This quote relates to Junior because he is struggling to be a Indian in his community and at the same time the individual that he aspires to be. On page 118 Junior says "I was half indian in one place and half white in the other". Junior is struggling to be two different people and constantly switching in between his two sides. If he does not switch from his "white half" before going to the reservation he will get beat up. If he dose not switch from his "Indian half" before going to Reardan he will be shunned. This is the conflict that Junior has to undergo to be accepted by the outside world and get an education while still keeps his ties to his community and family. On page 132 Gordy explains why Arnold must still have his community. "In the early days of humans, the community was our only protection against predators, and against starvation. We survived because we trusted each other. For this reason Arnold believes he can not give up his Indian side completely because he needs to fall back on them for support every-now and then. He also feels attached to his heritage but at the same time wants to achieve higher goals.
This quote can also be related to the title of the novel "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian". "It was like being Indian was my job, but it was only a part-time job" (118) Arnold says this to not only explain the novels title but to show that he is not considered a true Indian. This is because he spends time educating himself and socializing with white people. He one of the few Indians who is openly unhappy with the quality of life on the reservation and is trying to do something about this dissatisfaction.
What do you think will happen to Arnold if he brakes away from the tribe completely? Gordy also says that they survived because the trusted each other. Do you think the members of Arnold's tribe trust him enough to help him out if he needs it?
I don't think that the members of Arnold's tribe will trust him enough to help him out if he needs it. Most of the people back on the reservation felt angry, bitter, jealous, and betrayed when Arnold broke away from the tribe to go to school at Reardan. Arnold says, "'some Indians think you have to act white to make your life better. Some Indians think you BECOME white if you try to make your life better'"(131). That is exactly what those people in his tribe think. They think that Arnold is more white than Native American and that he has betrayed his tribe to be something better than they are. They think that Arnold deserves the treatment that almost everyone on the reservation got because he was one of them, and he didn't do anything to deserve something better. If Arnold has to chose between the reservation and Reardan, which one do you think he will pick? Which one would you pick? Do you think that Arnold is more white or Native American? Do you think that his secret poverty will get out at his school? If you think so, who do you think will leak it?
ReplyDeleteIf Arnold has to chose between the rez or Reardan, I think he would choose Reardan because he really cares about his education, after all that is part of the reason why he went to Reardan in the first place. If he abandoned Reardan and went back to the rez not just to live but to go to school too. He would get beat up more than ever because he basically abandoned the Indians, and since he will be around a lot more it will be a constant fight. Their are people at Reardan who will look out for him as well, like Roger, Gordy, and Penelope. So if he would have to choose, he would pick Reardan. I think that Junior is more white than Indian because of my original opinion about Reardan vs the rez. Now a days, he learned what to do to fit in at the white school, and he is adapting toward it. I don't think that his poverty secret will get out at school because of the people who know about it. Roger and Penelope care too much about him to reveal his secrets. That is also part of the reason that he is more white than Indian, he has people at Reardan that he can trust with his secrets, and the simple things like not betraying him. I believe that if put in the situation where he needs to pick the rez or Reardan, he would pick Reardan because he is more white than Indian and he has friends that he can trust.
ReplyDeleteTo answer Samiha's question, I think he would pick Rearden over the rez because Rearden is his only hope at being successful in life. He has a future there with a better education and more opportunities. The rez is filled with despair and depression and alcohol abuse with death at every corner. If he were to choose the rez over Rearden, he would still have his family and many cousins, but he, along with the rest of the rez, will lose their hope, which most have already. Rearden is the light at the end of the tunnel, and I think he will try and go to the end of the tunnel instead of staying in the dark. He went to Rearden because he knew that if didn't, he will end up like everyone else, so therefore I think he will pick Rearden over the Rez if he had to. Do you think Rowdy will ever become friends again with Junior, after he betrayed his tribe?
ReplyDeleteTo reply to Armeen's question, I do think that Junior will become friends with Rowdy because as he states "Rowdy has protected me since we were born,17." This implies that they have a sort of bond that can't be easily broken. I think that even though Rowdy is mad at Junior, now he is more held in that position by his reputation of never giving in than actual desire. Because of this, I think that sometime Rowdy's hatred of Junior will cool down and they will be friends again. I don't think that they will ever be full friends the way they were once, but they will be very close. What do you look for in a real friend?
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I do not believe that the members of Arnold's tribe trust him enough because they believe that he is not one of them anymore. " Some Indians think you become white if you try to make your life better" (131). The people of his tribe are neglecting towards him now that he goes to a white school. To answer Armeen's question, I do believe that there is a chance that Rowdy and Junior will become friends again even though Junior "betrayed" the rez by trying to make his future brighter. I think that it will take time but eventually Rowdy will come to his senses and realize that Arnold never did anything wrong or anything to intentionally hurt Rowdy. A question I would like to ask is do you think that it is fair of Arnold's tribe to treat him this way just because he made the decision to attend Reardan? How would you react in a situation similar to his?
ReplyDeleteIf Arnold breaks away from the tribe completely, he will lose all of his friends and family. No one will trust him if he tries to come back or communicate with the them because they will think he has grown into an Indian White kid. And as we know, no Indian trusts White kids. I think that Arnold should break away from the tribe because it is the only way for him to escape the "no hope circle." He will be better educated, have more and better friends, and most importantly live a new life and maybe even create a new view for Indians already living on the Rez. Do you think Arnold should break away completely from the Rez? Why?
ReplyDeleteBreaking away from the Rez could be the best and worst possible thing to do. If he were to break away, then he could leave all the sadness and hopelessness behind. He could start over. Forget everything that happened. Pretend he was never there. Pretend he was never Indian. At the same time, he runs the risk of losing everything. It could all go wrong and he ends up with no family, no friends, and nothing to rely on. What happens if the kids at Reardan stop paying attention to him? What if he ends up with no friends like Gordy? Then what does he do?
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