The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian

Poverty is a widespread issue that affects individuals and communities worldwide, causing a range of social, economic, and health-related challenges. Junior is the protagonist and narrator of Sherman Alexie’s novel, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” who lives on a Spokane Indian Reservation. Many of the people living on the reservation make minimum wage or are unemployed as there is a lack of jobs on the reservation. Junior’s family lives in poverty, with both parents working low-wage jobs. Poverty, gambling, alcoholism and physical abuse are constantly seen on the reservation and have an impact on Junior’s perspective of his identity as a low-income Native American. In Sherman Alexie’s novel, “The Absolutely True Diary of

Throughout the beginning of the novel, Junior experiences difficulty with feelings of low self esteem and worthlessness. Alexie employs dialogue to portray Junior’s perspectives and emotions about his background. Junior often uses a pessimistic tone when referring to his living circumstances, demonstrating that he is ashamed of his socioeconomic status. “I wish I were magical but I am really just a poor-ass-reservation kid living with his poor-ass-family on the poor-ass-Spokane Reservation.” (Alexie 7). Through this quote, the author employs direct characterization to display how poverty negatively impacts Junior’s self-esteem. Alexie directly states how Junior wishes he was magical, illustrating how he sees himself as something less than extraordinary. Further, Junior’s use of the word, “wish” explains how his desire for improving his circumstances are unfulfilled and he feels powerless to change that. Moreover, this use of direct characterization enforces the idea that living in a low-income community can lead to low self esteem and feelings of inadequacy. Secondly, being in the presence of Natives who give up on their hopes due to financial straints can have an impact on one's sense of self. This can lead to feelings of being defined by poverty. Through direct characterization in the form of dialogue, the author portrays how Junior internalizes this mindset. His feelings of hopelessness results in self-blame for his living conditions which exemplifies how poverty causes low self esteem. “It sucks to feel that you somehow deserve to be poor…and because you’re Indian you start believing you’re destined to be poor. It's an ugly circle and there's nothing you can do about it.” (Alexie 13). This quotation exhibits how Alexie uses direct characterization to explore how poverty can be a detriment to one’s self