophobic slurs, death, poverty, racism, and a few swear words. All the things mentioned are integral parts of the story of his life. None are gratuitous. None are offered to titillate or negatively influence readers.
The Young Adult novel is based on Alexie’s life. He speaks honestly about living in poverty and facing food scarcity. He brings to life the beauty of nature on the reservation, the fresh air, and forests of lush green pine trees for as far as the eye can see in contrast to the often substandard housing and public buildings with antiquated facilities and twenty year old textbooks. The isolation of reservation life exists hand in hand with the importance of a shared community free from the judgement and influence of a society still intent on erasing Indian identity and culture.
Junior’s mother is exceptionally intelligent. She dreamed of going to college and having a meaningful career, but the opportunities weren’t there for her. His father is a talented musician who never had the opportunity to use his talents. He drinks too much, but he’s a loving father who tries. Junior’s best friend Rowdy isn’t so lucky. His father is a mean drunk who physically abuses Rowdy and Rowdy’s mom. Junior and his older sister Mary are also extremely intelligent. Mary dreams of becoming a writer, but feels her ambitions are too big for the realities of reservation life. To Mary a small life is better than chasing a dream that’s out of reach.
Junior, who was born with hydrocephalus, had multiple surgeries and suffered seizures as a young child. He was small for his age and needed protection from bullies. Rowdy provided that protection. They also bonded over a love of cartoons and comics. Junior creates comics for Rowdy to read. Junior describes the importance of his cartoons, “ I think the world is a series of broken dams and floods, and my cartoons are tiny little lifeboats.”
Junior accepts that he’s destined for the same fate as his sister until he’s given an old textbook his mother used when she was in high school. That’s his breaking point. How can he succeed with an education that’s stuck twenty years in the past?
When he decides he wants to leave the reservation to attend Reardon, a public high school in a White farming community over twenty miles away, his parents support his decision, but friends and neighbors on the reservation consider it a betrayal. Junior begs Rowdy to come with him, but Rowdy doesn’t have the support system of a strong family. He feels abandoned and reacts with anger instead of rooting for his friend to succeed.
Junior becomes trapped between the two worlds. At Reardon he’s Arnold, an outsider, an Indian looked down on by many of his teachers, fellow students, and the students’ parents. When he stands up for himself by punching a boy who makes fun of him, he stops the verbal bullying, but he’s still not accepted. As he excels in academics and basketball, he wins a level of acceptance and begins making friends.
Sometimes his family doesn’t have the money for gas to drive him to and from school, so he has to hitchhike or walk. Sometimes there’s no money for his lunch, but he’s too proud to use the free lunch program in front of his new friends. Back on the reservation, he’s still Junior, but he’s either ostracized or bullied for betraying his heritage. He keeps his head down and works hard.
Junior’s/Arnold’s dilemma of not belonging is a common feeling for young teens. Alexie explores this theme by also examining the lives of Arnold’s friends at Reardon. His popular White “almost- girlfriend,” Penelope, suffers from bulimia, and many of his wealthier classmates have emotionally unavailable and uninvolved parents.
This book pulls you into the storyline in unexpected ways. You laugh and cry with Junior. You get angry at the injustices indigenous peoples still face in our society. You get mad at people who self-medicate with alcohol or drugs to escape the realities of those injustices. You wonder what could make someone so mean they would pick on a child with a medical condition. You’ll also come away with a deeper appreciation for the educational opportunities too many of us take for granted. Books are powerful they allow us to explore other experiences and worlds beyond our reach. Most of all, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie will leave you with a feeling of hope. In spite of everything, Arnold never gives up. If we allow people to read about the challenges and injustices other face instead of worrying about our own sensibilities, things can change, and we’ll be rewarded with more Arnolds in this world.
Selected Works by Sherman Alexie:
Poetry Collections:
The Business of Fancydancing: Stories and Poems
Old Shirts and New Skins
First Indian on the Moon
Seven Mourning Songs for the Cedar Flute I Have Yet to Learn to Play
Water Flowing Home
The Summer of Black Widows
The Man Who Loves Salmon
One Stick Song
Face
Hymn
Memoir:
You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me
Novels:
Reservation Blues
Indian Killer
Flight
Short Fiction Collections:
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
The Toughest Indian in the World
Ten Little Indians
War Dances
Blasphemy: New and Selected Stories
Children’s Book:
Thunder Boy, Jr.
Photo Credits:
For Sherman Alexie Photo:
By ASU Department of English - red-ink-alexie-matsunaga-2016-3507, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=113130450
For Book Jacket:
By Bookcover scanned, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16622649