The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian focuses on a character named Junior going through the struggles of living on an Indian Reservation. The book takes us inside his life as he faces challenges of everyday life on the "rez", a school switch, and death. Junior really has no problem expressing himself as he does it through drawings. It's his way of telling the world what is spinning around in his head. Junior looks at himself and doesn't see much as he doesn't have the highest self-esteem. In the book, Arnold(his real name) is told that he is very smart, a great basketball player, and has the ambition and dreams to leave the Indian Reservation. He proves all of this to be true.
Really to "break the norm" or not conform to society, a person must really stretch their comfort zone. Characteristics such as brave and courageous can be associated with these actions. Junior proves that he is these and much more. Going against your "own race" and transferring to an all-white school to chase your dreams is unheard of at the reservation. You can bet this made Junior feel uncomfortable at times but he did it to chase his dreams and ambitions, even losing his best friend for a time because of it. Junior proves many times that he is very sharp for his age at seeing things from outside the box and from different perspectives. He doesn't beat around the bush and tells things how they are. Sure, he still shares the same problems that most fourteen year old boys have in regards to friendship, girls, and problems at home. And although he is still confused about some of these topics, he doesn't do to bad in figuring them out.
Junior is a very selfish character, not saying that is a bad thing. To achieve dreams one must be very selfish. There are going to be people that aren't going to like what Junior and many others are doing to reach the top of the mountain. This happens to Junior quite often in this book. When he decides to leave the rez to attend a better school, the whole reservation despises him, even his best friend. When he gets to that school, he is not treated the way he should be. Some examples of this are the first basketball game when he is bood by the entire rez and when teachers take for granted that he is not smart. Junior puts all that behind him and is headed down the right road, even if he doesn't know exactly what that road is.
I think a lot of people can relate to chasing down dreams with selfish ties attached to it, myself included. Working and going to school to achieve my preferred career can be seen as very selfish when breaking it down. But I think humans are selfish for the greater good of people around them, not themselves individually. In my mind, Junior is achieving his dream to help his family and his reservation, not for his own personal self.
Junior has so much potential to achieve success in this world with the sky being the limit and is starting to realize it. With some good advice and help from an unknown hand, Junior is learning that he doesn't have to be a stereotype and can be his own self. During the second basketball game on the first play when he blocks Rowdy, Junior himself cannot believe how high he got up. That scene is showing the reader that even after years and years of living, the human can still surprise itself when doing something.
You bring up a fantastic example from the novel, Dan--the jump that surprises even Junior, who recognizes that he won't be able to do it again that game, maybe ever. But he did right then.
ReplyDeleteI'm intrigued by the comment you make about seeking dreams being selfish. I agree with you that we see selfishness as an always negative attribute, but you're right; it's not. In ethics, it's consideration of the self, which, as you rightly say, is not always bad, especially when, as you also say, a character (or person) is also working toward the greater good of his/her wider group. That is indeed a paradox requiring the metaphysical for its resolution.