Sherman Alexie Indian Analysis

In Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Mary is a quiet, high-school graduate recluse living on the Spokane Indian Reservation in the basement of her parents’ house. While Mary’s brother Junior has dreams and aspirations of leaving the reservation, he views Mary as someone destined to live and die on the rez. But, what Junior does not initially see is Mary’s internal need to break the vicious cycle of oppression towards Native Americans. Junior only seeing certain traits of Mary, and his underestimation of her potential, leads to Mary’s rash decision to leave the reservation. Initially, Junior only sees a sliver of the total person who Mary is. He views Mary as a simplistic person who only possesses a few, basic traits. Junior writes in his diary that “After high school, my sister just froze. Didn’t go to college, didn’t get a job. Didn’t do anything. Kind of sad, I
Mary writes two emails to Junior during her time in Montana, and the change in mood between the two is significant. In her first email, Mary is on top of the world, and has never been happier. She writes, “I love it here in Montana. It’s beautiful… Guess what they had on the menu? Yep, for five dollars, you could get fry bread. Crazy!” (100). Days after leaving, Mary is having the time of her life. She seems to have found happiness. But, as time passes, Mary begins to change her upbeat tone. In her second email, she writes, “I am still looking for a job. They keep telling me I don’t have enough experience. But how can I get enough experience if they don’t give me a chance to get experience? Oh, well” (133). Mary’s tone has changed from ecstatic to a realization that this might not have been the right decision. Mary’s daring departure and impulsive marriage are no longer working out in the ways she envisioned, and she begins to realize that her decision may have been foolhardy and not for the