Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie - Essay Example

The novel explores the differences between Native Americans and White people. Gordy cites an article from the internet that depicts the partiality given to white women by Western society. Society values White women as compared to Mexican women as seen in the disappearance of a White girl in Mexico. The article says “…White girls are privileged. They're damsels in distress” (Alexie). Nobody is concerned about the disappearance of two hundred girls in Mexico, but society is sad about the disappearance of a single White girl. Unfortunately, this stereotype emanates from the society. For example, “Some Indians think you become white if you try to make your life better if you become successful” (Alexie). This suggests that race is a behavioral rather than a biological aspect, and it is negative because it creates inequality in society.

Interracial relationships are common in the novel. Junior can make several White friends who compose the Reardan student population because of his cleverness, compassion, and basketball talents. Junior learns the need to build new relationships and the value of other people from different cultures in his life. Even so, he says, “I was half Indian in one place and half white in the other” (Alexie). He feels like a stranger in both Reardan and Wellpinit and considers being Indian as a part-time job. Society socially constructs the aspect of race as seen in the adaptations that Junior undergoes in his different settings. This is negative because it denies young people to have and shape their identity.

The use of indigenous culture as sports mascots. When he joins the school, Junior realizes that the only other “Indian” at Reardan is its institution's mascot. Racial stereotypes shape a person’s mentality, and in this novel, the aspect of an Indian mascot seems to shape his perception of White society. Reality and symbols correlate, and in his new school environment, the mascot is a symbol of racism. It is quite unfortunate that Junior went to unlearn such stereotypes, but the first thing he discovers in school is that the mascot is an Indian. The mascot is a ridicule of indigenous culture and is a source of shame for indigenous people as human beings.

In conclusion, race is a significant aspect of Sherman Alexie’s “Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”. It determines the relationships that exist between the characters. The novel evidences that a person’s racial identity changes depending on the social setting. Junior is an Indian in other settings, but he is Arnold while in the White school. Arnold perceives himself as half-Indian and half-white, and this shows that people can interplay racial identity to their advantage. Although his family and his entire reservation are poor, Arnold Junior manages to rise above his challenges in the quest for a better life in a racially challenging society.