Junior Spirit Indian

After Mr. Dodge says this, Junior’s reaction shows how much he cares about his hometown and how much he wishes people would treat him fairly. This also shows how much people dislike him and don’t understand him. Junior

The second obstacle that Junior overcame was poverty. Being an Indian and living on the reservation he grew up with little to no money, and any money they did have his dad drank away. One common thing that Junior heard when he asked his dad for a ride to school in Reardan was, “’Don’t have enough gas,’ (Alexie70).” Junior never let the fact that his parents didn’t have any money stop him from going to school. He would either walk or hitchhike his way there even if he would be late. Junior was very determined to get to school to create that future he was dreaming of. He didn’t want the kids at Reardan to think of him as any different as they were. One way he did this was by pretending he had money, “My parents gave me just enough money so that I could pretend to have more money than I did, (Alexie119).” He knew he was poor, but he didn’t want his friends to know he was too. Junior wanted to be like everyone else and just fit in. He didn’t want the kids to think just because he was poor he couldn’t hang out with them. Eventually his friends discover that he has little money. They didn’t even think about not hanging out with him. They actually offer to help him and give him rides. If anything the fact that they knew more about him made him more popular with them. Junior would walk to school when there was no gas, he would hang out and go places with friends even when they knew he was poor. When Junior lets loose, he becomes a better person an overcomes his poverty with

Arnold/Junior Spirit is a fourteen year old Spokane Indian who lives on a small reservation in Washington state. In the book The Absolutely True Diary of a part-Time Indian, Junior leaves his reservation for a primary white school called Reardan to find hope. He struggles with friendships, family, basketball, school work and identity through the year. His experiences on and off the reservation, are constantly changing his beliefs to become less racist and more positive. For example, Junior begins thinking that hope is barely reachable for him, but ends the book realizing that nothing stops him from having hope except how much he works for it.

Acknowledged in both novels, Junior and Jin’s spontaneous actions leave them both friendless and bruised. In Junior’s case, this meant ditching the reservation’s schooling system and finding one that surpasses the education he was taught. In the spur of the moment, Junior decides to do just that and attend an all-white school in the neighboring town. Getting the courage to tell his best friend, Junior braces himself for Rowdy’s reaction. Denial embedded his friend’s senses; remoteness then trickled its way through his head

From January 20 to 23, I went to Santa Fe and San Ildefonso in New Mexico with Dr. Laughlin and my classmates. I was totally surprised by the architecture of the housing and the rich collection of Native American cultures. I expected to see traditional suburbs but instead I found almost everyone has built houses resembling traditional adobe homes which I had never seen. Houses, businesses, government buildings including museums are almost built in this style. The colors seem to blend in with the desert. One of the most exciting events I attended in New Mexico was the museum presentation of the Zuni tribe. Although we actually did not meet the Zuni tribe, we learned a lot about them because Dawn Kaufmann who is a guide at the Museum of

There were many places throughout the parts of the book I read, where I felt extremely grateful. Two of them were when I was reading from page 11 through page 13, and I stumbled against two things Junior said that struck me. The first part was when Junior said “They (his parents) never got the chance to be anything because nobody paid attention to their dreams”, on page 11. While the second part was when he said, “But we reservation Indians don't get to realise our dreams. We don’t get those chances. Or choices. We’re poor. Thats all we are,” on page 13. While and after reading this I felt extremely fortunate, yet apologetic. I felt extremely fortunate, due to the fact that I was born into family that isn’t a victim of poverty and also because

Junior begins to realize that he’s not inviable and that he belongs to a lot of things near the end of the story. Along with that, he also is emotionally affected when he talks about his love for drawing cartoons. As Junior starts to reflect upon his life he thinks, “I realized that, sure, I was a Spokane Indian. I belonged to that tribe. But I also belonged to the tribe of American immigrants. And to the tribe of basketball players” (Alexie 217). At this moment in the book, Junior's improved analyzing skills come into play and he himself proves that he isn’t nothing. Junior tells himself that he matters, which improves his emotional being for the better. Secondly, right at the beginning of the book when Junior talks about how he likes to draw cartoons, he states, “So I draw because I feel like it might be my only real chance to escape the reservation” (Alexie 6). As Junior speaks about himself he states that cartoons are a way for him to avoid all the emotional stress put on him by others, but also when he says this, it resembles a self-fulfilling prophecy. As he thinks like this, he starts to believe that cartoons are his only real escape, which shows once again how emotionally affected he is by his own actions. Therefore, it’s shown that Junior puts his own toll on himself emotionally through self-fulling prophecy when he talks about drawing cartoons,

The Shawnee Tribe was known for farming, Shawnee women and men both participated in this activity. The women planted and harvested corn and squash. Shawnee men where in charge of hunting, they hunted in the forest for, deer, turkeys, and small game. They also went fishing in rivers and lakes, Shawnee food included soup, corn beard, and stew. The Shawnee men sometimes went to war to protect their families, women were normally the farmers and took care of the children. Both women and men took part in storytelling, artwork, and music, and traditional medicine. In the past, Shawnee principal chiefs were always men, but either a man or a woman could be a village chief. During the day women farm, harvesting corn and squash, they care for

Throughout the novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, the main character Junior Spirit is torn between the two worlds of Native Americans and White people. This denied him of finding a true identity in which humans sought after through William Glasser’s 5 Basic Needs Theory, which states that a human’s identity is affected by their needs of power, survival, love and belonging, freedom, and fun. Arnold Spirit is put on a path where he is forced to overcome adversities and the

Raised by his father Jacob, his mother died birthing his little brother, James. He did not let that deter him; nor did he allow his humble and poverty-struck beginning to define him. He did, however, take a different approach than some. Rather than focus on what he had to help him through his struggles, he focused on what he wanted. He had the goal of so many who dream the American Dream. Johnson wanted to establish himself and his family in the middle class, while paving the way for his children to do better. He planned on going to school and becoming, of all things, a lawyer. While he was not successful at becoming a lawyer—Johnson changed his major to education and worked as a teacher—he and his wife Charlotte would establish themselves solidly in the middle class. However, as all journeys do, his began with a single step. Graduating high school, he enrolled in college. Johnson was a sophomore at Central Oregon Community College (COCC) when, as far as he was concerned, the first black students began arriving. During an interview, Johnson had a slightly mischievous look in his eyes, as he remembered what he first thought. He stated that “they were nervous. It wasn’t the nerves from just entering college. They stuck out like a sore thumb” (Johnson, 2017). Indeed, in a school full of white people similar to him, the two students he saw were sure to stick

First, we interviewed his former math teacher, Mr. P, we asked how he broke his nose, and why he encouraged Junior to leave the reservation. He said, “I broke my nose because of junior. He was sick of everyone around him giving up, so he was frustrated and threw a book at my” “I encouraged him to leave the rez because all they’re being taught to give up and to become a drunk.” We then interviewed his parents, but they gave a simple statement of “We just want what’s best for him.” And finally, we interviewed his best friend Rowdy “He said Junior was a white loving traitor” before trying to hit the interviewer. We decided it was in our best interest to leave him

If you have ever moved to new town, or changed schools, then you probably have a pretty good idea how Junior felt throughout the book. After Mr. P talks Junior into getting out of the REZ

A new level of expectations and accomplishments came about Junior when he moved to Reardan. He finally had somewhere to have a fresh start where people didn’t know what he was capable of, nor did anyone have a presumption set for Junior. With this new chapter in his life and new beginnings Junior had become someone he never had a chance to be at the Reservation. Junior was smart, intellectual, confident, observant and had a completely different mentality. Thanks to some very important people at Reardan like Gordy and Junior’s basketball coach, they were able to mentor and drive Junior to be the person he was ultimately trying to become. Gordy was an intelligent young man in Junior 's life who was able to connect books to some life morals. Because of Gordy, Junior finally made his own realization that “if every moment of a book should be taken seriously, then every moment of life should be taken seriously as well” (95). At this moment in the book, Junior started to realize there was meaning to his life; why not enjoy it doing the things you love and are passionate about. One passion in

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is the story of Junior’s journey to discovery of self. Like many teens, he finds himself

The beginning of the book begins with Junior giving the reader some background information about himself. “I was actually born with too much cerebral spinal fluid inside my skull” (Alexie, p.1). Junior lets the reader know that this brain condition makes him different than everyone else on the reservation. His