The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

1. Summary: Arnold Spirit, better known as Junior, lives on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit and his life is far from simple. His parents are alcoholics, his sister is a runaway, and his best friend is incredibly angry. Arnold was born with fluid on the brain which has caused him great trauma as a child: seizures, a larger than normal head, and daily beatings by people on the reservation making fun of him. After he throws an ancient geometry book at Mr. P, he realizes, with Mr. P’s help, that the only way to escape his dismal, reservation future is to move to a non-reservation school 22 miles away. Reardon is all white and he is far from white. But soon, he begins to fit in, becomes a freshman starter on the basketball team, and even falls in love with a girl named Penelope. He feels regret and blames himself for tragedies that occur after he changes school, including the deaths of his grandmother and sister. But soon, despite the pain, he realizes he has done the right thing and has finally broken the rez cycle.
2. Textbook: This piece of realistic fiction is different from the other selections due to its focus of Native American culture, more specifically reservation life. The reality that reservations are sad places of death and alcoholic destruction is something that Americans don’t want to address. If they acknowledge it, it must be true. Despite revolving around a culture and history that many students would not know or understand, readers can identify with Arnold’s need to fit in with people, please his family, break a vicious cycle, and  do all of these things without abandoning the only life he has ever known. Like Gabi: A Girl in Pieces, the cultural influence doesn’t override the universal themes and characters. This novel also includes small elements of a graphic novel by including drawn images depicting scenes from the novel, supposedly drawn by Arnold himself. These don’t fill the pages of the novel, but they definitely enhance the themes of the novel, as well as bring to life some of the iconic scenes.

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


ESL Audiobook and Full Text of Novel