BellaMiranda

Lively
10thGradeHumanities
10.2.2014

EditorialDraft3

ShermanAlexiesAbsolutelyTrueDiaryofaPartTimeIndian,winneroftheNationalBook
Awardin2007,isoneofthemostpowerfulyoungadultnovelsintheliteraryworld.However,itwas
thesecondmostchallengedbookin2012andhasbeenrepeatedlychallengedbyGailSupola,amother
inBillings,Montana.GailSupolaarguesthatthebookiscompletelyworthlessbecauseitreinforces
stereotypesfromtheperspectiveofaninthgraderwithhorriblelanguage.However,theliteraryworth
ofTheAbsolutelyTrueDiaryofaPartTimeIndianisfarmoresignificantthanitscrudelanguage.
GailSupolahasattemptedtoremovethebookfromtherequiredreadinglistinSchoolDistrict
TwoinBillings,Montana.IntheappealthatSupolawrote,sheclaimsthatShermanAlexiesbook
reinforcesallthenegativestereotypesofhispeopleanddoesitfromthecrude,obsceneandunfiltered
viewpointofaninthgrader.Shealsostatesthatitdoesnothingtoeducateourchildrenaboutthe
positivesinNativeAmericanlife,culture,traditions,beliefsandabilities.Additionally,Supola
believesthatthebookonlyperpetuatedcrudestereotypes.
TheAbsolutelyTrueDiaryhasmanymajorthemesthathavespokentomanypeople,and
reinforcingnegativestereotypesisnotoneofthem.Thebookdoesdealwithmanycontroversial
issuesanddoescontainnegativestereotypesaboutNativeAmericans,howeveritdoesnothingto
reinforceorstrengthenthem.Infact,Arnoldsjourneyshowshowdetrimentaltheyareandhowhe
learnsthattherearemanyothercomponentsthatmakeupahumanbeingotherthanrace.Everything
thathesaysaboutbeingapoor,stupid,SpokaneIndianwasnecessaryinordertoseehimpersevere
throughallofthestereotypesandshowhowharmfulandincorrecttheyreallyare.Ultimately,nearthe
endofthebook,Arnoldrealizeshowwronghewasabouthimselfandwhattribeshefallsinto:
I realized that sure I was a Spokane Indian. I belonged tothat tribe.
But I also belonged to the tribe of American immigrants. And to the
tribe of basketball players. And to the tribe of bookworms. And the
tribe ofcartoonists...Andtothetribe ofteenageboys.Andto thetribe
ofsmalltownkids...Andthetribeofpoverty...Andthetribeof
belovedsons...Itwasahugerealization.(p.217)
TheAbsolutelyTrueDiarydemonstratesclearlythatstereotypesaredestructive,andinorderfor

Alexietoachievethisgoal,itneededtoexhibitthepreviousideasthatArnoldbelievedabouthis
raceandculture.
ThepurposeofShermanAlexiesnovelwasnottoshowthebeautyoftheNativeAmerican
culture.ThenovelmaynotdoanythingtoeducateourchildrenaboutthepositivesinNative
Americanlife,culture,traditions,beliefsandabilities.butthatisnotwhatAlexiewastryingto
accomplish.Itmaybetemptingtosugarcoatreality,butifArnoldwasntplacedinadifficult
environment,thenhewouldnthavehadtopushthroughhishardships.Therealityisthattherewill
alwaysbeobstaclesinlife,butitsimportanttolearntoovercomethem,andthatiswhatthisbook
demonstrates.ItshowsthatArnoldisafighterandhewillcontinuetofightinordertobetterhimself
andhislife.InthisquoteArnoldsteacherisexplainingtohimwhyhedeservesabetterlife:
Youvebeenfighting since youwereborn,hesaid.You fought off
that brain surgery.Youfoughtoff thoseseizures.Youfoughtofallthe
drunksanddrugaddicts.Youkeptyourhope.(p.43)
Maybelifeisntthathardforeveryone,butweallhaveourstruggles,somebiggerthanothers,andour
storiesshouldntbekeptasecretbecausesomepeoplefindthemhardtoswallow.TheAbsolutelyTrue
DiarydemonstratesArnoldschallengeswithissuesthatarestillveryrelevantinhighschoolerslives
today.TheeventsinTheAbsolutelyTrueDiaryareawful,raw,andeverywhere.
TheAbsolutelyTrueDiaryofaPartTimeIndianhasmanypowerfulthemes,andalthough
somemightfindthelanguageoffensive,thethemesthatarebroughtuparemuchmoreimportant.The
booksmessageweighsmoreandisworthmorethanitspotentialinfluenceonyoungadults
vocabulary,andmanyhighschoolersarealreadyusingthesamelanguage.Iagreethateveryparenthas
therighttoshelterwhattheirchildisexposedto,howeverotherstudentsmayfindthebookhopeful,
inspiring,andempowering.Parentsdonothavetherighttotakethebookawayfromtherestofthe
studentsbecausebytakingitawayfromthem,youarealsotakingawayknowledgeandpower.

Bibliography

1. Alexie,Sherman,TheAbsolutelyTrueDiaryofaPartTimeIndian.NewYork:Little,Brown
andco.,2007.Print.

2. "BannedBookWeek."Www.marshall.edu.Web.<http://bit.ly/Ztz5Rv>.

3. Supola,Gail."GailSupolaAppeal."Http://bit.ly/1qYxubR.10June2013.Web.
<http://bit.ly/1qYxubR>

4. "SD2HoldsHearingonShermanAlexieNovel."Billingsgazette.com.Web.
<http://bit.ly/1BcWulK>.

5. Feeds.wordpress.com.Web.<http://bit.ly/1ukq1az>.