Discussion Topic
Junior's Aspirations, Uncertainties, and Decision to Attend Reardan in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Summary:
In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Junior decides to attend Reardan to escape the limitations of his reservation's education system, symbolized by outdated textbooks. Encouraged by his teacher, Mr. P, Junior seeks better opportunities and hope at Reardan, despite facing challenges like racism and alienation. Attending Reardan helps Junior gain confidence, overcome his community's negative perceptions, and pursue his dream of becoming a comic-book artist. His choice reflects the complex balance between preserving cultural identity and seeking personal growth.
Why does Junior decide to attend Reardan in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian?
I would say that Junior's reasons for wanting to attend Reardan are valid. Here's why:
Junior's favorite subject in school is Geometry. As a freshman at Wellpinit High School, Junior is actually pretty excited about the first day of class until he realizes something: the Math book he is handed by Mr. P (his Math teacher) once belonged to his mother, Agnes. He realizes with a pang that his school is so poor that it has to reassign books that are at least thirty years old to new students. Subsequently, he becomes so angry at the state of schools on the reservation that he throws the book across the room, only to hit Mr. P square in the face.
Junior is suspended from school, but Mr. P assures him that it wasn't his idea to let that happen. In fact, he confesses to Junior that he has also wronged him...
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and many other students on the reservation. When he was a young teacher, Mr. P had been instructed to dismantle or root out any inherent Indian characteristics his students possessed. He apologizes to Junior for this, telling him that he was young and stupid at the time, just like Junior is now. Mr. P tells Junior to leave the reservation for good if he wants to retain hope in his life and to hold on to his aspirations and dreams for his future. He doesn't want Junior to 'fade away' or to fail, like the rest of his ancestors or even his sister, who has given up hope of becoming a writer.
Because of this, Junior wants to attend Reardan High School, one of the best small-sized schools in the state. He tells his parents that the kids at Reardan are 'the smartest and most athletic kids anywhere,' and that's where he wants to be. He wants to be where he can hope for a better future and better opportunities in life; Junior knows that the only way he can achieve these goals is to venture out of his comfort zone. So, yes, Junior has pretty valid reasons for wanting to attend Reardan High School. He is greatly encouraged when his own father calls him a warrior, a fitting epithet for a young man charting his own path in life, irrespective of any obstacle in his way.
What influences Junior's contrasting perceptions of his reservation in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian?
Junior's dichotomy is reflective of what it means to be a Native American in the modern setting. Alexie is fairly direct in being able to construct Junior as an embodiment of the modern Native American. On one hand, Junior recognizes that there is much to dislike about the current condition of Native Americans. There is a hopelessness regarding life on "the Rez" that is both general and specific to Junior. He sees the hopelessness in so many of his people that he recognizes that he does not wish to succumb to that condition himself. In a more particular way, he sees this in the pain of his parents and in the death of his sister. The fact that White society has done a fairly good job of relegating the Native Americans to the periphery of society is something that Junior himself sees in "the Rez" and represents so much of his fundamental challenge with his own conception of what it means to be a "Native American."
However, Junior also realizes that there is an intrinsic value to being who he is. This is seen in how Junior feels about his grandmother and how his reflection of her is impacted by how many other Native Americans feel the same way about her. For Junior, how he feels about his grandmother as well as his own understanding for the historical condition of the Native American is where he does see value in his identity. It is complex, but there is a sense of both reverence for what his past embraces and disdain for what it has become both by its own doing and how it has been discarded by others. In this dichotomy is where Junior exists and it is a complex position about ethnicity and identity in the modern setting.
Was it beneficial for Junior to attend Reardan in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian?
In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, Sherman Alexie is trying to show the trade-offs experienced by Native Americans who are caught between two cultures. On the one hand, Reardan opens up a better education to Junior and knowledge of a wider world. It can lead him to greater economic and educational opportunity and an opportunity to excel as a basketball player.
Although Junior makes friends at Reardan, he also experiences discrimination and gets a first-hand sense of economic inequality. He also becomes alienated from the community on the reservation. As Alexie portrays the issues of alcohol abuse and violence that is endemic on the reservation, he also shows that the "best and the brightest" need to leave in order to obtain proper educations and must work outside their community to earn high wages, which contributes to a decline in the quality of reservation life and a loss of traditional culture. He also shows a strong sense of community and belonging and spiritual connection among the people on the reservation.
Although Junior does eventually reconcile with Rowdy, there is a sense at the end of the novel that Junior has become a liminal character, caught between two cultures but not able to fully belong to either. Thus Junior's choice is not portrayed as completely positive or negative, but rather as a mix of both.
In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, it is best that Junior attends Reardan. After Junior learns that he has been issued his mother's 30-year-old math textbook, he realizes that his education on the reservation is limited by money. His teacher Mr. P encourages Junior to seek education off the reservation so that he can find a sense of hope. So Junior leaves the school in Wellpinit to go to Reardan for what he considers a better education. However, arguably speaking, this apparent goal is not what makes it best that Junior attends Reardan. What makes it best is that attending Reardan is a way for Junior to exert a sense of agency over his life--he makes a decision that he thinks is best for him. Other Indians on the reservation label him a "traitor" and a "white-lover," but Junior overcomes this abuse to follow the path that he thinks is best for his own life. By standing up to detractors, Junior gains self-confidence. So arguably, the development of a strong sense of self is what makes attending Reardan a great decision for Junior.
Why was Junior unsure about his future in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian?
I don't think Junior is silly about his future in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian because he makes a hard and thoughtful decision about the type of education he feels that he deserves. When Junior realizes that he has been given a 30-year-old math textbook, he throws the book directly at his teacher Mr. P, not because he is angry at Mr. P, but because he is outraged at the lack of support that is given to the education system on the reservation. Later, Mr. P encourages Junior to go outside the reservation for a better education, and although Junior knows that he will be labeled a traitor by some Indians on the reservation, he decides to deal with their disappointment to follow what he believes is a better opportunity. Junior thinks that getting a better education now will provide him with more opportunities in the future. So Junior isn't being silly about his future--he's being thoughtful, proactive, and brave.
What is Junior's aspiration for his future in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian?
Junior states on several occasions that he wants to be a comic-book artist when he grows up. In his spare time, he enjoys drawing, and his illustrations (drawn by Ellen Forney) are spread throughout the book, making humorous commentary on the text.
Junior is so attached to drawing and comics because he sees art as a universal language anyone can react to and understand regardless of their background. This idea ties in to Junior's misfit status among both the Spokane Indians and the white students at Reardan. For Junior, his drawings are a way of escaping the feelings of alienation that come from being different from others, whether that is physically (as on the reservation) or racially (as at Reardan High). They allow him to connect with others, no matter who they may be.
Junior's drawings also allow him to focus on a potential future beyond the poverty and hopelessness of the reservation, fueling his dreams of becoming a famous comic-book artist. He even goes so far as to call his drawings "lifeboats," since they prevent him from being overtaken by despair. Unlike his sister, Mary, who squandered her writing talents despite having a passion for storytelling, Junior wants to pursue art and do what he loves when he grows up.
What motivates Junior to attend Reardan in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian?
Anger and hope are what push Junior out of his life on "the rez" and into the world of Reardan.
When Junior starts high school, he is filled with excitement. He believes that this is the start of a new life filled with hope for the future. However, these hopes are dashed when he is given an "old, old, old...geometry book" from which he is to learn. He recognizes that the book is his mother's and is over thirty years old. His excitement turns to anger and rage, filling his heart "with the force of a nuclear bomb," while his "hopes and dreams (float) up in a mushroom cloud." At this instant, Junior is filled with intense anger because he recognizes the limitations of his education on the reservation. He knows that if he stays on the reservation, he will never become the person he wishes to be.
Anger ends up giving way to hope. After Junior assaults Mr. P with the geometry book, he shares a profound conversation with the geometry teacher who tells him that Junior is similar in talent to his sister and that he is "a bright and shining star...the smartest kid in the school." Mr. P confirms what Junior already knows which is that life on the reservation is one where Native Americans are taught to "give up." It becomes clear that if Junior wants to have a meaningful life he must "go somewhere where other people have hope."
This realization inspires him to go to Reardan. He understands the risk involved as he will be one of the few Native Americans there. However, to do what he wants to with his life, Junior knows that he must pursue his education at the new school. He is filled with hope when his father drops him off for his first day, calling him "brave" and "a warrior." His brave resolve underscores how Junior's anger has been channeled back into hope for the future.
What is Junior seeking at Reardan that he couldn't find at Wellpinit in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian?
Junior is looking for hope. When he opens his science textbook and discovers that they are 30 years old, it hits him that there is no opportunity for him in Willpinit. Junior is driven, he's smart, and he wants to go places in life. He knows that if he stays in Willpinit he will get stuck, so he transfers to Reardon, where they have textbooks and science labs and computers.
When he gets there, it isn't easy. He runs into racism from not only the other students and teachers at Reardon, but also from people on the reservation who call him a "white lover" and feel betrayed by his transfer. He can't even easily get to school, and that is a challenge by itself. His poverty is another obstacle to overcome, just by not having enough gas money or a good car to get to school. He doesn't have nice clothes like the other kids, can't afford school dances, and can't go out with friends because he can't even afford a plate of pancakes. However, his poverty and his racial experiences have made him resourceful and insightful, and Junior has a good understanding of people and the world around him. He also finds himself in his talents, in his drawing and in basketball. Here he is able to shine and explore life and his emotions through these outlets.