Being in high school is hard, but trying to figure out who to become is even worse. In the book, The Absolutely True Diary of A Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Junior discovers his identity by pushing through hard times. While finding his identity Junior has to learn to deal with addiction, poverty, and overcoming stereotypes. However, after his battle in high school he becomes the man he wants to be.
Being an addicted can cause many problems to oneself and the surrounding people. One difficulty Junior faces throughout the novel is handling addiction. Juniors dad has a drinking problem and says, “I’m only an alcoholic when I get drunk” (Alexie 107). This is a common problem on the reservation as seen with Junior’s best friend, Rowdy, who also has an alcoholic dad. The only difference between Rowdy's dad and Junior's dad is Rowdy's dad beats him. Even though Junior is only a freshman in high school, he knows that drinking isn’t the road he wasn’t to go down, which is a discovery Junior makes towards his new identity. …show more content…
Since Juniors family is in poverty, they can’t afford certain items and care. For instance, their dog Oscar, was sick and needed to go to the vet. Instead of paying for the vet bill, which they lacked the money for, Juniors dad shoots Oscar. This was the cheaper solution because Juniors dad says, “A bullet costs about two cents, and anybody can afford that.” (Alexie 14) The all-white school, Rearden, Junior is attending is twenty-two miles away from the reservation and the only way to get there was to drive. Junior was ready to head to school when his dad says, “ Don’t have enough gas” (Alexie 71), Junior understands that he needs to go to school and finds a ride from a family friend. While poverty is a common aspect of Indian lives Junior found a way to overcome this milestone showing his determination to better
Being an addicted can cause many problems to oneself and the surrounding people. One difficulty Junior faces throughout the novel is handling addiction. Juniors dad has a drinking problem and says, “I’m only an alcoholic when I get drunk” (Alexie 107). This is a common problem on the reservation as seen with Junior’s best friend, Rowdy, who also has an alcoholic dad. The only difference between Rowdy's dad and Junior's dad is Rowdy's dad beats him. Even though Junior is only a freshman in high school, he knows that drinking isn’t the road he wasn’t to go down, which is a discovery Junior makes towards his new identity. …show more content…
Since Juniors family is in poverty, they can’t afford certain items and care. For instance, their dog Oscar, was sick and needed to go to the vet. Instead of paying for the vet bill, which they lacked the money for, Juniors dad shoots Oscar. This was the cheaper solution because Juniors dad says, “A bullet costs about two cents, and anybody can afford that.” (Alexie 14) The all-white school, Rearden, Junior is attending is twenty-two miles away from the reservation and the only way to get there was to drive. Junior was ready to head to school when his dad says, “ Don’t have enough gas” (Alexie 71), Junior understands that he needs to go to school and finds a ride from a family friend. While poverty is a common aspect of Indian lives Junior found a way to overcome this milestone showing his determination to better