Mary Runs Away Analysis

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Mary Runs Away is one of Arnold’s only friends, one of the only things he loves and holds close to him. Despite living together for years, it seems like no one in the Spirit family knows a thing about Mary. She’s as mysterious as sisters come but they love her all the same. In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Sherman Alexie shows us that running away from your problems just makes them worse, as shown when we learn about Mary’s ambitions to become a writer (37), when she runs away to Montana (90), and when she passes away (201). Mr. P tells Arnold about how his sister wanted to become a romantic novel writer (37). She was one of Mr. P’s smartest students but after highschool she shut down. He saw a big future in her and she had big dreams and a fast track to reaching them. But she was too scared to face the real world. Running away was the only way to cope with the disappointment from her family. So much pressure was put on her to grow up fast that she caved and became a recluse. Mr. P told Arnold “you have to leave this reservation,” (42), and it paid off for him. Not knowing where to go in life and not having help or not asking for it can prevent you from following your dreams, and having help and a …show more content…
Her idea was to run away with a poker player who wasn’t scared to risk it all, and live on a new reservation no better than Wellpinit. She had no control of her life and was becoming another Indian sob story. Arnold saw it coming every step of the way. When she died in the kitchen fire (201), Arnold said he knew she was drunk because Indians are always drunk (205). Mary was only in the situation because she never made anything of herself. She allowed herself to be the stereotype of an Indian. In the book Arnold is aware of the truth to the stereotypes of his people and yet he doesn’t let them define him. That’s what separates him from his sister, and even from the rest of the