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.
“I got you something,” he said.
“What?”
“It’s
in my boot.”
I
picked up one of his cowboy boots.
“No,
the other one,” he said. “Inside, under that foot-pad thing.”
I
picked up the other boot and dug inside. Man, that thing smelled like booze and
fear and failure.
I
found a wrinkled and damp five dollar bill.
“Merry
Christmas,” he said.
Wow.
Drunk
for a week, my father must have really wanted to spend those last five dollars.
Shoot, you can buy a bottle of the worst whiskey for five dollars. He could
have spent that five bucks and stayed drunk for another day or two. But he
saved it for me.
It
was a beautiful and ugly thing.
“Thanks,
Dad,” I said.
He
was asleep.
“Merry
Christmas,” I said, and kissed him on the cheek.
Sometimes in life alcoholism can affect an individual in many ways, and certain things can cause Alcoholism. In " The Absolute Diary of a Part-Time Indian" juniors dad went missing for a few days before christmas and came back home and gave junior a damp 5 dollar bill from his boot. This was a result of his dad being drunk. Juniors dad believes that the only substitute for his despair is alcoholism. Afterward juniors dad realized that giving his last 5 dollars to junior was more important then spending it on another round of alcohol. In the IRJ " Life on the Reservation" people found it difficult to live on the reservation. This caused alcoholism on the reservation. The natives language and culture was diminishing due to american policies.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life, happiness and family can overcome poverty.In The absolutely true diary of a part time Indian, Junior's father despite being a drunk and using all of his money for drinking he saved Junior five dollars for Christmas.Junior was truly thankful of this but at the same time disappointed.All he has obtained was five dollars, but it was the last five dollars that made it important, the father's thought were of junior.In the irj passage many Native Americans stick together despite their poverty and struggles.These two passages include how the ones you know will all way be there for you despite the current conditions.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life, people will love their family no matter what happens. In The Absolute True Diary of a Part-time Indian, Junior's father takes what little money the family had and goes off to go get drunk and doesn't come back home until after New Year's Eve.His father was so disappointed in himself for not getting Junior a gift for Christmas like all the other ones beforehand instead choose to drink away his sorrows. If he's drunk, he can't think of how he let Junior down again. However, in his state of intoxication, he thinks of his son and instead of wasting more money on alcohol, he saves it to give it to Junior as a Christmas present showing how much he cares about him. Junior is upset with his father for running away and wasting all their fortune but he understand that his alcoholic father saved the money from him instead of having another drink.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life even though people do bad stuff they still try to make up for it. In the book the absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie junior says " He could have spent that five bucks and stayed drunk for another day or two. But he saved it for me ". This shows that even though juniors father got drunk and left for two weeks he saved his last five bucks for him because he obviously still cares about junior. Also in the short Bio of Sherman Alexie it's says " In 1990 Alexie's work was published in Hanging loose magazine a success he has credited with giving him the incentive to quit drinking " this quote shows that Alexie cared about his work more than his drinking so he stopped and that was good for him. These readings both show that both junior father and Sherman both had a drinking problem but they care about things that are important to them so they made up for it.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life people make bad decisions and it affects the people that care about them. In the book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, it says, "Drunk for a week, my father must have really wanted to spend those last five dollars. He could have spent that five bucks and stayed drunk for another day or two. But he saved it for me", this quote mean that Junior's dad cares about him because he saved the last 5 dollars that could'f been wasted on drinks, but he gave it to Junior. In the Article, What The Hell, They're only Indians, it says, "This isn't something I was proud of but it was the irony of the situation that settled in his mind. It also motivated him to do something about it." This quote means that he had problems drinking and made bad decisions Which he was not proud of and he wanted to make a change and get help. These relate because both Junior's dad and Melvin had a problem with drinking so they should both feel motivated to get help.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life people are hurt countless times but always have hope that it won’t happen again. In the book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie you are able to see how hope plays in the main characters life. In the book the main character Junior has hope that his father is going to be there for him no matter how drunk and addicted his father is to the alcohol. In the book Junior says, "Drunk for a week, my father must have really wanted to spend those last five dollars. Shoot, you can buy a bottle of the worst whiskey for five dollars. He could have spent that five bucks and stayed drunk for another day or two. But he saved it for me." This quote shows how Junior was able to receive hope by his father’s actions in giving him the last five dollars he had left instead of buying cheap alcohol. Hope is needed sometimes in life so even when we are hurt we can still continue to move forward.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life people have to choose to let their addiction consume them or break out of it even if the result is temporary. Alcoholism is a major problem in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Juniors dad is so consumed by liquor. All it cost is $5 however he saves that $5 on Christmas to give to junior. At this point of time he had to choose what was more important; staying intoxicated for a few more days or giving his son some token of love for Christmas. In one the the IRJ's a person talks about growing up with a group of tight knit friends. All of them fell victim to alcoholism including the person themselves however, this individual was strong enough to break out of a bad habit. He didn't like the road he had fallen down. That path wasn't for him. For a brief moment we see that in Juniors dad. Maybe him being in the mindset of a drunk made him realize that running away from his family and drinking wouldn't do any good and that maybe he should go home to his son. That push shows that juniors dad wouldn't like to be consumed by his addiction but its just that. He's addicted and that really effects everyone around him.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life, people will break away from their addiction to follow through on what they believe in. In book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, we see Junior's father break away from his addiction with alcohol to give his son a gift that was meaningful. In the story junior say "Drunk for a week, my father must have really wanted to spend those last five dollars", showing his addiction. However, he later said "But he saved it for me. It was a beautiful and ugly thing" which shows how Junior's father broke away from the addiction to try and give his son a happy Christmas, which was important to him. Moreover, in the article Russell Means, Who Clashed With Law as He Fought for Indians, Is Dead at 72, talks about a man named Russell Means who was said to be " addicted to drugs and alcohol in his early years" began to fight for what he believed for and stepped away from his addiction. Being an Indian activist, Means would hold protests that would bring national attention to poverty and discrimination suffered by his people. He made many accomplishment in his life time when stepping away from his addiction. All in all, from both these characters, Junior's father and Russell Mean, we see how people will step away from the addictions to follow through on what they feel they had to do.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life family and love comes before bad habits.In the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexis,Juniors father decides to spend his last $5 for a gift for Junior.Jr's dad gave up a weekend of being drunk to make his son happy.Im guessing Jr's dad is noticing being drunk all the time doesnt make you ....making your kids happy is what makes you happy. Junior is realizing that his dad does care about him since he gave him a happy merry christmas.Jrs states "he could have spent that five bucks and stayed drunk for another day or two. But he saved it for me" .This quote shows how family could break the addiction of bad habits and alcoholism. An junior appreciates that.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life people tend to judge each other on what they know of the person, not on how the person really is. No one really understands Junior's life on the reservation and how his family really deals with poverty. In one of the IRJs in Group C.: Native American Teens Who We Are, a rapper states of how teens are frustrated at times because of how people judge them on what they know from movies, 3rd person point of view, and from stories. Native Americans aren't all about spirits, hunting, and colorful clothing, they have a history and each with a different back story. You can't judge a book by its cover.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life, family over powers even your worst addiction. In the book, "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexis, Juniors father has an alcohol addiction because of the pain he carries for not being able to provide for his family. On Christmas, Juniors father decides to leave to get drunk for a week. When he got back home, he tells Junior That he has something for him in a boot of his. As Junior searches for it, he says, "I picked up the other boot and dug inside. Man, that thing smelled like booze and fear and failure." When he smells that, he knows how bad his father was feeling. When Junior finds the $5 he thinks to himself, "Wow.
ReplyDeleteDrunk for a week, my father must have really wanted to spend those last five dollars. Shoot, you can buy a bottle of the worst whiskey for five dollars. He could have spent that five bucks and stayed drunk for another day or two. But he saved it for me." This shows that Juniors father was willing to put aside his addiction to try to proved for his son as much as he can.
Sometimes in life, family can overcome many obstacles faced in life. In the book, The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Junior's father has an alcohol addiction which comes from him not being able to provide for his family. Sometimes takes over his life for example on Christmas when he left and went on a drinking binge until January second. Although he his addiction does that to him he still thinks of his dear son. When he comes back from his drinking binge he gives Junior a $5 bill. Although this may not be a lot it, the fact that he saved that $5 instead of buying himself more drinks means no matter how much his addiction takes him over he puts its aside for his son. In the IRJ reading Somethings He Did Roxy is an alcoholic but he doesn't let that not make him enjoy the great things in his life, his closest friends and family although he didn't overcome his addiction he still was able to at least spend time and make memories with them.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life Indian families can't provide a lot for their kids because of the circumstances of living on the rez. Most Indian families would become alcoholics to use an a escape goat to relieve their stress from the situation they feel is over whelming them.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life, parents can't give their children everything that they wanted to give them. Especially with the living conditions on the reservation, there are no luxuries to provide for the children. Families just have to live with what little they have and sometimes the bare minimum is whats best for them. That 5 dollars is and could quite possibly be the best present that Junior has ever received, we never know. However, the conditions on the rez could suggest that christmas time isn't what it looks like over here in New York City.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life poverty can be a big problem for indians. People intend to judge them because they prefer to drink instead of finding a better solution for his sadness. In the book "The Absolutely True Diary Of a Part-Time Indian" Arnolds dad goes out to drink on holidays for example christmas and doesn't comes back for a week or two. The reason he actually do this is because poverty is basically taking over him he has no money to buy his kids or wife a gift for christmas or money so his wife can make a great dinner But atleast he saved up that $5 bill for his son which was very generous from his part. This relates to the article "Indian Country Diaries" because it says " Too Many drank themselves to death in the skid row bars known as indian alley" which means when it comes too think about their poverty life and knowing they cant do nothing about it like Junior dad cant they leave to a bar and drink to forget their life. They drink for days , christmas time in the reservation is pretty hard compare to christmas in new york city.
ReplyDeleteIt's very common for Indians to be alcoholics in the Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and in the real world. In an IRJ that I read it stated that a good Indian book can't be a good indian book without having a tragic aspect to it. In this instance the tragic aspect is that Juniors father is always drunk but actually remembered to save him some money even though he might have wanted to buy another drink. "Man, that thing smelled like booze, fear and failure." especially shows how tragic this book can be.
ReplyDeleteA very common theme in this book is drinking to get away from their problems . Just like Juniors father and Eugene . These two characters are just a few examples of how tragic the life of a Native can be . They both seek to get out of their problems and situation through alcohol . In an IRJ we read it also sais that Native youths are more likely to be affected by alcoholism .
ReplyDeleteA common idea that is shared is the alcohol. Alcohol is controlling the lives of the native Americans. For Christmas Junior received five dollars from his father after his father disappeared for a couple days when the burden of not providing for his family ate away at him. An IRJ once mention that although native Americans were more likely to report alcohol consumption but they are also very likely of consuming alcohol at younger ages.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life alcoholism can effact the individual in many ways, making them forget about reaility and escaping it. This can be caused by poverty and stress, but no matter your situation love for your family can never be forgotten and will always stay with the individual. In the book "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexei, juniors dad ran away before Christmas, not being able to face reality, that he cant support his family with their wants and needs. He went to get drunk and despite the fact that he was drunk and the situation he was in, he never forgetten about his son and saved him 5 dollars for him, instead of spending it with another bottle of bear.
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