Arnold Junior Spirit

Arnold
Spirit Junior is the main character in the book as well as the narrator. He is a
hydrocephalic which means that he has seizers and basically has a
damaged brain. Arnold is different than others he has glasses that are too large
for his face and he has too many teeth. He is an Indian that lives on a poor
reservation with his mom, dad, sister, and grandma. He loves to draw and wants
to be a cartoonist. Arnold states So I draw because I want to talk to the
world, and I want the world to pay attention to me (5). Junior has a hard time
fitting in with others. He gets picked on and judged for being unique. Arnold is
trying to find hope outside the reservation. The only way he can do that is to
leave his reservation life and go to a different school. Arnold states We
reservation Indians dont get to realize our dreams (13). When Arnold
transferred schools it was more difficult for him to fit in, because the
reservation Indians didnt accept him anymore. His only true friend that he
could actually rely on was Rowdy.

Rowdy (Arnolds Best Friend)

Rowdy is Arnold best friend. They go through

everything together. To Arnold, Rowdy is his body guard. Rowdy is a tough guy
with a rough background. His dad is an alcoholic and has a bad temper when he
gets drunk. Most of the time Rowdy is his dads punching bag. He sometimes leaves
his house with a black eye. He shows no emotion and is very tough when it comes
to situations that he and Arnold encounter. Arnold says Rowdy is the toughest
kid on the reservation he is long, lean, and strong like a snake (15). During
the book Arnold and Rowdys relationship gets really rocky. Rowdys temper rises
when he finds out that Arnold is transferring to a different school. Rowdy and
Arnold begin to drift as Arnold meets new people.

Penelope (Arnolds Girlfriend)

Penelope is your typical blonde hair blue eyed

girl. She goes to Arnold new school Wellpinit. Penelope is the first person
Arnold meets at his new school. Arnold starts to develop a crush on her.
Penelope takes no interest into him in the beginning of the book. As their
relationship develops they realize that they have things in common. They both
are dreamers; they want to become something different. Throughout the book
they
help each other solve their problems and situations. One day when penople was in
the bathroom Arnold caught her puking, and he found out that she was bulimic.
That has made their relationship stronger in the end. Penople is one of the first
people Arnold can actually trust at his new school.

Characterisation Junior

Arnold Spirit Jr, the main character, is a fourteen year old Indian boy who lives in a
reservation. He is in the centre of the story and he leads the reader through it. He
also describes the plot by expressing his feelings.

He looks strangely proportioned according to his own description. His body is

skinny because his family sometimes has no food. Because of that and his big feet
and long legs he looks like "a big L". When he was born he had too much brain
grease, he was hydrocephalic. So he has a big head and he is sometimes called
"globe". Junior seems to be handicapped because of his seizures and his lopsided
eyes. The boy describes himself looking like a retard, because he also has a stutter
and a lisp.

Junior is honest and straight, e.g. he talks frankly about masturbating: "Everybody
does it."(p.28, line 5 and 6). He is decent. You can see that from his resistance
against alcohol and drugs, which play a decisive role in reservations. And he is also
very strong because he does not abandon hope while he is bearing the sad reality
and the daily humiliations of his life. He is excited about school especially
geometry. Junior even wanted to kiss his book. His family is of big importance to
him, too. Junior isn't very self-confident although everyone says that he "deserves
the world" except himself. "I think I'm worse than everybody else" he says on page
51. But Junior is very courageous, because he went to Reardan where he is an
absolute stranger. There he becomes more confident and because of his new poise
he gets better in playing basketball. Junior loves Rowdy although he got really mad
when Junior revealed his plan to go to Reardan. He is very desolate and he really
wants them to be best friends again but Rowdy is too disappointed being left
alone. So he takes revenge on Junior and harms him in their first basketball match.
Because of that Juniors wrath grows. So he defeats Rowdy in the second game but
after that he has a guilty conscience. In the end they get friends again but
something is broken between them. Junior venerates his grandmother and he loves
his sister very much and because of that he is almost stunned by huge sorrow when
they die. But his parents and his new friends in Reardan, Penelope, Gordy and even
Roger, give him hope.

Junior acts emotionally. This can be seen when he throws a book in Mr. P's face or
when he cries once he has to say goodbye to Rowdy. He draws cartoons to handle
emotions. While he is drawing cartoons he feels safe and he wants to get
attention."I draw because words are too limited" (p.9, line 6). Junior shows that he
understands how racism influences his family life. You can see that in the cartoon
"Who my parents would have been if somebody would have paid attention to their
dreams " (p.15). Junior does not like to be poor. He describes poverty as an ugly
circle which kills all of your hopes. But Junior is not hopeless yet. In Mr. P`s
opinion he is the only person in the whole reservation who has not given up.
Because of that Junior changes schools. Now he goes to school in Reardan, a small
town "filled with farmers and rednecks and racist cops" (p. 46, line 26). At first he
has been mocked by some white guys and so he punches Roger, their leader, in his
face. With this action he gains their respect. He also gets to know Penelope, a
"totally, absolutely gorgeous" (cartoon p.57) blond white girl who is bulimic. They
become a "hot item" (p.100, line 6). In Reardan Junior tries out for the basketball
team and ends up on the varsity. In spite of his new confidence Junior tries to hide
his poverty. It is very unpleasant for him. Later he cant pretend anymore but his
friends are very likeable and dear to him.

Junior's sayings including his thoughts are not always polite. Sometimes he talks
rudely, e.g. he says swearwords like "shoot" on page 35, line 21 or "fricking" on
page 40 in line 28. But he also has lovely thoughts, e.g. when he thinks about Mary.
He expresses himself realistically and sometimes sarcastically. That is because of
the emotional situation and the sad reality. His humour helps him to handle these
things.Junior has a poor Indian family who lives in a reservation. Because they are
Indians, they are predestined to be poor outsiders. They have not enough money as
can be seen at the beginning of the book when they could not pay the vet for the
dog Oscar and they sometimes have to miss a meal. A possible reason for this
situation could be that his parents just do sporadic work which is typical of Indians
in reservations. But in those reservations many people die. There are many reasons
but this is a big difference between Indians and white people. Juniors whole
social environment has no hope. But in Reardan the people have hope. They are
white and they have the chance to do everything. Because Junior goes to school
there he gets a piece of their hope.

characterisation Rowdy
Everybody needs a friend. But why are two boys as different as Rowdy and Junior
best friends?

Junior and Rowdy were born on the same day and because of this the boys have
known each other for a very long time. Rowdy has been living with his father and
his mother in the reservation since the day he was born. His childhood and youth
were not easy because the father beats his son up every time he gets drunk. So the
relation of father and son is affected by violence, contempt and aggression. Junior
emphasizes this fact by saying And I knew that Rowdys father was probably going
to beat the crap out of him for losing this game (p. 179 lines 14 and 15). Knowing
this you can comprehend the reasons for his behavior. He is very aggressive and
beats up other kids randomly and even Junior had to suffer during their friendship.

But a coin has two sides. Rowdy loves comics like Casper - the friendly ghost
because life seems to be much better in those comic books. I guess a fake life
inside a cartoon is a lot better than his real life (p. 26 lines 10 and 11). Junior
suspects that this is the reason for Rowdy to like those stories and he is the only
person who knows this secret of Rowdy.

Although Rowdy is strong and mean like a snake, he protects his best friend who is
very weak. For 14 years he was the only guy who did not beat Junior up; yet after
Arnold has left the reservation he shows no respect. Junior even suspects that his
former best friend was one of the guys who beat him up at Halloween. The best
example for their growing conflict is the first basketball match of Wellpinit and
Reardan. He wanted to play. He didnt want to turn his back on me. He wanted to
kill me, face-to-face. This quote describes his frustration and shows that he wants
payback for being left alone on the reservation.

But such an ambition to accomplish something, Rowdy only shows when he is

playing basketball. That is why he is the best and most talented player of the team
and he acts determined because he wants to win. Rowdy is a boy who was always
interested in basketball and because of this, winning those games is important for
him to show that he is head and shoulders above Junior, the traitor who left the
reservation.

Both guys seem to be archenemies but the death of Mary, who felt like a sister to
Rowdy, since the Spirits took care of him as contrasted with the boy's father,
reunites Junior with Rowdy.
The bad boy realizes that he cannot address reproach Junior just because the
latter wants to realize his dreams.

Rowdy only shows ambition at basketball and not much effort for getting good
marks at school. Therefore Mr. P does not think that there is any hope for Rowdy
but the boy reads a book for Junior.This action shows that Rowdy finally
understands how important friendship is to get through teenage years.

charcaterisation Junior's parents

In the book "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian", the parents of Junior
play an important role. Therefore I write a characterization of them.

Juniors parents live on a reservation in the US. They are very poor and therefore
they can not offer their son a lot. Both are alcoholics. Reasons for that could be
that they have no contact with the outside world and since they have lived their
whole lives on the reservation. But they do not beat their son, as it is usual in this
tribe. They ignore him and yell at him, especially when they have been drinking
and can not control themselves.

The mother is a "Spokane Indian" and takes time for her hobbys. She reads many
books. So you can see, that she is educated and intelligent. However, she does not
use it. Junior's suffering particulary from poverty, especially in the period when his
dog Oscar is sick and needs to be looked after and the mother says: "I`m sorry, but
we do not have any money for Oscar!" Out of sheer anger she sometimes does not
know what to do and thinks about giving her son a little pat, but her husband
parents (???)this.

Juniors father is a good singer. He sings his favourite old country- and blues-songs.
He also plays instruments such as the saxophone and the piano.The father loves
Junior so much, that he could never hit him.

In the end I think, that it is not easy for the family, especially for Junior to live in
such poverty. But they got used to living in this situation.

charcaterisation Mary

Mary lives with her family in a reservation. She is the sister of the main character
Junior. Her family is really poor, because the parents are jobless and they are
Indians. Mary doesnt have a boyfriend in the beginning of the book, but she gets
to know somebody later.

She is quite a smart kid even smarter than Junior (p.38 l.3) and she is also
beautiful, strong and funny (p.28 l.26). Distinctive is the lightening-bolt tattoo on
the back of her neck. Tattoos are typical for the Indian culture and so we can say
that she is connected with this culture. Mary looks like Jennifer Lopez and likes to
wear tie-dyed T-shirts, "distressed" blue jeans and Birkenstock sandals. Also typical
are the acne scars in her face.

After high school she doesnt go to college or get a job. She just freezes and
spends twenty-three hours a day alone in the basement. This behaviour and the
fact that she actually lives in the basement explain that she wants to be alone and
that she dreads crowds. Concerning this and because Junior thinks she is crazy and
directionless he calls her Mary Runs Away.

Mary likes to read Indian Romance Novels and also writes them. But she doesnt
tell this to anyone except Mr.P. Even her brother only finds out when talking to Mr
P, which indicates Marys shyness. She is afraid that someone could laugh at her
stories.
Junior likes her (p.140 l. 4). He is surprised that his sister is able to do something
like that (WOWp.40 l.13 ). He is interested in Marys hobby and would grudge
her the success if she ever published her stories.

Mary gets a criminal twist. She does that, because of the poverty in her family. She
snatches clothes (cartoon on page 29 "shoplifted), but the police dont arrest her.

In the second part of her life she gets to know her boyfriend, moves to Montana
and marries him. This new enthusiasm starts to spread and she starts looking for a
job and plans on writing her life story (letter on page 123). When we count these
facts together, we can see that Mary reacts spontaneously and - because of her
newly found happiness (p.140 l.10) there - it was the right decision .

Her death comes suddenly. Mary and her husband have had a big party in their
trailer and drank a lot of alcohol. And alcohol seems to be the Grim Reaper for
Indians, because while they were both drunk in the bedroom, somebody forgot to
turn of a hot plate and consequently the trailer burnt down quickly (p.187).

Concluding I must notice that Mary was an aimless, insecure, depressed and
apologetic girl until she moved to Montana. She enjoyed the time there and
started to live like a normal human (she looked for a job). Her death shocked
her family and Junior especially.