the absolutely true diary of a part time indian by sherman alexie

It's no wonder there are so many discussion guides on this book for school classrooms: There's lots to discuss. It explores racism and how we break past the limitations placed upon us by a racist world, as well as grief, tolerance, and forgiveness.

It explores the deep bonds of family, friends, and community and how they help people through even the toughest circumstances. This book stands out for its unique voice in literature, for its brutal honesty - it's based on Alexie's own experiences - and for its poignancy. There's lots of drinking in the story, but only by adults, and there's nothing glamorous about it. He also engages in bawdy talk with his friends and gets an erection while hugging a school counselor. Junior enjoys masturbation and looking at magazines with nude pictures. Characters swear frequently, using all of the usual suspects, though when one boy uses the 'N' word as part of a racist joke, he gets punched in the face for it. A suffering dog is shot and killed because the family can't afford to take it to the vet. A woman is run over by a drunk driver, people are burned alive in a camper, a man is shot in the face by accident by his friend, and there's talk of his friend hanging himself in jail afterward. Junior mourns the deaths of many people close to him, all of whom die due to severe alcohol abuse. It's a gritty look at the struggles of Junior, a teen living on a Native American reservation who decides to attend an all-White school. Before that, the book was often banned for its mature content. Alexie was accused of sexual harassment in 2018, 11 years after this book was first published he doesn't deny the charges. Parents need to know that The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a National Book Award winner by Sherman Alexie. Main character suffers when his father goes away on a drinking binge - once through the Christmas holidays.ĭid you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide. Alcoholism, drunk drivers, and drunk fighting are meant to reflect difficult lives of people on the reservation. Plenty of drinking and drunkenness, but none is glamorized or done by main teen characters.

The absolutely true diary of a part time indian by sherman alexie