The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

The book is written by Sherman Alexie and illustrated by Ellen Forney. It was published in 2007 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.

Lexile Level: 600L    Ages: 12-17

Summary:

     The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a novel that is narrated by a 14 year old Spokane Indian, Arnold or Junior, who is a hydrocephalic, meaning he was born with water on the brain. Arnold takes us on a journey through his life beginning with the important people in his life. We read about Oscar, his best canine friend and Rowdy, his best friend the tough-guy. 

     Moving on, Arnold talks about his experience at school. He uses a textbook that has his mother's name in it which he ends up throwing at his teacher, Mr. P. Mr. P comes to visit Arnold and tells him he needs to get out of the reservation because he is intelligent and can do more with his life. So, Arnold takes Mr. P's advice and transfers to the white school in Reardan. Arnold's parents are OK with hides decision but Rowdy becomes very upset over the news and  punches Junior in the face.

     Arnold starts at Reardan High School, where he meets a beautiful blonde Penelope and gets picked on by Roger, the jock. As his time at Reardan progresses Arnold punches Roger in the nose, but Roger does not fight back. He begins to respects Arnold. Penelope and Arnold become close when he finds out her secret, she is anorexic. They become so close Arnold takes her to the winter dance. Through his time at Reardan, Arnold has been passing as middle-class, Penelope finds out that he is poor and feels sorry for him. Penelope and Arnold become semi-girlfriend and boyfriend.

     Arnold becomes friends with Gordy who is the school genius. Gordy teaches Arnold how to really read  book and other joys of learning. While attending Reardan Arnold starts to realize he is a part-time Indian. He is Junior on the reservation, where he is disliked, and at school in Reardan he is Arnold. To feel more like home, Arnold tries out for basketball. With some encouragement from his coach, he makes varsity. The first game is on the reservation where he is playing against his ex-best friend Rowdy. Rowdy ends up knocking Arnold unconscious. In the rematch, Arnold's team wins. 

     During the remainder of the book, Arnold goes through a series of losses. He loses his grandmother who is hit by a drunk driver and he loses his dad's best friend Eugene who was shot in the face. Unfortunately, he also loses his sister Mary in a trailer fire. The end of the book is a   reconciliation between Rowdy and Arnold. The play a game of one-on-one basketball.

Evaluation and Illustrations:

     This book was very much a comedy that talks about everyday (some serious) issues. The novel addresses racism, sexual references, and swearing. I do think a middle school class would enjoy this novel because of its humor. I didn’t really like some of the racist, sexist, homophobic language that was used, but it felt authentic to the characters. Reading the novel it was like listening to students talk to each other in my placement, it was normal. Although, it addresses these crude topics it has a stronger meaning.

      A coming of age story with identity, doing something better with your life, and breaking down stereotypes. This novel seems realistic the story is from Arnold/Juniors point of view and it shows what he goes through as an Indian boy attending a White school. The setting is accurate. Arnold tells the reader about the reservation and how much alcoholism is around. He also mentions the fighting that occurs and how families stick up for each other. For example, on page 61 Arnold writes a list of "The Unofficial and Unwritten Spokane Indian Rules of Fisticuffs". The setting goes back and forth between the reservation and Reardan and Arnold makes sure the reader knows the distinction between the two.

      The comic illustrations by Ellen Forney are wonderful. They bring the story together by illustrating Arnold's wit and comedic voice. They make the novel interesting to read and a middle school student would be happy to read a novel with illustrations. Some of the comics bring more dialogue into the story, for instance, on page 120 there is a comic called "how to pretend you are not poor" and it has five boxes each with an excuse to get out of things that require money.

Literary Elements:

     There is symbolism in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Page 11 is an example, Arnold had a dog named Oscar who fell ill. He asked to take his dog to the vet, his family said no they will take care of it on the reservation. His father shots Oscar. The death of the animal, who is a completely innocent, becomes a symbol for the senseless destruction caused by poverty on the reservation. In fact, Arnold mentions Oscar's death as the worst thing about poverty: it's even worse than being hungry. The setting of this novel takes place in two locations. One is on the reservation where Arnold lives and the other is in Reardan where Arnold attends school. Towards the end of the novel Rowdy and Arnold climb a pine tree showing imagery. "I don't know if anybody else has ever climbed that tree. I look at it now, years later, and I can't believe we did it. And I can't believe I survived my first year at Reardan" (Alexie 226). This pine tree is imagery because Arnold gives a description of the tree (how tall it was) and then once he and Rowdy were at the top he gave a description about the view. From his descriptions as the reader we can visualize the tree and the view.

1. Symbolism: Oscar = poverty
2. Setting: the reservation and Reardan
3. Imagery: the tall pine tree and the view

In the Classroom:

     (For the whole book) With this book I would have my students do small group discussions. I would also have them do the container with a lid activity because there are multiple characters the students can chose from to represent. In their small discussion groups I would have them share their container objects and then discuss their favorite and least favorite part of the book.

     (For chapters throughout) Breaking the book up into sections will encourage the students to predict what might happen next. For each of the chunks of book I will have the students bring in a list of questions (appropriate) and have four small discussion groups. Each student will be encouraged to participate as they will each have to bring in questions.


Alexie, S., & Forney, E. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown.