Smoke Signals

Malcolm X’s “Literacy Behind Bars” and Sherman Alexie’s Ten Little Indians are two completely different works, but both have a similar theme. In “Literacy Behind Bars,” Malcolm X discloses the details of his journey to becoming literate. Meanwhile, in Ten Little Indians, a young Spokane Indian woman by the name of Corliss recalls her quest to find a Spokane Indian poet by the name of Harlan Atwater. Both Corliss and Malcolm X went through their childhood not having complete access to their…

Annotated Bibliography Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Little,Brown and Company, 2007, Print. Sherman Alexie’s novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, is about a boy named Junior and how his family suffers from poverty whilst living in a reservation. After having a conversation with his teacher about how leaving the reservation would be best for him, he confronts his parents about switching to a better school off the rez, who decide…

Twenty two percent of Indians in America are poor, this including junior. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, dealt with very difficult subjects that schools don’t usually address, in which the main character, Junior, suffered. Somehow Junior manages to stay positive through his tough times. In this book, you’ll discover Junior’s journey, as a poor Indian living on the reservation. Living life on the reservation but going to school in Reardon must be very hard for…

Living in an Indian reservation, Junior faces many problems because of his abnormalities. Going to a very poor school Junior knows he must find hope somewhere else. Little did Junior know when he threw his geometry book at his teacher how that would change his life and what would follow. With Mr. P’s advice, he decides to leave the Spokane reservation and the problems of alcoholism, poverty, and friends. In the story, The Absolute True Diary of a Part- Time Indian, By Sherman Alexie Junior shows…

In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part -Time Indian, Sherman Alexie creates a text that easily explains Alexie’s own experiences. The use of images, the development of his protagonist’s friendships, and the depiction of tragic events all develop the identification of Arnold Spirit, in a unique and accessible manner. The style used by Alexie is used to brighten up the life of Arnold, and happenings that revolve around his community. Imagery helps us create an interpretation of how we should…

In the book The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian the characters develop in many ways. During Junior's adventures he encounters many changes and finds the people who are there for him. The novel shows that good friends should always be honest through the interactions that Junior, his friends and family have through the story. Junior has helped people with their problems and in turn, they grew closer together. On page 52 Junior is leaving the reservation and Rowdy -- he doesn’t say…

To begin with, knowledge collected intelligence, you gain knowledge by attending school and learning. In these stories "Superman and Me", by Sherman Alexie, "A Smart Cookie", by Sandra Cisneros, and "Its Our Story Too!" by Ivette Cabrera, all have one thing in common and that is the use of knowledge. In "Superman and Me" Alexie gained knowledge by reading lots of books. In "A Smart Cookie" her mother says he had the knowledge to continue school, but the looks got in her way. In "Its Our Story…

Arnold (a.k.a Junior) is the witty and colorful protagonist of Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part- Time Indian. The first thing Arnold refers to is that he is a hydrocephalic (1.1). However, instead of referring to his disorder as the name given to it by the doctors of the scientific world, he instead refers to it as “water on the brain” (1.1), immediately capturing the reader’s attentions. Junior’s actions, thoughts, and problems do relate to most of the readers of the book,…

Our traditions shape our identity as a person, but we can also break away from our customs to create our own identity. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is about a high school student named Arnold who leaves his life on the reservation in attempts to find success. He struggles with finding his identity in this new environment. Arnold sees himself as having two different halves, Junior the outcast from the reservation and Arnold from the white high-school at…

An Indian reserve full of people hopeless of a better life. But one boy is different. This story is about a boy who lives in a depressing, dreary, and lifeless Indian reserve. But against all the odds, this boy named Junior keeps hope through all the hardships. One day, while at class, he got to the point of frustration that he threw a book across the class. It ended up breaking his teacher’s nose. While suspended at his home, Mr.P visited him. He explained why he forgave him. After that, Mr.P…