Read the following quotation from The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. What is a common theme between the book (as evidenced through this quote) and one of your Independent Reading articles (IRJ documents)? Write a well-developed paragraph in which you use ideas from bothThe Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie and an IRJ document to establish a common thematic statement (controlling idea). Develop your controlling idea using specific examples and details from each text.
Traveling between Reardan and Wellpinit, between the little white town and the reservation, I always felt like a stranger.
I was half Indian in one place and half white in the other. (p.118)
Sometimes in life people feel very lonely trying to fit in and be comfortable, but they always have to switch personalities. in The absolutely true Diary of a Part time Indian, "rowdy always tried to please both the rez and the little white town, rowdy always says," junior, he's a traitor to go to that school so every time he has to pretend, when he goes to the white town he has to act rich and pretend he dosent need a ride from penelope. She always wanted to give im a ride home when his dad had no gas money to pick him up or had forgot
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life (something about loss) A common theme between The Absolutely true diary of a part time Indian by Sherman alexie and one of the documents i read is identity loss. He feels as though his transition back in forth is causeing him to not recgonize himself. On the reservation he was one person but when he went to the other school he was a whole different person. He was uncertain of is identity basicly felt like an outcast. In the IRJ about alcoholism the people would drink to forget about there problems. Some might have felt like outsiders in there own home which could have caused them to react in that way.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life people feel insecure depending on their surroundings. In The Absolute true diary of a part time indian , " Junior starts going to a white rich town and starts to not be himself and feels very uncomfortable. He does not act like himself , instead of feeling better he feels even worst in the white town . He was a whole different person on the Rez . He feels like an outcast wether hes on the Rez or not so he is confused and is not sure who he is .
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life people feel different in different places by the way people look at them and their reaction, Like in the navel "The Absolutely Diary of a part time Indian" Junior felt like a white people in the indian reservation because he started to adopt the white people way of life but in the white people neighborhood they looked at him as the same old indian.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life when people are new to a certain surrounding and they're trying to fit in
ReplyDeleteFor example in the novel "The Absolutely diary of a part time Indian",Junior was new at Reardan and he felt like a stranger because how of people react and look at him (they barely pay attention to him).Also he felt like a part Indian and a part white kid,the Indians on the Rez think of him as a white kid and the kid at Reardan they think he was like a Chief.Junior was trying his best to be comfortable at Reardan until he was trying to let Penelope like him.
Sometimes in life people dont know who or what they are anymore.Ever since Junior from The Absolutely true diary of a part time Indian by Sherman alexie decided to go to Reardan (a school for white people),his life has changed for better or worse.As well in the the document "Remarks by the president at the tribal nations" native americans have changed since then.In this document indians are portraid in many different ways.The younger generations are unsure on what there true heritage is like. Junior feels like this as well,is he white or indian?Even Junior is unsure, his identity is unknown to him like how many natives are unsure on there own identity.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life,you can lose your identity. In the book of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time of Sherman Alexie and one of the documents i read is identity. He felt like he don't even know himself at all as a person when he went to the all white high school and etc. On the reservation he was himself and being with his people. However at the all white high school he was unknown and an outsider to the school. In the article of Indian Haters and Sympathizers, Indians were resorting to drinking alcohol to find their identities but lost theirs eventually. Some people felt like they haven't found their identities so they would go to a new level to get their identity known.
ReplyDeletesometimes in life people feel discriminated or less than others.In the quote at the top it says: "traveling between Reardan and Wellpinit,between the little white town and the reservation, i always felt lika a stranger.I was half indian in one place and half white in the other". This means that this person felt like if he was two persons at the same time,he was half indian and half white.A common theme between this quote and a book called: "The absolutely true diary of a part time indian" by Sherman Alexie is that a kid named junior had to pretend that he was rich in the school and had to act like if he was really intelligent.He even didn't want a ride from no one, even though nobody was picking him up to school because his dad had no money for gas.Much things are similar between this two titles.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life people feel like they don't belong anywhere so they find different ways to help themselves fit in with their environment and friends around them I would say this is a common theme between one of the documents I've read called American Indian Artist Takes Modern Views in which the white kids would taunt a girl for being indian by calling her "Ugly"and yelling "Woo Woo". This how the kids wanted to fix in the other kids so he taunted her for being different. In the The Absolutely true diary of a part time Indian by Sherman alexie Junior decides to punch the bully in the face as a way to gain respect and also try to gain friends and fit in with the kids at the school
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life the world forces us to make it difficult to go back to our home. In the IRJ its difficult for veronica to leave the adopted family she grew up in " Supreme court ordered her loving birth father to give baby veronica back to her parents she grew up with." Its difficult because its not the same feeling anymore its different.
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ReplyDeleteSome people cope with their circumstance by abusing substances while others leave their home to find a better life. We are able to see this in both the novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie and the article Rusell Means, Who Clashed With Law as He Fought for indians, Is Dead at 72. In the novel the main character Junior decided that he was going to leave the reservation to get a better education so that he could have a better future for himself. At one point Junior says, "Traveling between Reardan and Wellpinit, between the little white town and the reservation, I always felt like a stranger.I was half Indian in one place and half white in the other." In the quote we can see that he is traveling between the reservation and Wellpinit. If he stays in the reservation he wont be able to change his circumstances and have a better future. The article also shows how people cope with their circumstances. The article focuses on Rusell Means who was an Indian who lived in a reservation. The article discusses, "Addicted to drugs and alcohol in his early years and later arrested repeatedly in violent clashes with rivals and the law. He ended up being an alcoholic and going to jail for sometime.This was his way of coping with his everyday life. Both the novel and article show how people coped with their circumstances in ways that either helped or destroyed their future.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life people are denied their right to education because of prejudicial reasons, which can leave people feeling like their living a double life. In the document .... In The Absolutely True Diary Of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Junior says "Traveling between Reardan and Wellpinit, between the little white town and the reservation, I always felt like a stranger. I was half Indian in one place and half white in the other." (p.118) Junior was a indian on a reservation that wanted to find an escape other than his drawings so he decided to go to school off the reservation in reardon but he felt like he was living a double life because the people on the rez said he appeared to be indian but your acting white. But in reardon people see him as a indian warrior because they think hes a fighting machine because he punched Roger, the meanest kid in school. As a result of being denied an education, people can feel like they are living a double life.
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ReplyDeletesometimes in life people try to figure out who they really are .In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian By Sherman Alexie , Junior is an outcast on the reservation and in school . In School kids call him names like "redskin" and "chief" . on the reservation he gets beat up by the other indian kids . This qoute directly addresses the common theme of identity . Junior acts different in school and on the reservation . In school he pretends to have money and not be poor , but the cold reality is that on the reservation there barely enough money to make ends meet . This is the cause for juniors double life.
ReplyDeletepeople are struggling in their life because of their circumstance and their enviroment. In The Absolutely True Diary Of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Junior says "Traveling between Reardan and Wellpinit, between the little white town and the reservation, I always felt like a stranger. I was half Indian in one place and half white in the other." (p.118). junior felt like white because of his best friend rowdy the only person who he can trust and tell everything to started to hate him because he started going to school at wellpinit and also started acting like all the other whites their he pretend to be have alot of money and brought clothes that he cant afford . junior really felt like a indian at wellpinit cause he was the only indian there and he had to pretend to be something he wasnt to inpress people who he didnt care about and he also had to impress penlope he never told her the truth intill he got caught.
ReplyDeleteIn the book, The Absolutely True Diary Of A Partime Indian on page 118 it says, "Traveling between Reardan and Wellpinit, between the little white town and the reservation, I always felt like a stranger.
ReplyDeleteI was half Indian in one place and half white in the other. (p.118)" Meaning,
In The Article, How To Write The Great American Indian Novel one of the lines said, "...All The White People Will Be Indians. And All The Indians Will Be Ghosts." I believe it relates to quote because, Junior talks about how he's half indian and half white.
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ReplyDeleteSometimes in life people make strange decisions to try to feel at peace with them selves or to try to make them fit in.In the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian and also the IRJ article "What the hell they're only Indians", both showed some type of cover up Indians would do to make them seem at peace or to fit in. In the book Jr feels "I was half Indian in one place and half white in the other."p118 Meaning him changing how he really is just to fit in, in school with his white friends or even at home at Rez he has to act Indian.Jr sits back an actually has to question his identity even though he acts a certain way to feel at peace with him self to act like hes everybody else.In the article they were saying there going to band alcohol from the reservation and away from Indians but they noticed there still going to find away to the drugs and alcohol. It also says they use the alcohol to balance there self esteem. Being on the rez for so many years repeating the same thing all the time.. Being so poor it gets sad and tiring .Some Indians use alcohol to cover up how they really feel again to making them feel at peace with them selves and some sort of happy. But the alcohol is becoming such a problem
ReplyDeletesometimes in life we may face difficult times. we are all different but sometimes we all try to be the same and fit into our society because we dont wanna feel weird or not fit in because we would be viewed as someone who is weird or we will be judged for being different. so that leads us to change our personalities so we can be viewed as different person.For example at one point junior says that Traveling between Reardan and Wellpinit, between the little white town and the reservation, I always felt like a stranger.
ReplyDeleteI was half Indian in one place and half white in the other.
Sometimes in life some people feel like they dont belong . Weather its not feeling like you dont belong at school , neighborhood and even at home and you try to do what ever you can to try to fit in . In the novel '' The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian '' by Sherman Alexie , there is a quote that saids '' Traveling between Reardan and Wellpinit, between the little white town and the reservation, I always felt like a stranger.
ReplyDeleteI was half Indian in one place and half white in the other.'' This means that junior dosent feel like he fits in with whites and even his own people ( indians )
In life, not everyone knows who they are exactly. Junior deals with this loss of identity in the book many times. He feels like he doesn't belong in the rez because he knows he can achieve great things or at least he's trying to. At Reardan, however, Junior is the only Native American surrounded by white people who treat him differently because of his nationality and physical features. They shuned him out so Junior doesn't feel accepted there either. Both places refuses to accept him because he's 'different'. Amy Vowell in The American Life: Trail of Tears by Ira Glass says "I mean, those roles were assigned to us-- you know, Indian and Swede-- because of the way we looked, but it was also more like the things we were told about ourselves........ And I think I was probably six or seven, or something before I realized that I was Cherokee too." Amy was treated differently because of her looks as well. She was seen as Swedish while she was Cherokee but no one treated her as such and she didn't see herself like that until she grew a little bit older.
ReplyDeleteDepending on a person’s background, more opportunities are available for them that in turn, affect their future. In the book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie, the main character Junior, is a Native American teen living in a poverty- stricken reservation. He goes to an all white school, since the education system where he lives is not up to par and is in fact, below the standard for any child in America to educated in. The only reason being that he has a Native American background. “Traveling between Reardan and Wellpinit, between the little white town and the reservation, I always felt like a stranger.” Junior chooses to use the word “stranger” because feels as though he is not suited for Reardan and is not used to the way white kids behave. He comes from a community that beats him up and does not have the luxury of having nice things like a working car, nice clothes etc. Whereas the white students are almost required to have an adequate education, money, food, and nice homes. Because of this, they go on to do greater things in life and Native Americans are stuck on the reservation having the bear minimum. This also relates to the article Why Are Indian Reservations So Poor? A Look At the Bottom 1% by John Koppisch. “The vast majority of land on reservations is held communally. That means residents can’t get clear title to the land where their home sits, one reason for the abundance of mobile homes on reservations. This makes it hard for Native Americans to establish credit and borrow money to improve their homes because they can’t use the land as collateral–and investing in something you don’t own makes little sense, anyway.” Native Americans have a constant struggle with life on the reservation. Most Americans do not have to worry about these problems and go on with daily life. Its because of their background why they do not have the same rights as the rest of us.
ReplyDeletePeople tend to adapt and change who they are in certain situations to survive socially. But although some try to do this, some fail. Just like Junior in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. He cant seem to fit in anywhere. A way that this feeling of isolation that Junior has is common theme that another IRJ has is that in the article that I read it stated that the Indians must always have tragic features about them. Juniors inability to not be a stranger anywhere he goes is a tragic feature. Another thing the IRJ stated is that the main character of the story must be half-breed, just like Junior. The IRJ states that the main character of an Indian novel must be a half-breed and have tragic features. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian provides just that.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life society can affect a person’s identity by making them switch their race. In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, there are many themes that can relate to the lives of many people. Junior has touched a lot upon Identity, and how it has affected him as a native american on a reservation. According to The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Junior states,“ Traveling between Reardan and Wellpinit, between the little white town and the reservation, I always felt like a stranger. I was half Indian in one place and half white in the other.” Society makes people change their identity depending on the neighborhood they are in. Junior feels half white when he leaves the reservation and goes to Reardan because everyone there is white and he feels as though since he goes to a white school he is white. Yet when he goes back to the reservation he feels as though he is not white, he is Indian. Sometimes people feels as though they live in two different worlds because they are uncertain of who they are. In “On the Reservation and Off, Schools see a Changing Tide” it explains how you can choose how to live your life. Everyone is able to create their own identity and the have certain choices that can define who they are. In the article its states “Education would be the way of the future, he said- a choice to be either the ‘the white man’s victim’ or ‘the white man’s equal." If u live on a reservation you have a choice of getting ande ducation. Many people will take it and become everyones equa; however many will choose not to go a be everyones victim.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life society forces people to conform to preconceived notions in order to be socially acceptable. In The Absolutely True Story of a Part Time Indian Junior is only referred to as Junior on the reservation. In the beginning of the book Junior talks about how he's beat up and bullied on the reservation. Sometimes he even endures this abuse from people who are twice his age. He talks about how he is a social outcast because of his birth defects however, when he goes to Rearden, people see him like one of them. It wasn't until Jounior asked for money that people knew he was poor however that didn't stop people in Rearden from being his friend. One of the quotes from On The Reervation and off, Schoold see a changing Tide says that "a choice to be the white mans victim or the white mans equal." Junior was given this choice when Mr. P talked him into keeping hope. Junior living on the reservstion with a whole bunch of other individuals that lost hope and turned to alcoholism would have made him the white mans victim. However, him leaving the reservation to obtain the same level of education as a white child made him an equal. When junior says that the travel back and forth made him feel as if he has a split life he's really saying that he gets to see how the other half lives and he happens to fit in both places.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life people feel split between two places and feel that they have to act a certain way depending on their environment because of lack of opportunities. In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Junior feels that he has to change the way he acts when he is in the town so he could find more opportunities for himself. It is similar to the article, "The New Buffalo". It is similar because the people in the article had to change the way they acted towards the government because of the lack of opportunities the people got from the government. This shows that people sometimes have to act differently in two different places to get more opportunities for them selves.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life people try to incorporate themselves into a new and different environment, different from the one that they are use to. Indigenous Healing from the Struggle of Force Incorporation by Michelle Tolson is a good example of how different person from different ethnicity struggle When they are force to achieve their American Dream. Jim Russell was force basically force by his father to become an American, Russell was force to study in an all white school, because his father threatened the school of sueding them because of discrimination against his son. This show how sometimes people struggle when they try to decide to either become an American or to follow their traditions. Different diversity of people struggle in America because of the lack of opportune that the government offer.
ReplyDeleteIn life people tend to have to move to new environments and adjust to how things work around them. Everyone in life has felt like a stranger at least once in their life. Junior felt different in both environments because he had gone to a white mans school and lived on a poor Indian reservation. As a Native American, Junior is having a tough time dealing with racists while trying to fit in and socialize with people.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life when people aren't happy with their lives they find methods of trying to make themselves content such as leaving to try and make a better life or using substances. In the novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Junior is not exactly pleased with living on the reservation and he decides to go to a school outside of the reservation and in the white community in hopes of making a better life. His way of escaping is going to a high school out of the reservation where he feels as if he will belong. In the IRJ Some Things He Did by Jeff Liles, Roxy Gordon sees everyone around him die and he turns to alcohol to make him feel better about it which ultimately leads to his death.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life people don't feel like they belong, no matter where they go. In the Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, Junior leaves the school in the reservation to go to a school for white people because he feels that there is more hope there. Even though he moved out of the Rez he still doesn't feel like he fits in with everybody (feels like a stranger). In the Article, A letter from Jane Bushyhead, it says, "If we Cherokees are to be driven to the west by the cruel hand of oppression to seek a new home in the west, it will be impossible". This quote means that if Jane is taken out of her home to move somewhere else she won't feel like it's really her home. Both Jane and junior feel as though there never going to belong because they dont feel comfortable.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life people feel as thought they're never really at home. In the book The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie junior says " Traveling between reardan and wellpinit, between the little white town and the reservation, I always felt like a stranger". This quote means that no matter where junior goes he still not going to feel at home. Also in the letter from Jane Bushyhead she says " If we Cherokees are to be driven to the west by the cruel hand of oppression to seek a new home in the west it will be impossible". This quote means that Jane doesn't really wanna leave her home because she feels uncomfortable. Both Jane and junior feel like they will be strangers when they move and it will be impossible for them to feel at home.
ReplyDeletePeople are often isolated from where they would want to feel most comfortable because of their lack of power. Power in the sense of where they come from or the type of people they originate from. In the clip, The Absence Of Native American Power; the interviewer asks writer, Sherman Alexie, "What's it like to be an alien in the land of your birth?" Native Americans have lost so much of their culture and power that they're alienated in their own native country or home. In the book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Junior talks about how he's different from others on the reservation and he says, "Do you know what happens to retards on the rez? We get beat up. At least once at month." Page 4. Junior is picked on in the only place he can call home because of his physical deformities that makes him look like a retard, very different from everyone else. Because he's seen this way he is also considered the underdog, someone that is less than the others.
ReplyDeleteA common theme is that Assumptions. In Reardon they believe that Junior is at least middle class because the Indians have a casino and some white people believe the government just gives them money. In an IRJ about Russell Means shows that he has always fought for the rights of Indians. His fighting helped people understand the modern life of native Americans
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