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Internal And External Expectations In The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian

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In “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” internal and external expectations shaped Junior’s life by giving him the strength to grow and give him a reason to live. Growing up in a discriminated Indian reservation, external expectations told Junior to never leave the reservation for something better. “Reservations were supposed to move onto reservations and die. We were supposed to disappear” (216). Everyone around Junior created this picture that Indians were expected to never stray from the reservation. Another external expectation was the reservation expecting Junior to be horrible at basketball which affected Junior’s confidence. “I mean, I’d always been the lowest Indian on the reservation totem pole -- I wasn’t expected to be good so I wasn’t” (180). Since not many …show more content…

One internal expectation for Junior was him never giving up. Junior leaving for Rearden was a part of his internal expectation of fighting against the external expectations. “I had to add my hope to somebody else’s hope. I had to multiply hope by hope” (43). He left the reservation in order to help his outcome of never giving up. Another internal expectation for Junior was him trying his best to live up to everyone’s expectations. He wanted to make people proud. “And as they expected more of me, I expected more of myself,..” (180). Everyone pinned their expectations onto Junior and he wanted to show that he can become stronger. In “Sold,” internal and external expectations shaped Lakshmi’s life by helping her realize that many situations aren’t as they seem and helping her learn how to react to those situations.

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