Analyse af 'The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian'

“I was born with water on the brain”, are the first words we hear from Mr. Spirit. Rather, he was born with spinal fluid inside his skull, which resulted in all sorts of physical problems. Life is not easy for Spirit, especially living on a reservation, or “rez” as he would call it. His dad is a drunk, his mother a smart lady, but with nothing to show for it. Rowdy, Spirit’s best friend, is the exact opposite of Spirit. Rowdy also comes from a dysfunctional family, with a father that regularly beats him and a drunk mother. Spirit is a calm-headed, yet emotional guy, who would not dare respond back against a bully. Rowdy is different, he responds with violence the first chance he gets, towards anyone, but Spirit. That describes their relationship.

Spirit would have a bit of a meltdown in geometry class when he accidentally threw his newly handed geometry textbook in Mr. P’s face. This sudden outburst was caused by Spirit finding out that his mother had also been handed the same textbook back in the day. We now truly get a grasp of the educational prosperity (or lack thereof) there is to be found on the rez. Spirit would later, after being suspended, be visited by Mr. P, where he would receive probably the most important message of his life. “You need to leave this place”, is what Mr. P said. Well, not exactly, but something along those lines. And Spirit understood and acted. Now, there aren’t exactly many opportunities on the reservation, so this meant that the “other possibility” had to be considered. Going to a White school.