Absoutely True Diary Of a Part Time Indian

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The absolutely true diary of a part time Indian is a semi-autobiographical novel by Sherman Alexie. It raises a lot of controversial topics and issues. Socioeconomic status, substance abuse, education and life expectancy are all issues that make the gap between indigenous and European people so prominent. The chapter “why chicken means so much to me” highlights the issue of poverty in a humorous yet confronting manner. Junior uses the example of his dog Oscar’s death to reinforce the extent of their poverty. Repetition is also use to inform us that they “came from poor people who came from poor people who came from poor people”. Alexie skilfully tows with our emotions as we empathise with junior pain of losing his dog. The death of Oscar who is so innocent is a symbol of the destruction that goes on in the reservation because of poverty. This realistic recounting of events is structured in a conversational style and draws us in as we live with junior. “So I heard the boom of my father’s rifle when he shot my best friend. A bullet only costs about two cents, and anybody can afford that”. This shocking end to the chapter sends us back to reality and the fact that he had to shoot his best friend because of his poverty and also establishes a factual and confronting tone for the book. 1 in 10 native American deaths are alcohol related this is 3 times more than the general population. “Stereotype implies that it's not real, and it's absolutely real. On my reservation, in my family, alcoholism was epidemic. So anybody who thinks it's a stereotype, alcoholism among Native Americans, is a romantic fool.” Was Sherman Alexie’s replied when asked about the stereotype of alcoholic Indians. This idea was carried over to his book. Everybody’s death in this book was alcohol related, his grandma was killed by a drunk driver, his uncle Eugene shot in the head over the last sip

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