characterisation Junior
Arnold Spirit Jr, the main character, is a fourteen year old Indian boy who lives in a reservation. He is in the centre of the story and he leads the reader through it. He also describes the plot by expressing his feelings.
He looks strangely proportioned according to his own description. His body is skinny because his family sometimes has no food. Because of that and his big feet and long legs he looks like "a big L". When he was born he had too much brain grease, he was hydrocephalic. So he has a big head and he is sometimes called "globe". Junior seems to be handicapped because of his seizures and his lopsided eyes. The boy describes himself looking like a retard, because he also has a stutter and a lisp.
Junior is honest and straight, e.g. he talks frankly about masturbating: "Everybody does it."(p.28, line 5 and 6). He is decent. You can see that from his resistance against alcohol and drugs, which play a decisive role in reservations. And he is also very strong because he does not abandon hope while he is bearing the sad reality and the daily humiliations of his life. He is excited about school especially geometry. Junior even wanted to kiss his book. His family is of big importance to him, too. Junior isn't very self-confident although everyone says that he "deserves the world" except himself. "I think I'm worse than everybody else" he says on page 51. But Junior is very courageous, because he went to Reardan where he is an absolute stranger. There he becomes more confident and because of his new poise he gets better in playing basketball. Junior loves Rowdy although he got really mad when Junior revealed his plan to go to Reardan. He is very desolate and he really wants them to be best friends again but Rowdy is too disappointed being left alone. So he takes revenge on Junior and harms him in their first basketball match. Because of that Junior´s wrath grows. So he defeats Rowdy in the second game but after that he has a guilty conscience. In the end they get friends again but something is broken between them. Junior venerates his grandmother and he loves his sister very much and because of that he is almost stunned by huge sorrow when they die. But his parents and his new friends in Reardan, Penelope, Gordy and even Roger, give him hope.
Junior acts emotionally. This can be seen when he throws a book in Mr. P's face or when he cries once he has to say goodbye to Rowdy. He draws cartoons to handle emotions. While he is drawing cartoons he feels safe and he wants to get attention."I draw because words are too limited" (p.9, line 6). Junior shows that he understands how racism influences his family life. You can see that in the cartoon "Who my parents would have been if somebody would have paid attention to their dreams " (p.15). Junior does not like to be poor. He describes poverty as an ugly circle which kills all of your hopes. But Junior is not hopeless yet. In Mr. P`s opinion he is the only person in the whole reservation who has not given up. Because of that Junior changes schools. Now he goes to school in Reardan, a small town "filled with farmers and rednecks and racist cops" (p. 46, line 26). At first he has been mocked by some white guys and so he punches Roger, their leader, in his face. With this action he gains their respect. He also gets to know Penelope, a "totally, absolutely gorgeous" (cartoon p.57) blond white girl who is bulimic. They become a "hot item" (p.100, line 6). In Reardan Junior tries out for the basketball team and ends up on the varsity. In spite of his new confidence Junior tries to hide his poverty. It is very unpleasant for him. Later he can´t pretend anymore but his friends are very likeable and dear to him.
Junior's sayings including his thoughts are not always polite. Sometimes he talks rudely, e.g. he says swearwords like "shoot" on page 35, line 21 or "fricking" on page 40 in line 28. But he also has lovely thoughts, e.g. when he thinks about Mary. He expresses himself realistically and sometimes sarcastically. That is because of the emotional situation and the sad reality. His humour helps him to handle these things.Junior has a poor Indian family who lives in a reservation. Because they are Indians, they are predestined to be poor outsiders. They have not enough money as can be seen at the beginning of the book when they could not pay the vet for the dog Oscar and they sometimes have to miss a meal. A possible reason for this situation could be that his parents just do sporadic work which is typical of Indians in reservations. But in those reservations many people die. There are many reasons but this is a big difference between Indians and white people. Junior´s whole social environment has no hope. But in Reardan the people have hope. They are white and they have the chance to do everything. Because Junior goes to school there he gets a piece of their hope.
characterisation Rowdy
Everybody needs a friend. But why are two boys as different as Rowdy and Junior best friends?
Junior and Rowdy were born on the same day and because of this the boys have known each other for a very long time. Rowdy has been living with his father and his mother in the reservation since the day he was born. His childhood and youth were not easy because the father beats his son up every time he gets drunk. So the relation of father and son is affected by violence, contempt and aggression. Junior emphasizes this fact by saying “And I knew that Rowdy’s father was probably going to beat the crap out of him for losing this game” (p. 179 lines 14 and 15). Knowing this you can comprehend the reasons for his behavior. He is very aggressive and beats up other kids randomly and even Junior had to suffer during their friendship.
But a coin has two sides. Rowdy loves comics like “Casper - the friendly ghost“ because life seems to be much better in those comic books. “I guess a fake life inside a cartoon is a lot better than his real life” (p. 26 lines 10 and 11). Junior suspects that this is the reason for Rowdy to like those stories and he is the only person who knows this secret of Rowdy.
Although Rowdy is strong and mean like a snake, he protects his best friend who is very weak. For 14 years he was the only guy who did not beat Junior up; yet after Arnold has left the reservation he shows no respect. Junior even suspects that his former best friend was one of the guys who beat him up at Halloween. The best example for their growing conflict is the first basketball match of Wellpinit and Reardan. “He wanted to play. He didn’t want to turn his back on me. He wanted to kill me, face-to-face.” This quote describes his frustration and shows that he wants payback for being left alone on the reservation.
But such an ambition to accomplish something, Rowdy only shows when he is playing basketball. That is why he is the best and most talented player of the team and he acts determined because he wants to win. Rowdy is a boy who was always interested in basketball and because of this, winning those games is important for him to show that he is head and shoulders above Junior, the traitor who left the reservation.
Both guys seem to be archenemies but the death of Mary, who felt like a sister to Rowdy, since the Spirits took care of him as contrasted with the boy's father, reunites Junior with Rowdy.
The bad boy realizes that he cannot address reproach Junior just because the latter wants to realize his dreams.
Rowdy only shows ambition at basketball and not much effort for getting good marks at school. Therefore Mr. P does not think that there is any hope for Rowdy but the boy reads a book for Junior.This action shows that Rowdy finally understands how important friendship is to get through teenage years.
charcaterisation Junior's parents
In the book "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian", the parents of Junior play an important role. Therefore I write a characterization of them.
Arnold Spirit Jr, the main character, is a fourteen year old Indian boy who lives in a reservation. He is in the centre of the story and he leads the reader through it. He also describes the plot by expressing his feelings.
He looks strangely proportioned according to his own description. His body is skinny because his family sometimes has no food. Because of that and his big feet and long legs he looks like "a big L". When he was born he had too much brain grease, he was hydrocephalic. So he has a big head and he is sometimes called "globe". Junior seems to be handicapped because of his seizures and his lopsided eyes. The boy describes himself looking like a retard, because he also has a stutter and a lisp.
Junior is honest and straight, e.g. he talks frankly about masturbating: "Everybody does it."(p.28, line 5 and 6). He is decent. You can see that from his resistance against alcohol and drugs, which play a decisive role in reservations. And he is also very strong because he does not abandon hope while he is bearing the sad reality and the daily humiliations of his life. He is excited about school especially geometry. Junior even wanted to kiss his book. His family is of big importance to him, too. Junior isn't very self-confident although everyone says that he "deserves the world" except himself. "I think I'm worse than everybody else" he says on page 51. But Junior is very courageous, because he went to Reardan where he is an absolute stranger. There he becomes more confident and because of his new poise he gets better in playing basketball. Junior loves Rowdy although he got really mad when Junior revealed his plan to go to Reardan. He is very desolate and he really wants them to be best friends again but Rowdy is too disappointed being left alone. So he takes revenge on Junior and harms him in their first basketball match. Because of that Junior´s wrath grows. So he defeats Rowdy in the second game but after that he has a guilty conscience. In the end they get friends again but something is broken between them. Junior venerates his grandmother and he loves his sister very much and because of that he is almost stunned by huge sorrow when they die. But his parents and his new friends in Reardan, Penelope, Gordy and even Roger, give him hope.
Junior acts emotionally. This can be seen when he throws a book in Mr. P's face or when he cries once he has to say goodbye to Rowdy. He draws cartoons to handle emotions. While he is drawing cartoons he feels safe and he wants to get attention."I draw because words are too limited" (p.9, line 6). Junior shows that he understands how racism influences his family life. You can see that in the cartoon "Who my parents would have been if somebody would have paid attention to their dreams " (p.15). Junior does not like to be poor. He describes poverty as an ugly circle which kills all of your hopes. But Junior is not hopeless yet. In Mr. P`s opinion he is the only person in the whole reservation who has not given up. Because of that Junior changes schools. Now he goes to school in Reardan, a small town "filled with farmers and rednecks and racist cops" (p. 46, line 26). At first he has been mocked by some white guys and so he punches Roger, their leader, in his face. With this action he gains their respect. He also gets to know Penelope, a "totally, absolutely gorgeous" (cartoon p.57) blond white girl who is bulimic. They become a "hot item" (p.100, line 6). In Reardan Junior tries out for the basketball team and ends up on the varsity. In spite of his new confidence Junior tries to hide his poverty. It is very unpleasant for him. Later he can´t pretend anymore but his friends are very likeable and dear to him.
Junior's sayings including his thoughts are not always polite. Sometimes he talks rudely, e.g. he says swearwords like "shoot" on page 35, line 21 or "fricking" on page 40 in line 28. But he also has lovely thoughts, e.g. when he thinks about Mary. He expresses himself realistically and sometimes sarcastically. That is because of the emotional situation and the sad reality. His humour helps him to handle these things.Junior has a poor Indian family who lives in a reservation. Because they are Indians, they are predestined to be poor outsiders. They have not enough money as can be seen at the beginning of the book when they could not pay the vet for the dog Oscar and they sometimes have to miss a meal. A possible reason for this situation could be that his parents just do sporadic work which is typical of Indians in reservations. But in those reservations many people die. There are many reasons but this is a big difference between Indians and white people. Junior´s whole social environment has no hope. But in Reardan the people have hope. They are white and they have the chance to do everything. Because Junior goes to school there he gets a piece of their hope.
characterisation Rowdy
Everybody needs a friend. But why are two boys as different as Rowdy and Junior best friends?
Junior and Rowdy were born on the same day and because of this the boys have known each other for a very long time. Rowdy has been living with his father and his mother in the reservation since the day he was born. His childhood and youth were not easy because the father beats his son up every time he gets drunk. So the relation of father and son is affected by violence, contempt and aggression. Junior emphasizes this fact by saying “And I knew that Rowdy’s father was probably going to beat the crap out of him for losing this game” (p. 179 lines 14 and 15). Knowing this you can comprehend the reasons for his behavior. He is very aggressive and beats up other kids randomly and even Junior had to suffer during their friendship.
But a coin has two sides. Rowdy loves comics like “Casper - the friendly ghost“ because life seems to be much better in those comic books. “I guess a fake life inside a cartoon is a lot better than his real life” (p. 26 lines 10 and 11). Junior suspects that this is the reason for Rowdy to like those stories and he is the only person who knows this secret of Rowdy.
Although Rowdy is strong and mean like a snake, he protects his best friend who is very weak. For 14 years he was the only guy who did not beat Junior up; yet after Arnold has left the reservation he shows no respect. Junior even suspects that his former best friend was one of the guys who beat him up at Halloween. The best example for their growing conflict is the first basketball match of Wellpinit and Reardan. “He wanted to play. He didn’t want to turn his back on me. He wanted to kill me, face-to-face.” This quote describes his frustration and shows that he wants payback for being left alone on the reservation.
But such an ambition to accomplish something, Rowdy only shows when he is playing basketball. That is why he is the best and most talented player of the team and he acts determined because he wants to win. Rowdy is a boy who was always interested in basketball and because of this, winning those games is important for him to show that he is head and shoulders above Junior, the traitor who left the reservation.
Both guys seem to be archenemies but the death of Mary, who felt like a sister to Rowdy, since the Spirits took care of him as contrasted with the boy's father, reunites Junior with Rowdy.
The bad boy realizes that he cannot address reproach Junior just because the latter wants to realize his dreams.
Rowdy only shows ambition at basketball and not much effort for getting good marks at school. Therefore Mr. P does not think that there is any hope for Rowdy but the boy reads a book for Junior.This action shows that Rowdy finally understands how important friendship is to get through teenage years.
charcaterisation Junior's parents
In the book "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian", the parents of Junior play an important role. Therefore I write a characterization of them.
Juniors parents live on a reservation in the US. They are very poor and therefore they can not offer their son a lot. Both are alcoholics. Reasons for that could be that they have no contact with the outside world and since they have lived their whole lives on the reservation. But they do not beat their son, as it is usual in this tribe. They ignore him and yell at him, especially when they have been drinking and can not control themselves.
The mother is a "Spokane Indian" and takes time for her hobbys. She reads many books. So you can see, that she is educated and intelligent. However, she does not use it. Junior's suffering particulary from poverty, especially in the period when his dog Oscar is sick and needs to be looked after and the mother says: "I`m sorry, but we do not have any money for Oscar!" Out of sheer anger she sometimes does not know what to do and thinks about giving her son a little pat, but her husband parents (???)this.
Juniors father is a good singer. He sings his favourite old country- and blues-songs. He also plays instruments such as the saxophone and the piano.The father loves Junior so much, that he could never hit him.
In the end I think, that it is not easy for the family, especially for Junior to live in such poverty. But they got used to living in this situation.
charcaterisation Mary
Mary lives with her family in a reservation. She is the sister of the main character Junior. Her family is really poor, because the parents are jobless and they are Indians. Mary doesn’t have a boyfriend in the beginning of the book, but she gets to know somebody later.
She is quite a smart kid even smarter than Junior (p.38 l.3) and she is also beautiful, strong and funny (p.28 l.26). Distinctive is the lightening-bolt tattoo on the back of her neck. Tattoos are typical for the Indian culture and so we can say that she is connected with this culture. Mary looks like Jennifer Lopez and likes to wear tie-dyed T-shirts, "distressed" blue jeans and Birkenstock sandals. Also typical are the acne scars in her face.
After high school she doesn’t go to college or get a job. She just freezes and spends twenty-three hours a day alone in the basement. This behaviour and the fact that she actually lives in the basement explain that she wants to be alone and that she dreads crowds. Concerning this and because Junior thinks she is crazy and directionless he calls her “Mary Runs Away“.
Mary likes to read “Indian Romance Novels“ and also writes them. But she doesn’t tell this to anyone except Mr.P. Even her brother only finds out when talking to Mr P, which indicates Mary’s shyness. She is afraid that someone could laugh at her stories.
Junior likes her (p.140 l. 4). He is surprised that his sister is able to do something like that (“WOW…”p.40 l.13 ). He is interested in Mary’s hobby and would grudge her the success if she ever published her stories.
Mary gets a criminal twist. She does that, because of the poverty in her family. She snatches clothes (cartoon on page 29 "shoplifted”), but the police don’t arrest her.
In the second part of her life she gets to know her boyfriend, moves to Montana and marries him. This new enthusiasm starts to spread and she starts looking for a job and plans on writing her life story (letter on page 123). When we count these facts together, we can see that Mary reacts spontaneously and - because of her newly found happiness (p.140 l.10) there - it was the right decision .
Her death comes suddenly. Mary and her husband have had a big party in their trailer and drank a lot of alcohol. And alcohol seems to be the Grim Reaper for Indians, because while they were both drunk in the bedroom, somebody forgot to turn of a hot plate and consequently the trailer burnt down quickly (p.187).
Concluding I must notice that Mary was an aimless, insecure, depressed and apologetic girl until she moved to Montana. She enjoyed the time there and started to live like a “normal human” (she looked for a job…). Her death shocked her family and Junior especially.
She is quite a smart kid even smarter than Junior (p.38 l.3) and she is also beautiful, strong and funny (p.28 l.26). Distinctive is the lightening-bolt tattoo on the back of her neck. Tattoos are typical for the Indian culture and so we can say that she is connected with this culture. Mary looks like Jennifer Lopez and likes to wear tie-dyed T-shirts, "distressed" blue jeans and Birkenstock sandals. Also typical are the acne scars in her face.
After high school she doesn’t go to college or get a job. She just freezes and spends twenty-three hours a day alone in the basement. This behaviour and the fact that she actually lives in the basement explain that she wants to be alone and that she dreads crowds. Concerning this and because Junior thinks she is crazy and directionless he calls her “Mary Runs Away“.
Mary likes to read “Indian Romance Novels“ and also writes them. But she doesn’t tell this to anyone except Mr.P. Even her brother only finds out when talking to Mr P, which indicates Mary’s shyness. She is afraid that someone could laugh at her stories.
Junior likes her (p.140 l. 4). He is surprised that his sister is able to do something like that (“WOW…”p.40 l.13 ). He is interested in Mary’s hobby and would grudge her the success if she ever published her stories.
Mary gets a criminal twist. She does that, because of the poverty in her family. She snatches clothes (cartoon on page 29 "shoplifted”), but the police don’t arrest her.
In the second part of her life she gets to know her boyfriend, moves to Montana and marries him. This new enthusiasm starts to spread and she starts looking for a job and plans on writing her life story (letter on page 123). When we count these facts together, we can see that Mary reacts spontaneously and - because of her newly found happiness (p.140 l.10) there - it was the right decision .
Her death comes suddenly. Mary and her husband have had a big party in their trailer and drank a lot of alcohol. And alcohol seems to be the Grim Reaper for Indians, because while they were both drunk in the bedroom, somebody forgot to turn of a hot plate and consequently the trailer burnt down quickly (p.187).
Concluding I must notice that Mary was an aimless, insecure, depressed and apologetic girl until she moved to Montana. She enjoyed the time there and started to live like a “normal human” (she looked for a job…). Her death shocked her family and Junior especially.
