The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Bibliographic Information:

Alexie, S. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 230 pp.

Genre and Awards:

Fiction

National Book Award, 2007

Sherman Alexie’s novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian details the tragic ninth grade year of Arnold Spirit, a young man raised on a Spokane Indian reservation by his parents and grandmother. Despite oppressive poverty, alcoholism, and despair on the reservation, the novel maintains a surprisingly upbeat tone through the use of illustrations and humor.

On the first day at his reservation high school, an outraged Arnold accidentally throws his science textbook into his teacher’s face after realizing that it is the same book his mother used 30 years prior. This results in his suspension from school and the realization that he must eventually leave the reservation to have a better chance for success. He decides to enroll at the neighboring “white” high school. This decision is very unpopular in the Spokane community and for a time Arnold is ostracized both in his new school and at home on the “Rez.” Particularly difficult is the rejection Arnold experiences from his long-time best friend Rowdy who refuses to speak to him.

This is a wonderful book for adolescents because it details the struggle of a young man who is faced with seemingly insurmountable problems, yet he approaches them with humor and persistence and seems to persevere.

Particularly compelling is Arnold’s adjustment to the white culture of Reardan High. When Roger, a popular white athlete, tells a racist joke about Indians, Arnold punches him in the face and bloodies his nose. This behavior, commonplace on the reservation, is a shock to the athlete and ends up gaining Arnold Roger’s respect.

More cultural differences surface as a result of Arnold’s attraction to Penelope. Penelope and Arnold could not be more different: he has to worry about getting enough to eat in his impoverished family and she intentionally purges her food. Arnold’s fixation on Penelope, especially on her whiteness, intensifies when he watches her play volleyball. He writes:

“She was wearing a white shirt and white shorts, and I could see the outlines of her white bra and white panties.
Her skin was pale white. Milky white. Cloud white.
So she was white on white on white, like the most perfect kind of vanilla dessert cake you’ve ever seen.
I wanted to be her chocolate topping.” (Alexie, 114)

Arnold asks Rowdy for love advice about Penelope. Rowdy responds crudely, so Arnold seeks advice from his friend Gordy who later delivers a detailed report about how white women are more valued in society than women of other nationalities. Gordy bases this conclusion on a widely reported news story about a white girl who disappeared in Mexico. After research, Gordy found that more than 200 Mexican girls had disappeared from the same part of the country with virtually no news coverage. Gordy finishes his report by telling Arnold that his preoccupation with Penelope means that he is also caught up in this racist value system.

Gordy’s report and conclusion creates an interesting literary connection to Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man. When the narrator of Invisible Man moves to New York he finds work at Liberty Paints making Optic White paint. To make this white paint whiter, it is mixed with a small amount of black, which vanishes and somehow makes the white paint even whiter. Ellison’s intention in including this detail in his novel may have been to symbolize how easily blacks become invisible to whites. After Arnold’s sister dies, Invisible Man is listed as Arnold’s seventh favorite book, this does not seem coincidental. I’m sure themes from the other listed books are also touched upon in the novel.

Arnold’s situation improves as he is accepted at his white school and begins to excel in basketball, however the harsh social problems of the Indian reservation community continue to devastate him as he is faced with several alcohol related tragedies.

The overwhelming power of alcohol over the Indian community is initially conveyed in the nonchalance that Arnold writes about his expectation of alcoholic brawling at the 127th Spokane Tribe Labor Day Powwow Celebration. He doesn’t present drunken fighting as likely; he presents it as just as predictable as the dancing, gambling, and frybread. Arnold is also not surprised when his father goes on a drunken bender and misses the holidays.

Alcohol related incidents lead to the deaths of three people close to Arnold before he finishes ninth grade: first, his grandmother is struck by a drunk driver; then, his father’s best friend is shot after an argument over the last sip in a wine bottle; lastly, his sister and her husband burn to death because they are passed out and never wake when their trailer home catches on fire.

Before his sister dies, Arnold reveals that the biggest difference between white people and Indians is that “All my white friends can count their deaths on one hand.”(200) Arnold discloses that he has been to 42 funerals and approximately 90 percent of the deaths involved alcohol.

After his sister’s death, Arnold promises his mother he will never drink.

Alexie uses the Grandmother character to address issues of tolerance. Arnold describes her as amazingly kind and patient and conveys deep respect for her open-minded views of homosexuality.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian takes on heavy issues like poverty and the devastating effects of alcoholism and abuse alongside typical adolescent problems like struggling to fit in and young love and blends them masterfully with humor and enough small triumphs to keep readers invested, yielding an entertaining story with powerful messages for ages 13 and up.
I recommend this book for all classroom uses beginning with the seventh grade.