The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian (p. 102-167)

Instead of summarizing these pages, I decided to take some quotes that I found meaningful, wise, and relate-able.

"There are all kinds of addicts, I guess. We all have pain. And we all look for ways to make our pain go away.” P.107

“Why don’t you quit talking in dreams and tell me what you really want to do with your life. Make it simple.” P.111

“If you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing.” P. 129

“Well life is a constant struggle between being an individual and being a member of the community.” P. 132

“You have to dream big to get big.” P. 136

“The quality of a man’s life is in direct proportion to his commitment to excellence, regardless of his chosen field of endeavor.” P. 148

“She was the most amazing person in the world. She was tolerant.” P.154

“When it comes to death, we know that laughter and tears are pretty much the same thing.” P. 166

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian (p. 53-102)

In this section of the novel, Junior begins his new school. His dad dropped him off outside and Junior immediately felt as though he had made the wrong decision. I mean, who was he to think that he could just up and leave the rez? Really, he was just a nervous wreck.

As expected, Junior was different from everyone else, in more ways than one. So, considering this was high school, it was natural that he was to be bullied. One day, the big ‘tough’ guy in school, Roger, really got under Junior’s skin and not only insulted Junior, but he insulted his Indian race. According to the Indian rules that Junior had always lived by, he had to fight Roger. Junior punched Roger right in the face and even made him bleed (good for him). To junior’s surprise, Roger didn’t fight back. Instead, hitting Roger was just what Junior needed to do because he earned respect. I think this is the first time I have ever seen violence solve a problem.

For Halloween, Junior dressed up as a homeless kid. He did this because he couldn’t afford anything else and he practically was one anyway. Regardless, Penelope, the girl he found to be down right stunning, also dresses up as a homeless person. They decided that instead of asking for candy at houses that night, they would ask for spare change. Although Junior’s money was stolen from him, I thought this was a very interesting part f the novel. It showed how much Junior cared for others. he didn’t have money for food most days but he was still willing to help others who were even less fortunate than he was.

Despite being the poor Indian boy from the rez, junior was one of the smartest kids in his class. He decided to become friends with the only boy smarter than him, Gordy. Gordy was Rowdy (junior’s ex-best friend) but it was still good to have someone to talk to. In a way, Gordy was even better because he was smart, and had more potential for a good future than anyone else that Junior knew.

Junior’s sister also got married in this section. She married a man who “wasn’t afraid to gamble everything.” If it were me, that would be my biggest turn-off, not turn-on. But, it’s not me. Anyway she moved to a rez in Montana. This was devastating to Junior’s family but Junior didn’t seem to mind too much. In a weird way, he was happy for his sister. She left. She was able to make something of herself, even if it weren’t very much. And Junior saw this as a sign of her living out her dream. Her dream was to write a romantic novel, and although she wasn’t writing yet, maybe she was living in a romantic novel.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

I just finished reading the first fifty-five pages of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. I’m still not sure how to process what I just read. It was easy to comprehend and understand and rather enjoyable, but I have not read enough to figure out why this story was assigned.

The protagonist in the story is Junior. He is a fourteen-year old boy who one would not categorize as ‘normal’. But who sets the standards for our norm? He is a poor-Indian living on a reservation where everyone seems to give-up. They give-up on having a better life. They give-up on the people who surround them. They give-up on furthering their education. But most importantly, they give-up on hope. The Indians are clearly never going to get out of poverty but Junior is determined to change that.

Junior’s best friend was a fourteen-year old boy named Rowdy. His parents are both drunk and his dad gets angry when he is intoxicated. When his dad gets angry, Rowdy gets beaten. So, Rowdy and Junior spend a lot of their days together. Since Junior is developmentally challenged, Rowdy protects him from bullies.

Mr. P, Junior’s math teacher, encourages him to hold onto his hope. Therefore, Junior is resolute on going to a better school and making something of himself, unlike his deadbeat sister and everyone else that is close to him. The day before his first day of his new school, Junior tells Rowdy of his decision. Rowdy cannot accept this and he therefore gives up hope on his best and only friend.

"Welding with Children"

So, I'm back at Fairfield University for my second semester of college. To be honest, it is like starting my first semester all over again! I have that same anxious feeling of starting my classes and meeting more new people. Naturally this time around is a little better because I already know the people I live with and I am able to recognize some familiar faces in the quad.

I returned to Bryan’s En12 class on the first day of school. I wasn’t too sure if I would enjoy a rollover class. I figured the teacher would know all of us and the class would be way more demanding this semester opposed to having a breand new teacher. To my surprise, going into the class was refreshing. I knew my professor and all of the other students already. Although the class requires more reading to be done I know that it will become manageable.

On that first day of class we were assigned our first short story. It was a fourteen-page printout called “Welding with Children.” I was not dreading the story, but I was dreading the fact that I was back into the swing of college and homework (h-dubbs) already. When I read the story I realized it wasn’t so bad. It had a lot of themes about family. I thought it was a good story to start the semester off because many of us may have been missing our families from home already. (I know I was.)

“Welding with Children” was about a man named Bruton who had four daughters that he had raised wrong that he wasn’t necessarily ‘proud’ of. Each daughter had a child out of wedlock, giving Bruton four grandchildren.

Bruton was a “now-and-then welder” from Louisiana. He went to college and “got his money’s worth by learning about people who don’t have hearts bigger than bird shot.” One day his four grandchildren were dropped off to his house to be watched. The children were not well behaved in any way shape or form. Needless to say, they were not being raised properly and Bruton realized that he had a second chance at raising children right. He decided to take their eyes off of the television for a change and actually read to them. He even contemplated leaving Louisiana with his grandkids and starting a whole new life with them. It was actually Fordlyson (a sleaze-ball from town) who made Bruton recognize that he had to “deal directly with the children.” He would need to take them to Church, clean his yard, and be around them as much as possible.

I think the underlying message of the story is what Bruton finally realizes. The message is clear and stated. It is that “everything worth doing hurts like hell.” I agree with this statement and this message puts school into focus for me. Sure, it may be hard to focus on homework while people are going out but that struggle is what’s worth doing and it will pay off in the end. Maybe I’m way off, but I believe that is why this was the first story we read for the semester and I really enjoyed reading it.