In the book the Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian the author Sherman Alexie talks about the main character Junior.The reason for this is because Junior is based around him and how he was at a young age.This is about the decisions he made and how he becomes a outsider in the book.A few reasons why Junior is a outsider is because of his physical problems and poverty and the fact that he his split in between two worlds,one in Reardan and one in wellpinit.

One way were the junior is presented as an outsider is through his poverty.A way to show this is when he keeps on having to walk home because his parents can’t afford to pick him up from school.One way that shows this in the book is where it says “most nights I walk home or hitchhike until someone picks me up.” As Junior begins to come more out of his shell and begins the first step of not being an outsider his poverty gets in the way and he realizes that he can’t do the certain things with his friends he wishes he could do.Why he would not be able to do these things is because his new friends like to do things like go to trampoline parks or to eat out or anything like that but junior wouldn’t be able to do things like that because those things cost money and junior has none and he thinks if they find out then his friends might not like him.

You can see this in the book on the chapter dance,dance,dance where Junior goes out with his friends to eat pancakes but as you know Junior doesn’t have any money to buy anything apart from his 5 bucks that his Dad lets him keep. He then lies saying that he has to go to the bathroom to avoid paying for his meal, until Roger comes and helps junior out because he said he forgot his money.A quote that shows this is where Junior said”I figured it was my last meal before my execution.” And now they start to notice he’s poor.This effects Junior in many ways because he’s scared that Roger will tell everyone but realizes that Roger wants to help him out other than to destroy his school life.

Another reason why Junior can come across being an outsider is because of his physical problems.A quote from the book that shows this is where is”I was born with water on the brain. This shows another reason of why Junior is presented as a outsider because no one has the condition that he has.Another quote is”and they call me a globe”this is referring to him being made fun of because he has a big head. But he also has problems being an outsider in wellpinit, this is because he left wellpinit to pursue a better life and education in Reardan but everyone thinks he’s doing it so he can be white when really he’s doing it for the great or good.Junior also has too many teeth as expected which can make him hard to look at at times.

In Reardan Junior fulls in love with a girl called Penelope,and wants her to have the same feelings that he shares for her  but on page 57 it shows junior compared with a white guy and it makes you see the things that junior cant afford to do or have.”No watch it’s skin 30″this quote shows that Junior is poor and might make him think that he cant compete with the other boys that can buy things for her.

In conclusion, Junior is presented as an outsider in many ways.The most important way where Junior is presented as an outsider is the fact that he has two names and that is split in between two worlds one in Reardan and one in wellpinit.I think this is the most important because no one really lives two separate lives i chose this because it’s unique and stands out from the others.The reason why i didn’t do some think like the physical defects is because i doesn’t stand out because loads of other people have physical defects which doesn’t make them stand out as an outsider.

By Omari Garraway