The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian—Sherman Alexie
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TheAbsolutelyTrueDiaryofaPart-TimeIndian.pptxThe Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Sherman Alexie
Biography
Spokane/Coeur d’Alene Indian
Grew up in Wellpinit, Washington on the Spokane Indian Reservation
Published 24 books
Screenwriter and co-producer of the movie Smoke Signals
Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, etc.
Introduction to the Book
Controversial text (the #1 banned book in US schools).
Follows the exploits of a young native boy named Junior who resides on a reservation in Spokane.
The novel uses pictures to help articulate the protagonist’s world and his dark humor regarding his reality.
Historical Context
“Kill the Indian, save the man.”
The government enacted the residential school legislation to “get rid of the Indian problem[…]”
The objective of such schools was to eradicate their ancestral traditions and customs and adopt dominant values.
Various forms of abuse took place in such schools: sexual, physical, mental, and spiritual/cultural, thereby affecting future generations.
http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/erdrich/boarding/gallery.htm
Historical Context
Alcoholism in Native American Life-Recent articles published by MSNBC indicate that the incidence of alcohol-related deaths on Indian reservations are three times higher than the rest of the US.
The Spokane Indian Reservation was created in 1881 by Rutherford B. Hayes. Before this time, Indians had over 3 million acres and is now 159,000 acres.
Spokane Indian Reservation
Themes
Identity-questions of identity.
Home-2 homes, sense of belonging to both.
Race-relates to identity conflict and the feeling of being a part-time Indian
Poverty-the effects on the individual and community.
Tradition and Custom-changes in traditions and how they shape one’s decisions and identity.
Themes Continued…
Literature and Writing-our relationships to lit. and writing.
Mortatlity-coping with death and the causes of death.
Friendship
Hopes/Dreams/Plans-consequences of those who do not have hope…
Education-not everything one needs to learn can be found in the classroom.
Questions to Consider…
Currently, this text is one of the most widely banned texts in US high schools (specifically due to sexual content, language, graphic and adult content)…What are your thoughts on this banning? Consider other texts you must read at the high school level and their content…Consider other texts that have been banned throughout history as well (The Grapes of Wrath, Brave New World, Things Fall Apart, The Metamorphosis)
