The Absolute Diary- Final Draft

                                                                                                                                 Myron M. Waters

Prof: DeWit

English: 102

March 7, 2014
                                           Don't let Circumstances limit your Potential

    Through this story, the reader learns that you don’t have to let your circumstances limit your potential. He keeps pushing through.

    Arnold also referred to as Junior, started out life with a struggle. He was born with a condition that filled his skull with too much fluid around his brain. This condition also contributed to numerous other physical abnormalities, such as bad vision, ten extra teeth, a lisp, he stuttered, he had seizures, which added to the damaged brain, he was skinny and had big feet. All of these conditions together made a boy with a very reserved and withdrawn life. And living on the reservation, which meant his family was poor, like most of the families on the reservation added to his struggles. Lastly, after having to deal with all that, the kids on the “rez” weren’t  sympathetic to his condition at all. He was a member of the “Black-eye-of -the-Month-Club (3-5). So because of the taunting and monthly fights, which he almost always lost, he usually stayed to himself, in his room, drawing his cartoons, as a way to express himself. His drawings gave him some solace. Living under conditions that can overwhelm you might give you reason to give up. Or you find a way to deal, and not allow yourself to be swallowed in despair. And self-pity. So Junior found that way to deal. That way to live. To “Just do it”. Which is where Rowdy comes in. Rowdy is his best and only friend on the rez. But he is also much more than that. Rowdy was the big brother he never had. And he was Rowdy’s only other sibling.  Rowdy is somewhat of an alter ego for Junior. Things that he would not normally do alone, and surely had no one else to do it with, he could do with Rowdy. He may have been too  reluctant  to challenge himself on his own. But with Rowdy, who would suggest doing things that took him out of his comfort zone, he would dive right in.

    The challenges of living on the rez for Junior, was that all he saw was hopelessness and drowning. Drowning in alcohol. Done by most on the rez. Including his father. And Rowdy’s father, who not only drank to total excess. Drowning. But also was very abusive to Rowdy. Which made Junior an escape for him. They needed each other. They were each other’s escape. Their reason to continue. The pushing of their limits kept the dreams alive.

Within the book, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, Sherman Alexi the author, writes of many difficult and seemingly insurmountable circumstances Junior finds himself in, but for reasons yet unknown to him, he always finds the strength to overcome them.  

Climbing the “Big Monster” was a critical Ah-ha moment for them. The “Big Monster” was the tallest tree on the rez. The rez’s version of a skyscraper. “It was so tall and green and beautiful”.(224)  So even battling his fears he and Rowdy are off. To conquer another challenge.

     There is more life beyond  the rez,  and being that high over the rez they could even see the beauty of the reservation itself. (225)   Letting them both know, to see it’s beauty you have to rise above. For Junior it meant he would have to leave the rez, though he didn’t know it yet.  The relationship between Junior and Rowdy was one of give and take. They both took shots at each other, but they were also equally supportive. Until Rowdy wasn’t.

    Then it happens. Junior is living his somewhat carefree life and another reality check hits. He goes to school and finds that he is learning  geometry out of the same old book as his mother did some thirty years ago. The realization of everything that has happened in his life to this point had not had the effect that this did. It was more than he could take. He EXPLODED. He was subsequently suspended from school for his actions, and was even more defeated  because he loved school and books.(30) Dealing with his family’s disappointment for throwing the book which hit Mr.P his math teacher, and injuring his nose, bothered him more because he didn’t usually get into trouble, and he had upset his grandmother, whom he loved dearly. Very, very dearly. She was the one who taught him tolerance, the trait he admired most about her.  So  a week into his suspension, Mr. P stops by, and since Indians like to spin lore and like being scared according to Junior, he was sure Mr. P was there to kill him or have him killed. (33) But he wasn’t . He was there to express some personal regrets and confessions. He also wanted to give Junior some words of encouragement.  Mr. P told Junior he understood why he did what he did.  Further into their conversation he reflected on his own ill deeds. Like purposely trying to “kill Indians. Not literally, but he was taught to kill the spirit. We were supposed to make you give up being Indians. Your songs, your stories, your language, and dancing. Everything. We weren’t trying to kill Indian people”. We were supposed to kill the Indian to save the child. He went on to tell Junior he wanted to apologize. He couldn’t apologize to everybody he’d hurt, but he could to Junior. (35) Upon hearing this Junior was furious once again. He wished he had a set of encyclopedia’s to throw at him. He went on to tell Junior how he had also taught his sister and she was ‘aspiring for more than just life on the rez.  He talked with Junior about the dreams of his sister. Of becoming something. Things that made him feel pride and jealousy at the same time. (35) But also how she stifle  those dreams. Junior had already watched his sister retreat from the house to living in the basement. Becoming more and more invisible.

    Mr. P gave Junior a thorough talking to about how his life was supposed to be more than an Indian on a reservation. That he had what it took to do better, be better. He made Junior feel there was more to his life. That he had to leave the rez to find it. He wanted him to find his hope, and he could only find it if he did what he had done so many times before. When he refused to give up while fighting a serious brain condition. When he constantly was getting beat up, even when he beat up himself, and being made fun of. And he was made to think of all the times he overcame his fears and challenges before him. And when he did something about having to learn from a 30yr. old book.  All he needed was to seek his hope. And potential. No matter the challenge. So, welcome to Reardan.

    Junior needed to be near the people who had hope. After Mr. P left, and his parents returned home, he asked, “Who has the most hope?” To which his parents replied, “White people.” (45) Then Junior decided he needed to go where they were, and not the ones on the reservation. They were in as bad or worst shape than he. He wanted to go to school off the reservation. He wanted to go to Reardan, immediately. Like tomorrow. Both parents said yes. Like they knew he had what it took to leave the rez. They were just waiting for him to want it.(46) Even with their blessing, there’s another challenge he’d have to deal with. Getting there.

But like he always did, he kept pushing through, and getting there was only the beginning of his challenges. There was also the other Indians on the reservation, and the hicks and rednecks and racist cops in the town. Then there was Rowdy. He had to convince Rowdy to come to. Which he was unable to do. Now he has lost his emotional and physical security support. And his best friend. But he couldn’t even let that stop him.  So the very next day he walks into the new school in Reardan.

    Going to Reardan brings all the problems that a fourteen year old boy could experience starting at a new school. Being excepted, making new friends,  and trying to learn and fit in to a whole new culture. And remaining true to his own. Life dealt him some terrible blows, like losing his grandmother due to a drunk driver, who he loved so much, and was so proud of him for leaving the rez. Losing Eugene, someone that had given him some acceptance points at the new school, to alcohol.  And finally losing his sister in a fire, drunk off alcohol, which almost sent him over the top. He still refused to give up. And the reality of being poor in a place where nobody else had to deal with that.

    In conclusion, Junior in his fourteen years had faced negative circumstances, obstacles, and fears and always persevered. He always pushed, even when he didn’t know he was pushing, which gave him the courage to continue on, hurdle after hurdle, after hurdle.

HE KEEPS PUSHING THROUGH