Befriending Yourself

The book "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie is about a boy named Arnold, (nicknamed Junior) living on an Indian reservation in Washington. Arnold has a medical condition that affects his appearance, making him susceptible to persistent teasing and bullying. Arnold feels that his life on the reservation is hopeless and that he needs to get as far away from it as possible. So when he asks his parents to start attending school at Reardan, a rich, white, and much more prestigious school than the one on the reservation, everyone is shocked. Since Reardan is in a town known for its racism towards Indians, it poses a threat or potential problem for Arnold. Not only that, but everyone in the reservation is under the influence that Arnold is betraying them, or leaving them because he thinks he's "better." Especially his best friend Rowdy, who until he switched schools, had done nothing but protect and care for Arnold. Throughout the course of the book, Arnold has to learn to fend for himself and to find a balance between doing things for himself and for other people. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian teaches readers that if you don't learn to stick to your gut and listen to yourself, you can never truly be happy.

In the book, Arnold's self image changes into someone he can like and trust. In the beginning, when he's describing himself, Arnold says "And I started wearing glasses when I was three, so I ran around the rez looking like a three-year-old Indian grandpa. And, oh, I was skinny. I’d turn sideways and

disappear. But my hands and feet were huge. My feet were a size eleven in third grade! With my big feet and pencil body, I looked like a capital L walking down the road. And my skull was enormous.

Epic. My head was so big that little Indian skulls orbited around it. Some of the kids called me Orbit. And other kids just called me Globe. The bullies would pick me up, spin me in circles, put their finger down on my skull, and say, 'I want to go there.'" Arnold is very caught up in his physical appearance and obviously is not very happy with how he looks or his life in general. But by the end of the book, after he goes to Reardan, Arnold hardley talks about his appearance at all and he has the courage to face off with Rowdy, his ex friend in basketball and settle their differences. Arnold realizes that the reservation wasn't what was holding him back, it was his own mindset and how he let other people influence him. But when he learns to accept and love himself, everything seems to fall into place.

Overall, this book made me think deeply about self image and whether or not you get to choose who you become. Coming to terms with himself was the turning point in Arnold's life, and he did it by sticking with his gut. A lot of change happens over time, whether it's physical, mental or both. And that's not to say that people have a whole new personality because that's not true. But viewpoints and perspectives can change drastically with time and growth, and looking back on your old self, you don't see the world or the people in it like you used to. Growing up and accepting things you weren't willing to accept before can be slow and painful but in the end, you're still you, and learning to trust yourself is the most important thing you can do.