In The Absolutley True Diary Of A Part Time Indian Junior is considered as an outsider in both places because in Reardan he is the only Indian and in Wellpinit he is thought of as a traitor. Junior is thought of as a traitor because he left Wellpinit to go to Reardan. The author suggests this by using the quote “part time Indian”. This book explores many ideas but the main one is how junior is an outsider. In this essay we will explore the theme of junior being an outsider through the stages of his lives. Such as Poverty, Physical defects and much more.

One way in which Junior is presented as an outsider is through his dual experience of living in wellpinit whilst studying in Reardan. For example, on the Spokane reservation Junior is seen as an outsider because he left wellpinit to gain a better education but his friends believe he is a traitor and he left because he wanted to be a white student. On the other hand in Reardan Junior also appears as an outsider as he is the only native american who attends a white school. His teachers and peers think of him as fool for attending Reardan.

Junior is also shown as an outsider through his physical defects. The character Junior has many physical problems which stop him from bonding with his classmates at Reardan. We see this in the quote “Water on the brain” This quote presents Junior as an outsider because it shows his problems and how they make him an outsider. In addition, Junior has many more deficiencies like 10 extra teeth, and a large head. These deficiencies single him out and give his classmates extra reasons to bully him.

The aspect of poverty is also important because the character Junior suffers from many different problems. One of them is poverty, Junior is a young man who has a family that haven’t got much money which means he can’t buy the latest gadgets and the best smartphones. Sherman Alexie illustrates this when he draws a picture of Junior and uses the quote “skin-thirty”. This quote suggests that Junior hasn’t got a lot of money so he improvised and said its “skin-thirty”. He says “skin thirty” because he doesn’t have a watch and he has got no idea of what time it is.

Junior can also come across as an outsider when he recalls the amount of deaths and funerals he has attended. Junior has attended a huge amount of funerals. However, the other students in his class have only been to one or at most two. The quote “i can count all my fingers and toes and still not get close to the amount of funerals i’ve been to” shows us that Junior has been to numerous amounts of funerals. Many of his family members have passed away young. The cause to this could be stress and anxiety which forces them to drink and become alcoholics.

The last time Junior is shown as an outsider is when he goes to play a fierce and intense basketball match against his old school. The quote “Arnold sucks” tells us that all of his former team mates hate him just because he left wellpinit to go Reardan and seek a better education. His old best friend Rowdy injured Junior, he gave him a few kicks and blows during the game which caused Junior an injury. Junior got a head injury which forced him of the court and it led to him having to get stitches. Once upon a time Junior and Rowdy were best friends but then just because Junior left to Reardan their relationship broke up and caused havoc. Unfortunately this wasn’t Juniors fault no one understood his situation so they all assumed and thought wrong

To conclude I think the novel the absolutely true diary of a part time Indian is a fascinating and true story about culture and someone’s childhood. This book explored many different themes and situations and how somebody overcame his fears and problems. I think the writer Sherman Alexie wrote a very inspiring book about a character based on his childhood. The Protagonist Junior went from zero to hero, at first he was getting bullied daily and getting treated like trash then he became the most popular kid, joined the basketball team and was fancied by the most popular girl in school. So overall I think Sherman Alexie achieved his goal by writing this book because he wanted to raise awareness and help children that felt like Junior. Even though I don’t feel like Junior I still think this novel inspired me because now if I was to see somebody getting bullied I would step in and stop it from happening I wouldn’t let it go along.