Absoulutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian Struggles of Arnold Spirit Essay Example
The Struggles of Arnold In the book “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie, Arnold Spirit the main character struggles with being an Indian and going to Reardan, the all-white school where he wants to find hope. He struggles with acceptance because of his disability and he is an Indian. He also struggle with losing his best friend Rowdy as a friend, and he also struggles with losing loved ones. Though he has many, he copes with them and fixes them in the end.
Throughout the story Arnold struggles with his disability. He is a very smart person but because of his disability his appearance makes him look like he is stupid. To top this all off he is also an Indian attending an all-white school. This causes the white people to make fun of him as well as the Indians and he feels different and unwanted by everyone. “And once I arrived at Reardan, I became something less than less than less than Indian. Those white kids did not talk to me. They barely looked at me”(83). This shows that he was not accepted on the reservation as an Indian or at Reardan because of what he was. He had no friends at Reardan, not even a friend on the rez anymore.
When Arnold decided that he wanted to go to Reardan he wanted his only and best friend, Rowdy to go with him. When he told Rowdy about going to Reardan he felt like Arnold was abandoning him. He got really upset and angry and made it clear they were no longer friends. “I stayed on the ground for a long time after Rowdy walked away...But I had to stand eventually, and when I did, I knew my best friend had become my worst enemy”(53). This shows that Rowdy resented Arnold so much for going to Reardan he didn’t want to be friends with Arnold anymore. In addition to losing his best friend he lost many other people, only in a different way.
One final struggle Arnold faced was losing many loved ones. He lost his dog, grandmother, Eugene (His dads best friend) and his sister. He not only blamed
Throughout the story Arnold struggles with his disability. He is a very smart person but because of his disability his appearance makes him look like he is stupid. To top this all off he is also an Indian attending an all-white school. This causes the white people to make fun of him as well as the Indians and he feels different and unwanted by everyone. “And once I arrived at Reardan, I became something less than less than less than Indian. Those white kids did not talk to me. They barely looked at me”(83). This shows that he was not accepted on the reservation as an Indian or at Reardan because of what he was. He had no friends at Reardan, not even a friend on the rez anymore.
When Arnold decided that he wanted to go to Reardan he wanted his only and best friend, Rowdy to go with him. When he told Rowdy about going to Reardan he felt like Arnold was abandoning him. He got really upset and angry and made it clear they were no longer friends. “I stayed on the ground for a long time after Rowdy walked away...But I had to stand eventually, and when I did, I knew my best friend had become my worst enemy”(53). This shows that Rowdy resented Arnold so much for going to Reardan he didn’t want to be friends with Arnold anymore. In addition to losing his best friend he lost many other people, only in a different way.
One final struggle Arnold faced was losing many loved ones. He lost his dog, grandmother, Eugene (His dads best friend) and his sister. He not only blamed