READING RESPONSE------

A reading response to one half of "The Absolutely True Diary of a part-time Indian", by Sherman Alexie.

May 15th

          "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian" is an intriguing coming of age book which many teens can relate to. It is a book about trying to be excepted, trying to embrace who you are, and trying to live a double life. In other words, the tough life of a teenager. Though I am only on page 116 (half way through), this book could prove to anyone that growing up is not easy.

         The main character, Junior, is an half-Indian boy, who lives on an Indian reservation with his poor parents. He is a "part-time" Indian, and also half White. Junior's life is hard. He is trying to embrace his American side, meanwhile not letting go of his traditional Indian side. He is also determining wether or not his ethnicities should determine who he is.

         Junior transfers to an all white high-school, called Rearden, over twenty miles away from the reservation. Exactly twenty two miles away from his home on the Rez., Junior is a completely different person. He is popular and well-respected, but still he is living a lie. Junior is pretending to have money, when he is really poor. But he's scared to say the truth, even though he knows it is only a 'Shelf lie.'
Junior lives in what he calls the "Poverty Lifestyle", on the Rez. Every teen wants to fit in, and I'll even admit I've lied before to try to fit in because it's hard to make your self feel like you fit in. Especially when switching schools, it's normal to want to appear 'cool' in front of your piers.

Junior's double life:

         While living the lie, in Rearden, Junior got to drive around in fancy cars, eat well at nice dinners, and attend formal dances. But still, his double life chewing him up on the inside.
      When on the Reservation, Junior's life was (in junior's words) "Less full-filling".
Junior said:
"It's sucks to be poor, and it sucks to feel like you deserve to be poor. You start believing that you're poor because you are stupid and ugly. And you start believing that you are stupid and poor because you're indian. And because you're Indian you believe you're destined to be poor. It's an ugly circle, and there is nothing you can do about it."
On the reservation, Junior feels poor, hopeless, and unconfident. Many people on the reservation have bad alcohol addictions, and are able to drown their sorrows and misfortunes at a bar, with several shots.

But Junior is a boy with a head on his shoulders. Instead of trying to drown his problems with alcohol- like people on the Rez., or throw them up- like Penelope, he is trying to cope through them.  Junior is trying to cope with his problems, meanwhile trying to discover who he is, and i admire him for not giving up on either of those things- even when he has little hope. And I hope by the end he does....