The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2007

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 7-9

Chapters 10-12

Chapters 13-15

Chapters 16-18

Chapters 19-21

Chapters 22-24

Chapters 25-27

Chapters 28-30

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Chapters 4-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 4 Summary: “Because Geometry Is Not a Country Somewhere Near France”

On Junior’s first day of high school, he is most excited about geometry class. He also talks about how much he loves to masturbate and says he is proud of it and good at it. But while he loves “the curves of imaginary women,” he is “much more in love with the right angles of buildings” (26). Junior is also excited to try out for the basketball team with Rowdy, but he is afraid Rowdy might leave him behind (28).

Junior’s Geometry teacher, an old White man named Mr. P, sometimes forgets to come school and teaches class in his pajamas. Some of Junior’s classmates think he testified against the Mafia and is in Witness Protection, but Junior thinks he’s a lonely old man, and “lonely white people love to hang around lonelier Indians” (30). When Mr. P hands out textbooks, Junior receives one that belonged to his mother, Agnes Adams. Upon realizing he’s using a thirty-year-old textbook because his school and his tribe are so poor, Junior throws the textbook at Mr. P’s face.

Junior also introduces his older sister, Mary, who is “good at ruining things,” and after high school, moved back into the family basement where she spends all her time (27). Junior’s family calls her “Mary Runs Away” because she is “crazy and random,” but Junior also finds her “beautiful and strong and funny” (27).

Chapter 5 Summary: “Hope Against Hope”

Junior is suspended for throwing the book in Mr. P’s face, and his family expresses their disappointment. One week into his suspension, Mr. P approaches Junior while he’s on his front porch. Mr. P forgives Junior for throwing the book, and he confesses that as a young teacher, he beat Indian children in an effort to “kill Indian culture” and make students give up being Indian (35). He apologizes to Junior because he can’t apologize to anyone else he has hurt. He tells Junior that his sister Mary was the smartest student he ever had (even smarter than Junior), and that she wanted to write romance novels, which surprises Junior. Junior wonders why she gave up on her dream, and he suspects that she and his family are depressed.

Mr. P tells Junior he’s the smartest kid in the school, but he doesn’t want to see Junior fade like Mary. He tries to make Junior say, “I deserve better,” but Junior can’t, and he cries instead (41). Mr. P warns Junior that Rowdy is going to get meaner, and that he has already given up. Then Mr. P tells Junior that he must leave the reservation forever, and he cries, which Junior has never seen from a sober adult. Mr. P warns Junior that if he stays on the reservation, he’ll be killed, but the farther away he gets from the reservation, the more hope he’ll find.

Chapter 6 Summary: “Go Means Go”

When Junior’s mom and dad come home, he asks them who has hope, and his parents answer that White people do. Junior tells them he wants to transfer schools to attend Reardan, one of the best schools in the state, in the “rich, white farm town” twenty-two miles away from the reservation, and he wants to start the next day (45). When Junior was little, his dad was stopped there three times for DWI, or, as Junior explains, “driving while Indian” because the town is filled with “rednecks and racist cops” (46). To Junior’s surprise, his parents agree easily. He supposes his parents love him and want him to succeed, despite his father’s alcoholism and his mother’s former alcoholism. Junior’s dad acknowledges it will be a difficult commute, and his mom warns him that his fellow Indians will be angry that he’s leaving the reservation.

Chapters 4-6 Analysis

“Because Geometry…” begins by highlighting Junior’s wild curiosity and wide-ranging appetite for life, as Junior explains back-to-back both his passion for masturbation and for learning geometry. The juxtaposition is used for comedic effect, and the diary format allows him speak freely and openly about many subjects that might be considered off-limits or crass otherwise. Junior’s fear that Rowdy will leave him behind ironically foreshadows the split between friends: Junior ultimately leaves Rowdy behind, though Junior correctly predicts Rowdy will begin to treat him poorly.

Junior’s assessment of his White teacher Mr. P reveals that racism takes many forms, including that of the well-meaning White person who hopes to “educate” Indians (in this case, a teacher; in a later case, a wealthy White man who fetishizes Indian culture). Despite Junior’s excitement about school, he’s still only 14 and acts impulsively at times. His frustration with living in poverty and his anger of the racist education system erupts in violence when he hurls his book at Mr. P. Rather than write about this moment, he translates it into a humorous cartoon, using his art to help him interpret and make sense of the world.

In “Hope against Hope,” Junior’s parents’ reactions reveal that this violent outburst is atypical for Junior, suggesting that perhaps Junior is beginning to reflect his environment living on the reservation. Perhaps Mr. P’s assessment is right: if Junior stays on the reservation, he’ll continue down a path of violence. Mr. P’s conversation with Junior about his early days teaching on the reservations reveals the systemic racism of the American education system and its attempt to eradicate Indian Culture. As a character, Mr. P occupies a moral gray area: he is contrite for his racist actions and implores Junior to make a change in his life, but he still can’t take back his actions from years ago.

The conversation with Mr. P surprises Junior a great deal: he learns not only more about Mr. P, but also more about his older sister, Mary. Junior is shocked by the revelation that Mary is a writer, and her desire to write romance novels mirrors Junior’s own desire to become a cartoonist. With similar lives and similar trajectories over the course of the book, both Mary and Junior come to represent for the other what might be or what could have been. Had Mary been encouraged earlier on, perhaps she might have led a different, longer life.

The conversation with Mr. P sets Junior’s quest, or hero’s journey, in motion. The conversation is a turning point for Junior, and from here, his world begins to expand, both geographically and emotionally. The theme of hope is also introduced in these chapters, and Junior’s quest far away from the reservation begins. For Junior’s parents, hope is inextricably tied to race, specifically Whiteness. Junior is less sure of the answer, and he examines the question over the course of the book.