In what follows, S. P. shares her thoughts on Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.
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Arnold Spirit Jr.’s Art, Identity, and anything that came to mind while reading Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Out of all the books I’ve read for this class, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is by far my favorite. In this novel written by Sherman Alexie and illustrated by Ellen Forney, Arnold Spirit Jr. documents his daily life as a young Spokane Indian who left the reservation in order to escape hopelessness and pursue a better education. He no doubt faces many trials. At first, he is picked on by the White kids at school and at home, his peers see him as a traitor for leaving the rez. But nonetheless, with the help of certain encouraging people, he overcomes these hardships. As we read Arnold’s diary, we get a glimpse of his inner thoughts and emotions not only through his writing, but also through his drawings.
Born with a speech impediment, I believe Arnold began drawing to better communicate with his world. He even says, “I draw because words are too unpredictable. I draw because words are too limited” (Alexie 5). In a sense I agree with Arnold’s point of view. I find that his illustrations detailing the people in his life thoroughly summarize each individual to the point that I argue words cannot achieve alone. Arnold’s drawing of his sister depicts an elder sibling, arms on hips in a rather defiant pose (27) Arnold’s illustration captures his sister’s strength and rebelliousness. I also love Arnold’s short phrases which he uses to detail some of his drawings. From what Mary is wearing, we see that she is not the most upstanding citizen but is rather the avid shoplifter. But yet, Arnold compares her to the famous celebrity Jennifer Lopez “(if J. Lo was smarter)” suggesting that he is well versed in the most recent pop culture and also highly respects his sister (27).
Not only does Arnold draw complex diagrams to introduce the people in his life, but he also doodles drawings that range towards the metaphorical. In the beginning, Arnold reveals to the readers why he draws as his “only real chance to escape the reservation” (6). In a sense, Arnold has this dream to become a cartoonist, and it is because this dream that he has hope to achieve success in life. When Mr. P tells Arnold to leave the reservation, Arnold draws a picture of himself standing at the crossroads of the rez and hope. He looks towards hope, but the sign pointing towards hope has “???” written on it. Behind him lies his dilapidated home with a moose (43). With no words, pictures tell an entire story and convey so much feeling. The position of Arnold in the picture signifies a new, uncharted chapter in his life. Arnold knows that by distancing himself from the rez there is hope, but what actually defines hope, he has yet to figure out. His illustration brings to light the greater picture of what many Indians face on the reservation, how there is an endless cycle of hopelessness and defeat.
I noticed that there are many variations to the drawings in how they are framed. Some pictures would be drawn onto a scrap piece of paper, or torn from a notebook. Some would be drawn directly onto the page. Nonetheless, the way these pictures are framed is special. I read this novel as a diary, and I thought that the pictures that he taped onto the page were sketches
he drew during the day, at school or doing homework. For example, the sketch of Arnold’s
schoolteacher, Mr. P, could have been drawn in school and then pasted onto his journal later (29). The sketches drawn without any framing suggests he was writing in his diary and drew the picture while he was composing his thoughts. Either that or the pictures without frames were too large and took the entire page. What do you think about the framing and its significance?
I think what I really like about Arnold is his light-hearted yet powerful humor. Given his
circumstances and background, he could have turned out to be an entirely different person. Arnold’s ability to create humor through satire out of such hardships allows him to persevere. His cartoonish drawings are by far the medium he uses to alleviate his darkest moments of being bullied and living in poverty with alcoholic family members. I also find the teenage vernacular Arnold uses resonates with my generation such as overused political words such as “Weapon of Mass Destruction” to IM chat acronyms like “WTF” and the overall use of raw language (143, 107). I felt that by using such vocabulary, Arnold was more transparent and confessional that way. I say that this combination of art and language go hand in hand at forming Arnold’s identity.
On the topic of identity, Arnold’s transition from Wellpinit to Reardan isolates him from
everyone. It seems as if he is living double lives. For example, at the reservation he would be called Junior, but at Reardan he is known as Arnold. Not to mention Arnold does not fit in either setting; he is set apart by the color of skin in one, and is rejected by his own community in the other. I argue that it is through his art that he reaches out to these two worlds in an attempt to re/connect with them. At Reardan, Arnold shares his passion and feelings about drawing cartoons to top academic ace Gordy and in return, Gordy shares his passion for getting a “metaphorical boner” every time he reads a really good book (97). On the other side of the world, shunned by almost everyone on the reservation including his best friend Rowdy, Junior draws a picture for him depicting both of them in superhero costumes and bumping fists (102). With this simple gesture, we see Rowdy slowly come to accept what Junior has become.
In class we discussed the idea of passing – how one person can pass from one realm to another. For example, Tallulah in Blake Hausman’s Riding the Trail of Tears mentions how she can
pass as being White or Cherokee. In the case of Junior, his physical complexion inhibits him from passing in a physical sense, but nonetheless he is able to travel back and forth between Wellpinit, the poor Indian town, to Reardan, the rich White town. In doing so, people perceive him in different ways. At Reardan, the White population sees him as the Indian kid, while back at home, his Spokane Indian peers see him as White person. I think that through this apparent role reversal, Arnold is further isolated from both communities and therefore must cope by drawing.
Throughout the novel, we see themes such as identity, isolation, passing which all seem to be manifested in Arnold Spirit Jr.’s art. Through drawing, Arnold readily identifies himself with it and through art he can have hope. Because of Arnold’s circumstance of moving in and out of the reservation he is isolated because he belongs to neither world. In order to combat this loneliness, Arnold draws not only to escape reality, but to also create and mend relations.
Overall, I thought that Arnold’s art was a great addition to the story and helped to address many issues he faced. What are your thoughts about the art? Did you feel like it enriched the story?
This particular post exploring the cultural identities that an individual, who in this story is Junior, may experience is very intriguing to me. This story by Sherman Alexie is written in such a humorous and child-like tone, yet Alexie explores this deep idea of cultural identity. It is a topic that many people still struggle with, even today. In comment to the different cultures that the main character identifies with, I definitely see the struggle between identifying as one of the Spokane Indians on the reservation while at the same time trying to fit in with the rest of society. The progression of Arnold, or Junior's path to self-realization by identifying with a culture and being accepted in those cultures progresses throughout the story. He often finds himself alienated from one culture or another, in the Spokane by his friend Rowdy who is hurt at his “betrayal” by going to Reardan, and in Reardan by his own culture and skin color which is nothing like anyone else's there. Personally, I believe that the most significant aspect of the story that allowed Arnold to truly break the boundaries between his cultural isolation is the fact that he plays basketball. Through basketball he is able to gain both the acceptance that he needs from his friend Rowdy, and is also able to gain acceptance from the white students at Reardan thus allowing Arnold to feel accepted into both “cultures”. What is especially interesting to me is that Junior managed to become a part of both cultures rather than be like his sister who escaped and ran away from the reservation completely. The fact that his sister dies in the end is interesting because it seems like breaking away from the reservation caused her death, but Junior, who although goes to Reardan, still strives to be part of the Spokane community and ultimately lives. It shows that you cannot tear away a part of who you are, being Spokane will always be a part of Junior, but he also learns to embrace the outside world and realize all the possibilities that are there outside of the reservation.
ReplyDeleteI really like the attention you bring to drawings in the novel. Your absolutely right in that they capture Arnold's emotions and thoughts on a level that cannot be portrayed through writing alone. Therefore, I would like to focus on the medium through which Arnold's thoughts and emotions are expressed in his drawings, and that is humor.
ReplyDeleteAs you say, the humor Arnold uses in almost all his drawings show his light-hearted personality. You mention that his ability to create humor out of hardship enables him to persevere. This is completely true. We can see this in the drawing on page 31. Arnold throws a textbook at Mr. P out of frustration since his school is so poor and cannot afford new textbooks. It is simply a humorous picture in nature but also gets the point across. There is also the drawing on page 107 which shows a picture of Arnold's alcoholic dad. It has a funny catchphrase "I'm only alcoholic when I get drunk" but also gives the reader a sense of pity for Arnold. Arnold likely faced much hardship growing up with an alcoholic father. In addition, we also see a sense of his humor in the drawing where he pokes fun at his own poverty with excuses as to why he cannot do something. Undoubtedly, humor is key to understanding Arnold.
Overall, your ideas are very solid and provide unique insight to the thought process of Arnold. Good job!
A.S.
Heyy, I really enjoy reading your blog examine the cultural dualism. I am also having so much fun reading Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, because of the relaxing and humorous language it uses. However, with this kind of easy expressions, Alexie examines the complicated topic of identities.
ReplyDeleteAs i read through the dairies in the book, I started to feel sad for Arnold. I agree with you that the "double lives" he lives in, are isolating him for the rest of his companies. As you write in your blog, he can fit into neither the white community, nor his original culture. To me, Arnold is kind of like a wanderer, who belongs to nowhere, but is drifting somewhere in the middle. For me, as an international student, i can feel Arnold's lost totally. In American, I am considered as a Chinese, who struggles a lot with her English, and who is always thinking differently than others. On the other hand, in China, people always feel i am different, as well. The way i dress, the way i talk, the way i get along with people are no longer the same with native Chinese people. I feel lost just as Arnold does.
But you are right. To read his inner thoughts are mostly encouraging to me. Anyway, your ideas are clearly expressed. Great job!
Sarah P.