Sherman Indian High School is an off-reservation boarding high school for Native Americans. It originally opened in 1892 as the Perris Indian School, in Perris, California. The school was relocated to Riverside, California, in 1903, under the name The Sherman Institute. The school was accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges in 1971, it became known as the Sherman Indian High School (www.wikipedia.org).…
Sherman Alexie was a young Indian child that was driven to know how to read and right. He was determined to turn other opinions, that didn't matter to him, down and set out to do what he had the desire to do. Alexie didn't let the stereotype that ¨he was an Indian¨ slow him down either. Indians were expected to be at a lower education level, but Alexie wasn't willing to obtain that thought. Frustrated with the lack of change in his Indian community, Sherman Alexie sets out to defy stereotypes, and save the lives of those without equal chance through reading and writing.…
"John Smith, the protagonist of Sherman Alexie's novel Indian Killer, is a man caught between the white world and the Indian world, and at home in neither. He is a full-blooded Native American Indian, but was raised by whites, and knows little about his Indian roots. As a result of these circumstances, and the fact that he is a man who appears to be an Indian in a nation of prejudice against Indians, he is a man without…
Sherman Alexie's work is like a straight shot into the mind of a Spokane Indian. Probing every corner of the conscious and bringing forth the thoughts and opinions of his people. Alexie projects through his work the trials…
In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, we see a common theme of a Native American child trying to get a better education for himself. Early on in the novel, Junior finds that his geometry book belonged to his mother before it belonged to him and he threw it at the teacher. “I couldn’t believe that the book belonged to my mother, how horrible is that” (31). This scene really sets the stage for him going out and trying to find a better education for himself. From then on he sets out on his journey beginning with going to a new school.…
Imagine losing your best friend, dog, grandmother and sister in all one year. Junior, the main character in The absolutely true diary of a part time indian by Sherman Alexie overcame this, and more! Junior, the main character, has to also face all the problems of a modern day teenager, while being the only Indian at school, the only Indian who goes to a white school at home, and home being a entire 22 miles from school. Junior endures many things, while in poverty and sadness, which then enables him to help him get through the rest of his life, tougher and more confident of what he can do. The book was placed back when the book was made, 2007, but it could easily be placed in present day.…
Ethnicity determines whether a person will be succesful or not. For example, a white society will receive the best education out there. The graduates of those schools will become doctors and lawyers without a problem. In contrast, a society that is predominantly African American or Latin will receive a mediocre education. Instead of becoming lawyers and doctors, many of those students will end up dropping out. Their futures don’t have much hope for succes. In “Indian Education” by Sherman Alexie, the stereotypes that people aquire relating to certain ethnic groups stifle their education and cause the Native American boys on the reservation to get left behind.…
‘’Indian Education’’ shows the universal theme of overcoming challenges many times throughout it. One example is when the main character, Victor, is in second grade he draws a picture of his teacher on a witch broom, which she sees and yells to him that her god will never forgive him(CITATION). In this examples the culture clash of having different beliefs contributes to the universal theme by the teacher treating him worse from then to the end of the grade level. This is the first time Victor experiences a person of another color looking down on him which makes him learn that he has overcome people treating him different because he is Indian. Another example is when Victor is in tenth grade one of his friends, Wally Jim, kills himself by driving into a tree. When the state troopers ask why he did it all of the Indians say they do not know, but in reality they did not say anything because they knew the white state troopers would not understand(CITATION). The culture clash of the whites not understanding what the Indians have to go through…
Sherman Alexie applies hyperbole strategy. “Our house was filled with books. They were stacked in crazy piles in the bathroom, bedrooms, and living room.” Using his exaggerated speech it shows the reader how much Alexie read growing up. The stacked up books all over the house shows what a tremendous role books had on his life. “We lived on a combination of irregular paychecks, hope, fear, and government surplus food.” For Alexie growing up was not easy living on a reservation and desperately wanted to escape. This hyperbole emphasizes how hard life is for most Indian children, ultimately wanting all children to leave the reservation and not be a stereotypical Indian.…
Determination is a driving force that enables people to succeed in life. In Sherman Alexie’s novel, The Absolutely true diary of a part time Indian, Arnold the protagonist, has a determination and will to succeed and escape the stereotype of Native Americans. Despite the many factors that were going against him, for example Poverty and the way he was raised. He walked to school everyday and battled the bullying and prejudice being dealt to him. He also had a strong determination to overcome his fear of rejection from Penelope and the other kids at Reardan. Poverty, identity and bullying alone can be enough to destruct a path to success, however, the determination Arnold has is enough to overcome all three components.…
“If you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing” (129). This is just one of many insightful quotes that Arnold Spirit has to say that makes him and Victor Joseph very similar. Sherman Alexie is the American novelist who wrote The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and the film Smoke Signals. Both of the main characters in each of these pieces are modern day Indians who have had a tough upbringing. While Arnold (Diary) and Victor (Smoke) are different in many ways such as how they handle bullies, they are similar in their love of basketball and experiences with alcohol.…
Alexie is a smart Indian boy, but he didn’t like to call himself a Native American, if a boy who teaches himself to reading and advances quickly. He can read “grapes and wrath” in kindergarten. And other same age children are struggling “dick and jane”. This boy should be called prodigy. But this boy is an Indian and living on the reservation. This boy is oddity. In other people’s mind the Indian reservation is a place which wind and non-civilization. Also people generally believe that Indian children are not smart. The fail is as it should be.…
Sherman Alexie story “The Joy of Reading and Writing,” lets us know about his educational journey, the journey in which he figured out how to read. He does not recall any of how he learned how to read, but knows that he was three years of age. His father had a passion for reading, and would buy cheap books from pawnshops, the Salvation Army, and other cheap stores. It rubbed off on Alexie, who would start “reading” the books that his father claimed. In spite the fact that he experiences, childhood with a Spokane Indian reservation and is compelled to ignore school and learning, regardless he endeavors to succeed, to save his own life.…
Imagine growing up in a society where you are told that you are dumb and stupid just because of 0your race. Sherman Alexie’s novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian tells the story of how Junior was an outsider because of his race for most of his life, until he made a change. In writing The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie sought to show that determination and hardwork can help you overcome obstacles. Junior not giving up even when he has no support from others and him stepping outside of the box illustrates how dedicated he is to succeeding. Moveover, Junior’s acts of doing things even when he is not expected to demonstrates how hard-working he is.…
Richard Wagamese, Canadian author who wrote the book “ Indian Horse” came to speak at Acadia. I was blown away from his speech. He came to the podium, humble and spoke in his native language. He then translated what he had said, welcoming and thanking everyone in the audience. Wagamese then began retelling his past. He started off with the 60’s scoop, being one of the victims and taken away to a white foster family. He described to have lost family name and his identity. Wagamese faced many hardships in his new home. He described his first feelings of abuse, since he was never hit before; his first hit was so surprising he didn’t know what to feel. Then in school kids would bully him for being “slow”, for not being able to spell the alphabet. No one taught him how to learn, and so he tried to learn all by himself. Then, Wagamese told the audience about a particular teacher. She was the one who stuck with him, discovered his terrible vision, got him glasses, and patiently taught him everyday the alphabet. “Hold on to that story,” Wagamese said.…