Lack of Control and Escape in "The Absolutely True Diary..."

One major theme in "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" is the idea of having control (or not!) over one's fate. When Junior describes his state of poverty, he ends the description with "It's an ugly circle and there's nothing you can do about it" (13). The remainder of the book tells the tale of Junior attempting to take control over his life and his destiny by stopping the spinning circle in its tracks.
This book also deals very much with the concept of escape. The major problem of alcoholism in the Indian reservation undoubtedly results from people's attempts to shut out the reality of life. Everyone, that is, except Junior's grandmother who said "Drinking would shut down my seeing and my hearing and my feeling. Why would I want to be in the world if I can't touch the world with all of my senses intact?" (158) Junior (whose level of maturity should be discussed as well) understands the reasoning behind the drunkenness; as he says, "There are all kinds of addicts, I guess. We all have pain. And we all look for ways to make the pain go away" (107). For most of the people on the reservation, alcohol is that means of escape from reality and the pain it holds. For Mary, it is romance novels. For Junior, it is the drawing of his cartoons, about which he says "I draw because I feel like it might be my only real chance to escape the reservation. I think the world is a series of broken dams and floods, and my cartoons are tiny little lifeboats" (6). Sometimes it is through healthy means, such as drawing or writing, and sometimes it is through damaging means, like alcohol and drugs, but almost everyone has something in their lives that acts as a life boat amidst all confusion and pain.

What do you think about these topics

Here are a few things that I think we should discuss in class
1. the issues of alcoholism for Native Americans living on a reservation
2. what does Alexie want us to know about Native Americans, is he trying to break up stereotypes?
3. Junior's friendships with Rowdy and Gordy

Rowdy

The double face of Rowdy is profound-- his ugliness superimposed on his beauty (image on page 23). I would like to discuss him further in class.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

I feel that we should discuss the issue of being poor in the novel. The feeling that one does not have enough money or as much as everyone else does. The difficulty of finding excuses not to attend events or pretend that you do not want to eat, when you are STARVING!
(As shows by the illustration on pg.120)

"This Is All" Says It All

I have to admit that, at first, the length of this book intimidated me somewhat, especially given the fact that my busy semester leaves me with very little time to read such a long book. However, I want to tell all of you who are feeling this way, to give this book a chance because I have discovered that I somehow am making the time to read it as it has exceeded my expectations in every way. Perhaps it has something to do with my interest in psychology (I hope to go to graduate school for a PhD in psychology), or the fact that it has not been a long while since I have been a teenager, or maybe it is for both of these reasons, but Chambers so accurately depicts the experience of a teenage girl in a way that is quite astounding, especially given the fact that he has never been a teenage girl. The candid language is appealing and so relatable. I am about halfway through the book and I feel like I know Cordelia the way I would know a close friend. I think it is clever the way he presents it as Cordelia writing to her unborn child as well as the way he juxtiposes her memories and reflections upon the past with her actual writings during the periods she is reflecting upon. I also particularly enjoy that he includes poems "written by Cordelia" in her teenage years; I can relate to that as I have always been one to write about my feelings in the form of poetry especially when going through tough times and especially during my teenage years. Cordelia's thoughts, feelings, and experience are deliciously complex, which is characteristic of a teen. As you can tell, I am pretty passionate about this book, but so as not to be a spoiler and so as not to spend the rest of the night writing a lengthy post that will turn out to be longer than the book itself, I will end here... I hope you are all able to make the time to get into this book and discover that you enjoy it even half as much as I am :)

Getting a copy of This Is All

Shakespeare's has This Is All--nine copies. So, pick them up as soon as you can. See you Thursday. Best, Roni Natov

The Graveyard Book

The beginning of The Graveyard Book reminds me of a fireside ghost story, “There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.” That was the kind of story that could give me nightmares for weeks as a child but, after my initial visceral reaction, I found the creepy/scary beginning to be of minor importance. The scene passed quickly, and then I was absorbed completely into the world of the graveyard. I was thinking about the discussion in class with Zeta Elliot about what we all found appealing about children’s literature and what I realized is that The Graveyard Book encompasses a lot of the qualities that were important to me as a child. I looked to books often for guidance that was missing from my own childhood. The Graveyard Book offers a road map of sorts into adulthood. Bod is making the passage through the story from childhood, into adolescence, and finally, as he leaves the graveyard, into adulthood. He has guides who direct his emotional growth: Mrs. Owens, the poet and Silas. There are those responsible for his intellect: Mr. Pennyworth, Miss. Lupescu and Silas, and those who take care of him physically: Mr. and Mrs. Owens, Liza, when he breaks his leg and when he gets trapped, and, again, Silas. “It will ...take a graveyard [to raise this child],” says Silas. Silas seems to have the role of the omnipotent and infallible adult. I know these were qualities I often attributed to adults in my life when I was young. So, if I have any question for you guys, I guess it is, did this story resonate for anyone else as an allegory for growing up? Obviously, Bod’s story is of his development into a young man, but the ways in which Gaiman uses the graveyard and the inhabitants, echo for me, the challenge of trying to grow up in a complicated world.