Dear diary,

today Arnold told me, he is poor. That makes me feel really bad. I mean, I always complain about my little problems but his problems are existential. Sometimes he says, he has to walk 22 miles from school to the Rez or from home to school. That is simply terrible. I wish I could help him. Maybe we could have done something if he had told me earlier. But he seems to be very proud and doesn’t want to be pitied for his poverty. I think that is very strong. And because of his pride I think it is better if I don’t talk about it with him anymore. I mean, what can I do to change it? Right. Nothing. It doesn’t really seem to bother him, so why should I make a fuss? I should just leave him. But maybe I shouldn’t be so mean to him anymore. I mean he already is kind of my boyfriend but I always keep him at distance for some reason. Maybe it is because of my dad. He frightened Arnold away and now I am scared what will happen if my dad sees him again and how he will react if he finds out that Arnold is poor. Should I break up with him? But that is not fair either. I don’t know what to do.

Well, see you soon,

Penelope

In the following I am going to analyse Arnold’s poverty.

Arnold’s poverty is already mentioned in the second chapter of the book and is one of the main problems of Arnold’s family. Throughout the whole book it gets clear how hard it is to be poor and what consequences that has. Arnold explains that he can never go to college because of their poverty. Arnold’s poverty is also the reason why Arnold had given up on his life and because everyone else on the Rez is poor to, it never really bothered him. He got used to it and never wanted to change it. The only reason, Arnold changed his mind was his geometry teacher Mr.P. He showed Arnold what he has to do to have a better life, which is leaving the Rez. He told him that the hope is gone on the rez because the poverty has been given through generations and nobody can change it if they stay on the Rez. The Indians always have been poor and even the white people on the Rez are poor because the chances for the future are bad and all the wealth and chances and hope lie outside of the Rez. Throughout the book Arnold explains that there are lots of different stages of poverty in the Rez and that people have lots of different ways to handle them. Arnold’s family for example is so poor, they sometimes can’t afford food. Arnold’s dog had to die because of poverty(chapter 2). Also there is no money for Christmas presents or, as already mentioned, for college. Arnold’s father handles the poverty with drinking all the time and spending the last money in the casino. As Arnold explains, some parents even deal with drugs to outcome poverty a bit. When Arnold comes to Reardan he first realises how wealthy the White kids are and feels ashamed of his poverty. In a community of poor kids he never cared about it because everyone was poor but at Reardan he seems to be the only poor child which humiliates him. The fact that sometimes he has to walk to and from school because his parents can’t pay the gas makes it worse for him.

All in all, Arnold’s family as well as all the other Indian families are very poor and suffer from it but refuse to admit it to White people. That’s proves the pride the Indians have and how they still try to enjoy their life.

The novel “the absolutely true diary if a part time Indian”, written by Sherman Alexie and published in year 2007, deals with a boy called Arnold, who has lots of physical and emotional problems. He lives in an Indian reservation and has a hopeless future. He wants to change his destiny and transfers to a school outside of the rez, the Reardan high, where only White children are. The chapter I am summarising is about the most important basketball game for Arnold because after the Reardan team looses against the team of the Wellpinit school, Arnold’s old school, this game is the rematch. Arnold says he is very nervous and wants to come up to the expectations of the team and when he finds out that he is supposed to defend his former best friend, he doesn’t believe in his abilities and says he can’t do it. The coach convinces him to play and now that Arnold believes in himself, he defends Rowdy and scores three points. The Reardan team wins and Arnold feels very proud and happy but when he sees his old team, he feels ashamed of his happiness and starts to cry in the locker room.

All in all, this chapter shows that Arnold feels sorry for betraying his old friends but at the same time how confident Arnold has gotten ever since he goes to Rerdan.