A Spirit Freed

A Spirit Freed

            In his book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie describes the human toll that poverty, alcoholism, and even simple access to an education takes on the protagonist Arnold “Junior” Spirit Jr. and those living on the Spokane Indian Reservation. I was struck, however, by the positive voice of Alexie throughout his narrative. He could have opted for a much darker story, emphasizing the senseless death and destruction all-round him. He certainly had the material available: the alcohol-fueled deaths of Junior’s grandmother and sister, as well as his father’s friend Eugene; the loss of hope brought about through the abject poverty faced by Junior, his family and friends; the violence visited on him simply because he is different; and, even an identity crisis, borne in part from Junior’s exodus from the reservation, precipitated itself via a thrown book (Alexie 31). The light-hearted humor that Junior/Sherman Alexie used belied all those hardships, as Junior still found a way to rise above it all via his cartoon lifeboats. He realizes that his drawings may be the “. . . only real chance to escape the reservation” (Alexie 6).

            I decided to take a slightly different approach to this response, after re-visiting some of those drawings. I searched for positive images related to life on a reservation. Unfortunately, the life depicted was all too bleak. This Allen Russell photograph seemed fairly representative of that:

            Taken at the entrance to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota, Highway 87, at first glance this image seems so dissimilar to that Junior’s image (Alexie 43):

            Both images evoke strong feelings through the use of a road sign. I believe this would be a great springboard from which to begin a class discussion of those impressions, using BOTH road signs in their analysis:

• ·        Reservation is to home, as leaving is to ???:  Here, the class could talk about why Junior sees these things as separate and distinct. The Highway 87 road sign warns of death ahead. When seen in conjunction with Alexie’s drawing, students may realize that this doesn’t just mean a physical death. It may also point to a cultural death, as Mr. P reveals to Junior during his visit post-textbook bomb (Alexie 35), as well as the sketch of Junior broken into two sides which shows his Indian side as a vanishing past (Alexie 57)
• ·        Within the same vein, Junior is worried about leaving the reservation to attend the high school in Reardan and the community backlash he may experience. Although his parents agreed with his plans, they acknowledge two things: one, it’s going to be difficult to physically get there; and, two, people are going to be angry with him (Alexie 47). Again, a class can benefit from the use of both pictures to show both the literal/physical difficulty Junior faces to even get to the new school and the personal/metaphorical journey he is undertaking
• ·        As he stands there looking outward/away from everything he knows and finds comfortable, what are some of the things Junior is wrestling with? The image shows a house in disrepair and a moose that perhaps represents the wildlife in and around the reservation. The pine trees, to me, symbolize the natural beauty of his home. Students may want to examine each item for its meaning to Junior and find examples in the book to bolster their viewpoint
• ·        The house in Junior’s picture has an interesting detail that may also spur the class into conversation – the satellite dish. What do they think about it? When I saw it, I remembered a joke as the expense of West Virginians: “What’s West Virginia’s state flower? A satellite dish, ‘cause it blooms in every yard.” I believe this could be used by classes and educators alike to start a dialogue about racism and cultural denigration. For example, West Virginians have long since been the butt of such jokes, as have others from poorer circumstances. How does this compare to that which Native Americans have been subjected? Or does it? As Junior discusses changing schools with his parents, he makes the point that there are places “. . . in the world where the white people are even poorer than you ever thought possible” (Alexie 45)
• ·        Students may want to delve into another aspect of self: Junior recognizes that he needs to leave. He is looking for hope, but recognizes that he is looking for himself, too. Again, using both these images, I think a class could draw a comparison between Junior and themselves. At some point, most students are going to leave their homes/parents/communities/friends, etc. Although the sign is in the foreground, the photograph also features a road (with just three cars on it) and a vast expanse of grassland. It does seem terrifying to face that alone, but it’s also exciting, as Junior’s grandmother understands (Alexie 156)
• ·        Another idea that could inspire students, as they reflect on both images: A nomadic way of life versus that of an insular, tribal one. Junior speaks of this when his sister leaves the reservation and gets married (Alexie 89). His family has lived within the same two-mile radius for more than a hundred years, yet both he and Mary leave home within months of each other. Rowdy, Junior’s best friend, reminds Junior that their ancestors lived a nomadic life (Alexie 229). A class could talk about Junior’s duality of identity as seen by the end of the novel – his willingness to strike out on his own, thereby embracing his heritage
• ·        The themes of independence and individualism could also be examined with these two images. Had Junior been born without his various physical maladies, would he have made the same choice to attend high school away from the reservation? Students could argue that the death warned of in the Highway 87 photo is also a sort of death of spirit, pun intended. This could even be used to introduce another work with Common Core emphasis – The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

These are but a few of the ideas which could be used if pairing the Highway 87 image with the text of this novel.

Works Cited

Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2007. Print.

Frost, Robert. “The Road Not Taken.” Poetry Foundation. 2016. Web. 07 June 2016.

Russell, Allen. Pine Ridge Indian Reservation – South Dakota. 2009. AllenRussellPhoto.com. AllenRussellPhoto.com. Web. 07 June 2016.