The Absolutely Positively False Diary of A Full-Time Indian

In my third and last action project for my Forbidden Books class, my peers and I were assigned to read a book. The whole third unit was revolved around "Diversity," which happens to be the name of the unit as well. We discussed how derogatory language can get you in trouble and how effectively it's can influence a person. We also discovered a little bit more about why Diversity can be "dangerous" in some ways. I chose the book, "The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian." I chose This book because it kind of spoke to me, I found the term used in the title, about "part-time," pretty interesting. For this project, we had to take our book and analyze it, using one of the five different interpretations. I chose to interpret my text by defining how the main character of my book is a "gadfly." The book is definitely a wonderful read, and it's really fun to follow the storyline, too! I would recommend it, even though it was hard to interpret.

Deshawn Rivers

Forbidden Books

March 18, 2015

The Absolutely Positively False Diary of A Full-Time Indian

Is someone different because they don’t look the same as you? In that case, what’s the definition of “differen”? Well, then everyone would be different, right? Because everyone doesn’t look the same! If this is true (which it is), then why did people come up with “same”? We have to correctly define “different” in order to abolish discrimination. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time India, takes place in an Indian reservation 21 miles away from Reardan in Washington State. Junior, the protagonist of the story,  is looked at differently just because he looks different than the Whites. He ends up going to school in Reardan which is why much of the story is set there. Junior is a gadfly because he encourages people to look past discrimination and discouragement by utilizing his ability to be both White and Indian.

For one thing, Junior acts as a gadfly by always making his voice heard. By making his voice heard, he bypasses all Indian stereotypes to make an impression on the White people. For example, when Junior started attending Reardan. Reardan is a completely different environment, compared to the rez, where he originally went to school, due to the fact that it is composed of mostly White people. Knowing how Whites treat Indians, Junior continues to want more. Junior bypasses the fact that Indians aren’t supposed to have “hope” and attends Reardan where he will prosper. This goes to show that Junior is about his values and fulfilling his dreams, and he doesn’t let any words hold him back from having his own “hope.” Junior wants what’s best for himself and could care less about what others think, “I want to go to Reardan,” I said again. I couldn’t believe I was saying it. For me, it seemed as real as saying, “I want to fly to the moon.” (Alexie 46)

Another key point is that Junior is full Indian, in contradiction with the title of the novel, which is The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. The meaning behind the title is that Junior went to depths that no other Indian at his rez would have attempted, and he is no longer “full” Indian since he spends most his time with Whites. The point that the author of the book was trying to make was that Junior is full Indian, but the way he was portrayed is Indian and White. He wanted to have “hope” so much, he had to at least act like a White person a little bit. It’s a statement that is installed in most people’s minds because we are trained to think superiority exists. He even started adapting to the White environment by making friends and doing things like joining the basketball team and taking rides home from people at the White school. An example of how the Whites treat the Indians is when Junior went to the dental office, “And what’s more, our White dentist believed that Indians only felt half as much pain as White people did, so he only gave us half the Novocain” (Alexie 2).

Furthermore, Junior is a gadfly because he showed the Indians and Whites what they didn’t want to see. He went to a school in contradiction with his social background and he made “change” which most publishers or readers may have interpreted as dangerous. Most people may have seen Junior’s actions as “dangerous” because he tried something that no other Indians would have tried. Junior was the one to stop being a bystander. He wasn’t going to live behind some false stereotypes, and I think that he proved the Whites wrong. Although Junior had some harsh realizations, he grew as a person and realized that the Rez is home, despite all the stereotypes. He still did a very courageous thing in attending Reardan and he may have inspired others to be Indian. Junior destroyed Indian stereotypes for lots of people in the story. Although the protagonist is trying to fulfill his dreams and do something different, Junior starts to realizes that there is no place like home, “So what was I doing in racist Reardan, where more than half of every graduating class went to college? Nobody in my family had ever gone near a college” (Alexie 56).

Hoping  people will open their eyes and their minds to stop discrimination against "different" people, no matter their color, size or, shape. Anyone can do what they want when they want. Believe it or not, most people started to think of this book as a threat. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was first censored in Reardan, Washington. This place was also inside of the book, where Junior went to school. It’s pretty unfair and unconstitutional. To be honest, it’s just a book, there’s no intentions of disrespectful content, especially to the government or brainwashing children. Main factors of why the book was censored were because of: sexual content, profanity, racism, homosexuality, “dangerous” content on rebelling.

Consequently, the "interracial" Junior annoyed the other characters with his courage and curiosity. To reiterate; my first topic was how Juniors bypassed stereotypes so people would understand/ and or hear him. My second topic was, Junior is full Indian, contradicting the name of the book. My third topic is that Junior is a Gadfly because he showed the Whites what they didn’t want to see. He agitated Whites and Indians with his craziness, creativity, and drive, just how a gadfly agitates people.

Works Cited

Alexie, Sherman. Chaos: The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian. Publisher: Little, Brown and Company, 2007. Print.

"Banned Books Discussion." Banned Books. Joseph, 22 June 2009. Web. 18 Mar. 2015.

The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian Censored. Digital image. Flickr. Robert Dumas, 21 Sept. 2010. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.