The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a semi-autobiography novel about the life path of a young Indian named Junior. Since the book came out, it received numerous challenges regarding whether it is appropriate for school children. This essay argues that the book should not be banned from the school curriculum because it contains new perspectives, promotes love, and offers important inspirations of life for the young readers.
The first reason why The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian should not be banned from the school curriculum is that it offers school children new perspectives of the world. One important perspective is an insight of the poor. Poverty was the main reason why so many tragedies happened within the Spokane Indian reservation. However, many children nowadays have never even experienced poverty. This leaves them with limited ideas about what it is like being poor. While revealing the tragedy of poverty, the author has also tuned down the heaviness of the topic with a good sense of humor. For example: “Poverty = empty refrigerator + empty stomach” (Alexie 7).
This humorous and creative style makes school children learn more about being poor and establish more sympathy with the poor. Another important perspective offered in the book is the Indian identity. As a minority voice in American, Junior’s story gives an authentic account of the life experiences of Indians living in the reservations. Basically, this book turns the abstract concept of a reservation into real scenes, which allow school children to establish a comprehensive understanding of the living circumstances of some Indian populations in the country.
Also, while pointing out the socially and institutionally disadvantaged status of Indians, the author remains objective instead of accusing other races. Junior has even been able to discover the bright side in white people: “If you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing” (Alexie 108). This essentially teaches the children that people of different races are not that different once they get to know each other better, which is a very important lesson.
The second reason why the book should not be banned is that it promotes the value of love and children can learn a great deal from it. The most important type is between Junior’s family members. Being poor and alcoholic, Juniors parents never beat him for once. Although this may sound like nothing for the ordinary reader, when it is placed in the reservation context where parent drinking and child abuse were serious problems, the readers begin to appreciate the profound love that Junior’s parents have for him. One example is: “He could have spent that five bucks and stayed drunk for another day or two. But he saved it for me” (Alexie 125).
Even though Junior’s parents were far from perfect, the readers are able to sense their love and pride for his son, which is the main reason why Junior was able to “escape” the reservation and be successful in the new school. Another type of love is the friendship between Junior and Rowdy, which is about two lonely souls finding shelter with each other. At the end of the book, friendship gave Junior the strength to forgive: “For a second, I thought about saying no. I thought about telling him to bite my ass. I thought about making him apologize. But I couldn’t. He was never going to change” (Alexie 190). The stories about friendship and forgiveness are going to benefit readers’ lives immensely.
Finally, there is also the type of love that is subtly expressed throughout the book, which is the empathy and love between the white people and Junior. The purest form of concern after getting to know each other elevates the theme of the book beyond race, and reveals the positive side of human nature. All different types of love make the book rich in emotions and banning the book would mean a negation of all the positive emotions.
The third reason why the book should not be banned is that it serves as a source of inspiration for any children who are considered the underdogs in their lives. The story of Junior begins with little hope: “we reservation Indians don’t get to realize our dreams. We don’t get those chances. Or choices. We’re just poor. That’s all we are” (Alexie 11). Although life seemed to prevent Junior from any possibility to escape the reservation, he did not give up. Instead, he told his parents: “No, if I don’t go now, I never will. I have to do it now” (Alexie 39). This helps the readers realize that if they want to become anything in their lives, acting right now is the best way. School children nowadays are in desperate need of such a lesson because they are often so overwhelmed with opportu