The Affects of Poverty “Poverty doesn’t give you strength or teach you lessons about perseverance. No, poverty only teaches you how to be poor,” (pg 13) said by Arnold Spirit in “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.” In the book, poverty is a main issue that many of the First Nations face within their reserve. Arnold Spirit, also called Junior, is the main character of the novel that witnesses many of the troubles his acquaintances and family members experience due to the low economical development of his reserve. Not only did it affect the people physically, but emotionally as well. Many face depression as they feel they can not accomplish anything with their status, and some attach themselves to harmful lives such as substance,
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The residence that Junior lives in was filled with economical depression that lead to the physical and emotional abuse of one’s body, the destruction to many hope and dreams, and the high rate of deaths in the community.
Firstly, the poverty in the reservation affected many of the First Nations emotionally by demolishing their confidence in accomplish their dreams. Many Indians, including Arnolds parents, had goals that were never achieve because, according to Arnold, “nobody paid attention to their dreams.” (pg11) The lack of acknowledgment that was determined by their socioeconomic status made Arnold’s mother’s dream of being a teacher, and his father being a musician never come true. With this reason, his parents stayed poor like everyone else on the reserve, which resulted to alcoholism. Junior also shows the emotional affects of being poor in the novel. When Junior talks about how many of the Indians are poor, he personally tells the reader how he feels about being poor himself. He tells the reader, “It sucks to be poor, and it sucks to feel that you somehow deserve to be poor. You start believing that you’re poor because you’re stupid and ugly. And then you start believing …show more content…
Rowdy, Arnold’s best friend’s dad is a character that proves abuse is common in many homes on the reservation. When Arnold talks about the people in Rowdy’s life, his dad is describe as always “drinking hard and throwing hard punches so Rowdy and his mother are always around with bruised and bloody faces.” (pg 16) Rowdy’s dad shows I DON’T KNOW HOW TO EXPLAIN THIS. Eugene, Junior’s dad’s best friend also shows his alcoholic side due to the problems he faces because he is poor. When Eugene is first introduce, Arnold talks about his drinking problem followed by saying “funny how the saddest guys can be happy drunks.” (pg70) Eugene shows instead of facing his problems, he would drink them away because he feels he could not do much since he is poor. Junior’s dad proves that the poverty in the reserve can lead to alcoholism. During Christmas season, Junior’s family never have enough money to by each other presents. So according to Junior, when the holidays roll in, “Dad does what he always does when we don’t have enough money. He took what little money we did have and ran away to get drunk.” (pg150) His dad’s action can lead to believe that he was not the only person on the reserve who would get drunk when facing problems with money. Poverty plays a big role in the substance and violence abuse that was shown in the
The residence that Junior lives in was filled with economical depression that lead to the physical and emotional abuse of one’s body, the destruction to many hope and dreams, and the high rate of deaths in the community.
Firstly, the poverty in the reservation affected many of the First Nations emotionally by demolishing their confidence in accomplish their dreams. Many Indians, including Arnolds parents, had goals that were never achieve because, according to Arnold, “nobody paid attention to their dreams.” (pg11) The lack of acknowledgment that was determined by their socioeconomic status made Arnold’s mother’s dream of being a teacher, and his father being a musician never come true. With this reason, his parents stayed poor like everyone else on the reserve, which resulted to alcoholism. Junior also shows the emotional affects of being poor in the novel. When Junior talks about how many of the Indians are poor, he personally tells the reader how he feels about being poor himself. He tells the reader, “It sucks to be poor, and it sucks to feel that you somehow deserve to be poor. You start believing that you’re poor because you’re stupid and ugly. And then you start believing …show more content…
Rowdy, Arnold’s best friend’s dad is a character that proves abuse is common in many homes on the reservation. When Arnold talks about the people in Rowdy’s life, his dad is describe as always “drinking hard and throwing hard punches so Rowdy and his mother are always around with bruised and bloody faces.” (pg 16) Rowdy’s dad shows I DON’T KNOW HOW TO EXPLAIN THIS. Eugene, Junior’s dad’s best friend also shows his alcoholic side due to the problems he faces because he is poor. When Eugene is first introduce, Arnold talks about his drinking problem followed by saying “funny how the saddest guys can be happy drunks.” (pg70) Eugene shows instead of facing his problems, he would drink them away because he feels he could not do much since he is poor. Junior’s dad proves that the poverty in the reserve can lead to alcoholism. During Christmas season, Junior’s family never have enough money to by each other presents. So according to Junior, when the holidays roll in, “Dad does what he always does when we don’t have enough money. He took what little money we did have and ran away to get drunk.” (pg150) His dad’s action can lead to believe that he was not the only person on the reserve who would get drunk when facing problems with money. Poverty plays a big role in the substance and violence abuse that was shown in the