The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

In “Tears of a Clown,” Rowdy’s harshness serves as a contrast to Junior’s sensitivity and his more demonstrative emotional nature. Crying is a loaded issue, especially for Junior, who cries often and believes it to be weak, a belief which reflects the prevailing attitudes of the reservation. Rowdy is perhaps more traditionally “masculine” in his alternately closed off and explosive personality. While he may fit in with the rest of Indian society, he is often unhappy and perpetuates the same cycle of violence of which he’s a victim. For Junior, however, Rowdy is just Rowdy, and while others might interpret his behavior as cruel or mean, Junior’s assertion that Rowdy is “his secret-keeper” reaffirms the closeness and love he feels for his friend, even in memory (76).

“Halloween” again raises the theme of poverty, and it explores the differences between the White world of Reardan and the very real difficulties of living on the reservation. For Penelope, who is White and (presumably) wealthier than Junior, poverty is a costume she can take on and off at will; Junior, however, lives in poverty daily. Dressing as a homeless person in “protest” is misguided and insensitive, but Junior overlooks his confusion over Penelope’s costume because he wants Penelope to like him. Junior’s beating later that night at the hands of his fellow tribesmen reinforces the vastly different stakes for these two characters. Nevertheless, Junior’s optimism buoys him after the beating; he even re-defends Rowdy and overlooks that Rowdy already hurt him, giving him a black eye the day before he started at Reardan.

Junior’s isolation intensifies in “Slouching Toward Thanksgiving,” until he begins to develop a friendship with Gordy. Gordy is the first White friend that Junior makes, and while at first he might seem the antithesis of Rowdy—overly intellectual and non-violent—the characters actually share a certain bluntness and non-sentimental attitude in their friendships with Junior. Likewise, just as Junior and Rowdy develop a relationship through comic books, Junior and Gordy develop a relationship through books in Reardan’s library. Though their ethnicities and upbringings are different, Gordy and Rowdy also overlap in their crassness: Gordy talks about “metaphorical boners” and Junior later describes Rowdy as “the opposite of repressed” (76, 131). Through their shared love of literature and art, Junior builds two of his closest relationships in the novel. Junior incorporates elements from both friendships into Absolutely True Diary: his cartoons represent his friendship with Rowdy, and his intellectual ideas and writing represent his friendship with Gordy.

Mary’s sudden marriage and move to Montana force Junior to examine his family dynamics and what it means to be a member of his family. He wonders whether his parents feel like failures for having “lost” two children from the reservation, and whether their distance from the reservation is damaging their reputation within the community. Junior fails to recognize that while he and Mary have both left, they’ve gone about it in two completely different ways: while Junior may think that his decision to go to Reardan is impulsive, it’s a much more understandable and logical decision than suddenly marrying and moving to a different a state. Junior acknowledges his fear over Mary’s sudden departure, but he optimistically (and perhaps naively) emphasizes her bravery and celebrates her rash decision, using it to inspire him to pursue a deeper relationship with Gordy.

In these chapters, we see the racism of both adults and students. Mr. Dodge trusts his white student Gordy, but not Junior. Junior’s cartoon about walking to and from school again illuminates the very real difficulty of living in poverty while using a humorous lens. The tone of the cartoons often reflect the tone of the overall novel: toggling between funny to sad, silly and profound.