The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was a great book and good choice for this week’s theme of personal identity. I thought the text of the story was interesting and good, but it was the drawings that made it really great. I felt like I learned more about Junior from his illustrations than I did from the text. And I thought it was very fitting that was the way I read the book, since the opening of the story addresses why he draws. He wants everyone to understand without facing a language barrier.

Again, this book is difficult to read because of all of the abuse. The scene where his father shot his dog because it was too expensive to take it to the vet may have made me cry and reminded me a bit of Old Yeller.

They way that alcoholism is discussed is really interesting to me. I have to admit that I was surprised in the casual manner in which Junior brought up his parents alcoholism. It was if they were just another couple that had a problem with alcohol but at least they weren’t abusive like Rowdy’s father. It is also the cause of many of the deaths in the book, like Eugene and Junior’s sister, but it always sounds like it is just what happens. I was horrified when I read about Eugene’s death and being out with his friend who shot him and was too drunk to remember or when his sister died in the fire and was too drunk to wake up and get herself and her husband to safety. Alcoholism seemed to be commonplace for the “rez” and the people who lived there. I have always thought of this a total stereotype and couldn’t tell if the author was playing on this stereotype or if there is truth to it. I have to admit, I do not know a lot about Indians and there culture outside of bad John Wayne westerns. There were other Indian stereotypes mentioned like going to work at the Casino and gambling being a part of the culture. I don’t know how I feel about that after living here in the “Happy Valley” where I have been encouraged to always look at people for people and not to believe the stereotypes to the point of being almost overly sensitive to them.

I also like that he was a good student and a good basketball player, yet he was constantly picked on. When I think about stereotypes in the fictional high school environment, usually being really good at school and sports would mean instant popularity. I do realize that it is because of other contributing factors like the lisp and stuttering problem (that I pretty much forgot about after the first few pages) as well as the glasses and clothes that make him the target of every bully except for Rowdy. It was a dynamic that made me really think about Junior fitting in or not fitting to school, the “rez” and his culture.