In Diary of a Part-Time Indian the main character, Arnold uses drawn cartoons to express his view of the world. In a way, it is how Arnold best speaks to the world. He draws cartoons not only for fun, but also to let his voice be heard. Cartoons allow him to tell the world his hopes and dreams as well as his fears and things he hates. The two most pertinent examples of this in my opinion, come in the form of the cartoons Arnold draws when he starts with Reardan, and the almost sacrilegious comic Junior draws following the deaths of both his grandmother and Eugene.
Cartoons provide Arnold a way to express his feelings at the world. Almost all the cartoons are humorous, usually darkly so. This shows how Arnold relies upon his sense of humour …show more content…
Of note is the fact that “Chief” appears 4 times, suggesting it is the most common slur that Arnold encounters at Reardan. The fact that the people that use these slurs are depicted as blobs suggests the idea that Arnold feels they all blur together, that him being called names is so common that he cannot even point only to a certain group of people at Reardan. The blobs also to a certain degree resemble the masks and cloaks of the Klu-Klux-Klan, making another possible reference to the racism he experiences. Arnold draws himself significantly smaller than the blob figures, emphasising the fact that he feels helpless and weak in the face of his abuse. Finally, the space between Arnold and the blob figures are a reference to the fact that the Reardan boys, though they call him slurs, keep their distance between them and him. As Arnold himself puts it “None of those guys punched me or got violent. […] So mostly they called me names. Lots of names.” Cartoons allow Junior to express his feelings. It is a way for him to externalise his …show more content…
MIRACULOUS!! John 11:35am”. It depicts Jesus being laughed at by a crowd after seemingly doing as the caption implied. There are numerous other references to the bible in this cartoon besides the depiction of Jesus. Firstly, there are 12 faces in the laughing crowd, a possible reference to the 12 disciples that followed Jesus in the bible. Secondly, Jesus is depicted as walking on water, a very famous trait he is depicted as having. Thirdly, the ‘-th’ in the words “farteth” and “burpeth” are references to how the older translations of the bible, such as the King James translation retain some grammatical conventions of Old English. Arnold draws this and according to the text, other cartoons after Eugene and his grandmother pass away. They are a way for Junior to lash out at god, who he felt was mocking him. Showing how they allow Arnold to deal with his
Cartoons provide Arnold a way to express his feelings at the world. Almost all the cartoons are humorous, usually darkly so. This shows how Arnold relies upon his sense of humour …show more content…
Of note is the fact that “Chief” appears 4 times, suggesting it is the most common slur that Arnold encounters at Reardan. The fact that the people that use these slurs are depicted as blobs suggests the idea that Arnold feels they all blur together, that him being called names is so common that he cannot even point only to a certain group of people at Reardan. The blobs also to a certain degree resemble the masks and cloaks of the Klu-Klux-Klan, making another possible reference to the racism he experiences. Arnold draws himself significantly smaller than the blob figures, emphasising the fact that he feels helpless and weak in the face of his abuse. Finally, the space between Arnold and the blob figures are a reference to the fact that the Reardan boys, though they call him slurs, keep their distance between them and him. As Arnold himself puts it “None of those guys punched me or got violent. […] So mostly they called me names. Lots of names.” Cartoons allow Junior to express his feelings. It is a way for him to externalise his …show more content…
MIRACULOUS!! John 11:35am”. It depicts Jesus being laughed at by a crowd after seemingly doing as the caption implied. There are numerous other references to the bible in this cartoon besides the depiction of Jesus. Firstly, there are 12 faces in the laughing crowd, a possible reference to the 12 disciples that followed Jesus in the bible. Secondly, Jesus is depicted as walking on water, a very famous trait he is depicted as having. Thirdly, the ‘-th’ in the words “farteth” and “burpeth” are references to how the older translations of the bible, such as the King James translation retain some grammatical conventions of Old English. Arnold draws this and according to the text, other cartoons after Eugene and his grandmother pass away. They are a way for Junior to lash out at god, who he felt was mocking him. Showing how they allow Arnold to deal with his