Blog Post #12: Sherman Alexie's "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian"

First and foremost, I just have to say it was really awesome to read a novel set in the Inland Northwest. I have wanted to read Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian for so long, and I’m thankful this class provided me the opportunity to do so.

Summary:

 The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian depicts the tale of Arnold Spirit, Jr., a fourteen-year-old growing up on the Spokane Tribe Indian Reservation. In an effort to forge his own future, Arnold, leaves the reservation school, where he is teased and beaten on regular basis, to go to a High School in a near-by farm town, that is made up of all whites, and the only other Indian he comes across is the School Mascot. The book is loosely based on Sherman Alexie's own life. Scattered throughout are emotionally moving drawings, which Arnold uses to escape the “series of broken dams and floods” that plague his life. The drawings are his “tiny little lifeboats” that get him through the day. This is one of my favorite parts of the novel, and I have so many students in my placement classroom that I think would connect with this feeling. An outsider in both worlds, Arnold is able to sum up, through the perspective of a young adolescent, the difference between his culture as a Native American and the white people he is surrounded by: “I’m 14 years old, and I’ve been to 42 funerals…That’s really the biggest difference between Indians and White people”.

Obstacles:

We are all pretty aware of the fact that this book is one of the most frequently banned books of the 21^st century. In fact, a quick Google search took me to the ALA’s “Top ten frequently challenged

books list of the 21^st century,” and sure enough the novel was listed in the number one spot. As I read this book, I obviously noticed the offensive language, the sexually explicit passages, and the drugs/alcohol/smoking. Although I in no way support the banning of books, because it absolutely restricts everyone’s freedom to read, I can understand why some of these topics may cause concern for parents. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, even if it differs from mine, and all parents are simply attempting to be the best parent they can be for their child. But one of the reasons for banning that shocks me the most is “depictions of bullying.” What?!? This is such a real and massive issue that needs to be addressed and I think books provide students with an excellent way for students to work through and think about difficult topics such as bullying. Yes, this novel presents some controversial and difficult topics, but as with all banned books, censorship is not the answer.

Why/How I would use this in my classroom:

As I was researching ways to use Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian in the classroom, I came across one thing Sherman Alexie said he would want students to take away from this novel is “escaping and confronting familiar and tribal expectations.” I think this is something that all students can takeaway from this novel, because to some extent everyone is limited by the numerous expectations that are linked to culture, gender, race, age, and socioeconomic status. Ultimately, we must choose between accepting what others expect us to be, or fight against these forces that are holding us back, just as Arnold did.

I also stumbled upon the following essential questions from the Free Library of Philadelphia’s One Book program:

• What happens when a person leaves their home environment in pursuit of success? Do they give up or betray their identity? Is it really true that “you can never go home again”?
• What makes for a good high school experience? Do you have to be happy for your education to have been a good one? 
• How do we, as humans, overcome adversity? What tactics do we use to get through hard times, difficult situations, and general injustice?

(Retrieved from: http://libwww.freelibrary.org/onebook/obop11/0_Absolutely_True_Diary_Curriculum_full.pdf)


I think using a novel that allows students to explore these relevant issues is an absolute compliment to the classroom learning experience. If I were to use this novel in my classroom, as I hope I will, I would certainly center a unit on these essential questions. This novel is simply an engaging, easy read that would certainly appeal to reluctant or struggling readers. I also think this book is particularly important for students in this area to read because it provides an insight into the Spokane Tribe of Indians. Students must have access to books that connect to real world issues and that present them with inspiring individuals. The fact that the issues and individuals presented in Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian are local, makes the novel that much better.

Blog Post #11: Book Talk

Description of the text

The structure of this book is a 50-chapter novel broken into four sections, roughly 500 pages long, told from an omniscient point of view. The narration is handled in an unusual way—the story is told mostly from the perspective of rabbits. The story is set in rural England as the rabbits travel to four different warrens: the doomed Sandleford warren, the warren full of snares, the authoritarian Efrafa, and the idyllic Watership Down.

           Watership Down is the tale of a group of rabbits, consigned to the fringes of society, in search of a home where they can live free and proud. Fiver, a small, young rabbit, has a gift: He can tell when things are going to happen and he can sense whether they will be good or bad. Hazel, Fiver’s brother, believes his brother’s prophecy and decides to gather a group of rabbits to set our in search of a new warren. Among the rabbits he takes with him are Dandelion, who is the storyteller, Blackberry, the smartest rabbit, and Big Wig, the gruff soldier. They escape as fugitives and embark on a long journey through woods and field find their new home. 

As the novel progresses the history and worldview of the rabbits is revealed through their mythology, which is explored in great detail. At the bottom of the animal food chain, the rabbits constantly fear death due to the perils they constantly face. The stories about El-ahrairah, a mythical trickster, are the oral folktales that everyone knows and they share topics of culture, religious beliefs, virtues, and social norms. By the end of the novel, it is clear that in their own world, the adventures of Hazel, Fiver, Bigwig, Blackberry, and Dandelion are already in the process of becoming tales that will be part of rabbit lore for future generations.

Reason for choosing this text

I chose this book because I fell in love with it, even though it was assigned over summer break for a 10^th grade honors humanities class. On the surface, this novel can be seen as a simple adventure story about rabbits, but on a deeper level, Watership Down is not just about rabbits. Tackling big ideas, including the importance of story telling to society and preservation of our environment, Adams weaves an adult tale of human struggle cloaked as a book about bunnies.

 One of the reasons I enjoy reading this novel, besides the fact it’s an all-time classic, is the backstory behind its creation. To amuse his daughters on long car trips, Richard Adams began telling them an adventure story with rabbits as the heroes—the story that eventually became Watershp Down in 1972. Adams said of his writing style, “I derived early the idea that one must at all costs tell the truth to children, not so much about mere physical pain and fear, but about the really unanswerable things—what [writer] Thomas Hardy called ‘the essential grimness of the human situation.’” Adams manages to retain a positive message about working together to fight for what is right, even if it can seem hopeless and tiresome. 

This novel is an excellent read for any high school readers in a humanities, English, or social studies class. While it is a difficult text to analyze, the novel allows readers of varying levels to engage with the characters and plot. Oftentimes, society constructs an artificial separation between topics we consider suitable for children, and those topics intended for adults. Talking rabbits? Kid stuff. What is the best regime? Grown up talk. Richard Adams doesn’t make these distinctions in his novel. While Adams has stated that Watership Down is really just about “life,” it’s clear that we cannot escape thinking about topics such as truth, faith, justice, mercy, courage, statesmanship, folklore, religion, and the best regime. Watership Down encourages readers to consider these important topics, and better still it encourages us to consider these topics with our students.

Obstacles

1.     Length: This book would be difficult to use in a short unit because it’s long. Long books, with relatively small font, can be off-putting to reluctant teen readers. I believe this would be the biggest obstacle that would come up with this book.
2.     Readicide: Teachers must be cautious of over teaching this book. There are so many teachable concepts presented in this novel that it may be easy to get carried away.
3.     Long descriptions:  The narrator is very precise about the natural word, and enjoys naming each and every flower. Some readers may feel as though Adams attention to detail is boring and confusing.
4.     Difficult Vocabulary: The narrator occasionally uses difficult vocabulary, such as mercurial and unpropitious. However, to support student comprehension the narrator often tells the reader what they need to know and often stops the action to explain details, especially details about the rabbit world and language.

Teaching Ideas:

·  Introducing Epics: Watership Down can be read an epic in the tradition of the Odyssey and the Aeneid. The narrative involves a perilous journey on a grand scale. It celebrates the values of a nation much as the Odyssey celebrates the values of ancient Greece. The rabbits must rely on the supernatural from time to time and they have a mythology of their own. Like other epic heroes, the rabbits defend their nation in a great battle that secures the future of their society and all it stands for.

 Mapping the epic: Have students work individual or in groups to create a map illustrate the journey described in Watership Down. They should plot all the places mentioned in the story and add illustrations or captions to show what occurred at each location.

Writing an animal epic: Students can write their own epic set in the world of an animal they know something about.

·  Politics: The various rabbit warrens in the novel can be seen as different versions of human government. The warren of the snares (Cowslip’s warren) could be considered socialist, as all the rabbits are equal and no one has any more than anyone else. The Efrafan warren represents a totalitarian regime, as Woundwort and a handful of others rule with an iron first while all the rest are trod upon and abused. Watership Down (Hazel’s warren) represents a democracy, as it has a leader whom everyone wants making decisions based upon the will of the group.       

Rabbit debate: Students can discuss the subject of the ideal rabbit warren, and the four debaters are Hazel, the Chief Rabbit of the Sandleford Warren, General Woundwort of the Efrafan warren, and Cowslip from the warren of snares. The issues for debate include: how the Owsla should rule, how to behave toward other animals, how to avoid elil (lapine word for enemy), the distribution of flayrah (food), and any other issues that students can think of.

·  Discussion on the qualities of a good leader:   As implausible as it might seem to take leadership instructions from a fictional rabbit, Hazel, the novel’s protagonist, provides a model of the leadership qualities that can transform communities. Hazel actively seeks to become a leader. In fact, he is labeled as an “outskirter;” one of the rank and file of common rabbits. As the novel unravels, Hazel changes as he learns about what it means to be a good leader: courage, demureness, compassion, ability to innovate, harmonize opposing ideas, and efficaciously encourage change.