The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian Essay

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In an excerpt of Sherman Alexie’s novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Alexie uses the voice of Junior to illustrate the poverty that plagues Indian reservations, and how a young teen like himself deals with the disappointments of such a stark life. As the title suggests, Junior writes with the informality of a keepsake journal. He is not directing his words to a particular parent or peer, but rather venting the troubles that pervade his life, implying a bitterness to a world that is oblivious to his situation. In this specific passage, Junior relives the devastating loss of his dog through a brazen, sardonic tone. Juniors use of casual diction juxtaposes with the more somber content he describes, thus establishing his character as one who conceals difficult experiences with humor and sarcasm to combat grief. From the beginning, Junior asserts his character through the repeated use of the word “poor-ass”. By using such a bold form of diction to describe his poverty, Junior reveals signs of humor induced resignation in order to lessen the disappointment of the problems that he is continually experiencing. Because Junior is able to identify the reasoning behind the difficulties with which he’s faced, he is no longer surprised when they happen. Junior knows his restrictions come from the ever-present wall that is his poverty. Similarly, the use of the word “sucks” elucidates Juniors offhand account of being poor. Though using such a term to describe unfortunate conditions is common among a fourteen-year-old, Juniors life is …show more content…
In doing so, the narration implies that Junior uses humor because he has given up on facing the difficult times through strength and now contemplates the events with a brazen, sardonic