ELA Essay

Themes in a book are like layers of a cake. A cake with just frosting wouldn’t be a cake at all! You need the layers in order to maintain a yummy cake. In the book, The Absolute True Story of a Part Time Indian, you discover that this would make one delicious cake! The most important layer is the fact that junior left the reservation. Although he was called a traitor and yelled at, he did it so he wouldn’t have to continue the sad hopeless lifestyle everyone he knows lives. Therefore, Junior leaving the reservation shows what can happen if you put yourself out there.

         Junior is a teenage boy living on an Indian reservation. He lives with his dad, an alcoholic, his caring mother, his understanding mother with the gift of tolerance, his sister who wastes her life sitting in the basement, and his dog. Everything is normal, until he is faced with a possibility of leaving the reservation and going to school. He decides to leave the reservation after speaking with his teacher, known as, “Mr. P.” He leaves, leaving his tribe behind him. At his school he is picked on and teased being the only Indian. His tribe is infuriated with him as well. Then out of the blue his sister leaves randomly with some guy she just met that day to marry him and move to Montana. Shorty after, he sees a girl he knows forcing herself to throw up and tells her to not give up. They become friends, and shortly after he becomes extremely popular. Things are beginning to work out, when his beloved grandmother is hit by a drunk driver and killed. With this entire going on, on top of this, his sister was also killed. Through the insanity, he reconnects with his best friend. This character goes through a lot, but at least now he has his new found hope. 

         Junior encounters different people due to this decision. His decision had a very negative impact on the people around him, but it also had some wonderful outcomes. One example was Mr. P. Junior used his drawings to make fun of Mr. P because of the way he looked. But then Mr. P approached him and motivated him to go out into the real world and become someone better. Another example of this is Penelope. At first she pretended Junior didn’t exist. She was too pretty and popular to talk to the loser Indian. Suddenly, one-day junior caught Penelope making herself throw up. He talked to her and showed her kindness, something she wasn’t too familiar with. After Junior showed Penelope some kindness, she returned his favor. He was suddenly the it-boy. He received popularity, and even made it onto the basketball team. He also opened up about being poor, expecting others to leave him as so many have already. But instead he was faced with gratitude from people he least expected to bat an eye at.

         Junior didn’t have it easy, but he found an escape. Through basketball. And leaving the reservation gave him an opportunity to thrive. With a dedicated team and a motivational basketball coach, he could achieve anything. He worked hard and he gradually became one of the best players on the team.  At the end of the book he is playing with Rowdy head to head. I think basketball is a symbol of hope. Junior was always good at basketball, but it wasn’t until he fed and nourished this talent that he achieved anything.

         This book beautifully illustrates loss and hope through humor. It shows Junior’s struggle internally and externally. He is faced with lots of challenges, but in the end the best decision he ever made was leaving the reservation.