The cartoon on page 182 is a drawing of Junior playing basketball through two different perspectives: Wellpinit and Reardon's point of view. In Wellpinit's gym, Junior is seen as a traitor and a "white lover" (182), and the Wellpinit students are shouting discouraging things at him like "boo" (182). He is also dressed as the devil, wings, horns, and all, meaning that the Wellpinit students don't view him highly- they hate his guts. During all of this, Junior is still wondering who he is. In Reardan's gym, the cartoon is almost entirely different. First of all, Junior is dressed as an angel, with clean shoes and hair. Not only that, but he is receiving positive and encouraging feedback. But he still questions who he is- his identity is still unknown.
This makes it significant: he may be in different social situations, but he still questions his identity. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is about Arnold finding his identity, and this cartoon illustrates his struggles of him finding his identity in a couple different social situations- he literally asks himself the question, "who AM I???" (182). This cartoon also shows that Junior wants to be a part of Wellpinit and Reardon's community, but he is faced with many dilemmas. The word 'gym' is Arnold's way of saying 'community' (in this context). Junior could have illustrated many more gyms, or communities perspectives, but he didn't, meaning he wants to be with these 'gyms', or communities only. When Junior said "at Wellpinit's gym" (182), he meant that he wants to be a part of Wellpinit's community, but the cartoon on page 182 illustrates one main, complicated dilemma with this wish- If Arnold is friends with the white kids, the Indians will be angry and will hate him, but if Arnold is friends with the Indians, the white kids will ignore and judge him. Essentially, he wants to be in two communities, but he may only be able to choose one.
Questions:1. Read the paragraph(s) before and after the cartoon on page 182. Why do you think the author put this cartoon in between these paragraphs?2. How is this similar or different to the cartoon on page 57 (it's the half white and half Indian photo)?
This cartoon on page 182 shows us Arnold's constant struggle to find his true identity. This cartoon is of Arnold running with a basketball in two different circumstances; at Wellpinit and at Reardan. Either way he is thinking "Who am I" because of how his two identities confuse him. The two paragraphs tell us that Arnold feels that he is treated like a traitor at the Rez while he feels like a legacy at Reardan. Arnold feels loyalty to the Rez, but his heart is in Reardan, his hope is in Reardan. He still has connection and a little bit of desire to be in the Rez, but he also wants to escape his life there, and like in the cartoon on page 57 this makes him feel like a "part time indian". In these last chapters it seems like Arnold is feeling much more comfortable in Reardan, but at the very end he starts to feel shame and guilt for his choices. This provokes more struggle to fit in on Arnold's part, but at a much lower amount, and maybe through his feelings at the end of the chapter Arnold can start to gain the respect back from his friends on the Rez, hopefully clearing up his struggle to find his place a bit more.
ReplyDeleteThese cartoons have very similar meanings. They are both about identity - White vs. Indian. But the differences are very meaningful too. The first cartoon is not about Junior's two identities, but rather as the races as a whole. But the second one is about Junior himself and how other people think of him. He has some of both sides from the cartoon on 57 now, and doesn't fit in no matter where he is. If you look at both cartoons you can see how Junior changed over time. He has become a more complicated and layered character and has been through a lot more.
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