Question

In what way does junior feel like a part-time Indian? Give at least one example with evidence from the text.

Answer 1

Answer:

Junior feels like a part-time Indian because he felt at some places half white and half Indian but only as a part-time job that does not pay well.

Explanation:

'The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian' is a thinly-veiled autobiographical written by Sherman Alexie. The story is told from First-Person Narrative.

Arnold Spirit Junior is the narrator of the novel who is considered to be unreliable. In the novel, Junior felt part-time indian because he felt half white and half Indian in some places. He stated that he felt being an Indian is like a part-time job for him that does pay him well. Junio, when was in Reservation with his family felt Indian but when was in White school, he felt white. For him being an Indian became like a part-time job for him. That's why Junior felt like a part-time Indian.

Supporting evidence of the claim is cited below:

'Traveling between Reardan and Wellpinit, between the little white town and the  reservation, I always felt like a stranger.  I was half Indian in one place and half white in the other.  It was like being Indian was my job, but it was only a part-time job. And it didn't pay well at all.'