Gwendolyn
Dow
March
7, 2014
English
102
Professor,
Tom Dewit
Not Afraid To Embrace Freedom
What
is freedom? We all aspire to have personal liberty or the power to determine
our own action. In the book titled “The Absolutely True Diary of a
Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie, a five-year old exhibits act of
bravery while yearning for freedom and a sense of independence. As an African
American woman coming from an era of poverty, racism and substandard education,
I can relate to the plight of this very courageous soul and his
fight for freedom. The endurance and strength that he represents is
remarkable. While much of the same factors that he was confronted with
still exist for today’s underprivileged youth, their journey in comparison to
Arnolds is minimal. Although the emotions he felt were at times overwhelming
and exhausting he maintains them well. Throughout his fight for freedom he
manages to overcome many obstacles to keep his head above water. Arnold
found the ability to swim by “Not Being Afraid to Embrace Freedom”.
Arnold
was able to swim because he wanted more for his-self than what surrounded him.
Arnold grew up in a family that was loving but was also trapped in a life of
poverty, and alcoholism. As a young boy he clearly wanted more than
what was attainable for him on the reservation. Arnold was well aware of
the fact that his family was poor, and in his mind
would
always be poor. While attending Wellpinit High School Arnold trusted and
believed in his math teacher named Mr P. Mr P told him that if he did not leave
the reservation, chances are he would die there. “If you stay on this
rez,” Mr. P. said, they’re going to kill you. I’m going to kill you.
We’re all going to kill you. You can’t fight us forever.” (pg.43)
As a result, Arnold found the strength to leave the reservation to pursue
a better education and gain new life experiences at Reardan High School.
Seeking a better life, Arnold left the reservation to escape all the dreadful
things that engulfed him .He did not want to mimic the inherent characteristics
he was born into.
Entering
Reardan, Arnold was a proud student despite the school being an all-white
school. The kids at Reardan stared at him as though they could not believe
their eyes, as if he was the only Indian that had ever visited the town.
Although he felt unwelcome, his desire to accomplish what no one in his family
had ever come close to was astounding. Arnold entered with an encouraging
amount of bravery and hope of becoming successful. He never looked at his
self as a victim and embodied the most important quality that he felt called
hope. His hope extended to one of the basketball games he played against
his old team at Wellpinit High School. Arnold asked his-self “can an
Indian have a legacy in a white town”? (pg 182). He knew that no matter
how good he was or how well he played, he would always be looked at as an
Indian. Through hope there was freedom, and considering his bravery and
steadfast belief, the freedom of all things exceptional were possible.
Ultimately, for Arnold drowning was not an option. Hence, Arnold found several
ways of not becoming submerged.
One
precise outlet for him was the wisdom of his grandmother named, :”Grandmother
Spirit.” Grandmother Spirit was the wisest of the family and would always give
Arnold advice on how to handle situations that may leave him feeling
unacceptable or imperfect.
Grandmother
Spirit emphasized strength and in her eyes, Arnold was perfect. For Arnold
strength implied power and the ability to transform his own life. According to
Arnold, his grandmother was “smart and kind and had traveled to about
one-hundred different Indian reservations, but that had nothing to do with her
greatness”. She possessed “the greatest gift of tolerance and approached
each new person and each new experience the exact same way”. Arnold had two
best friends Oscar and Rowdy, both played an important role in helping him
survive and not become submerged in the surrounding norms of life on the
reservation. Rowdy and Arnold spent an average of eight hours a day for
fourteen years together playing basketball and sharing each other’s dreams.
In fact Arnold states, “I think Rowdy might be the most important person
in my life. Maybe more important than my family.” (pg.4) The
attachment that Arnold and Rowdy felt was crucial to their human existence and
each one felt that they could depend on the other no matter what. Basketball
was very much a vehicle used by Arnold, playing basketball with his friend
Rowdy contributed to his physical strength and mental capability to cope with
his misfortune of growing up as a poor Indian on the reservation.
Nevertheless, through all of the mental gymnastics Arnold was able to
allow his-self to be vulnerable.
Being
that Arnold stayed hopeful his experiences and circumstances did not drown him
and he
was able to detach his-self from the hopeless life of alcoholism, and drug
addiction that he witnessed daily. Mr P. his math teacher always seen the
best in Arnold and said to him “you’re a bright and shining star” “You’re the
smartest kid in the school. And I don’t want you to fail. I don’t want
you to fade away. You deserve better.”(pg42) Because Arnold was
hopeful he was more resilient than some of his peers and found it challenging
but mandatory to stay connected with who he wanted to be. He spent a
considerable amount of time and effort trying to change and make a difference
in his substandard life. When Arnold left the reservation, hope was the road he
set out to travel. The question Arnold asked himself was, “Where is hope?” (pg
43) Mr P his math teacher said to him, “You’re going to find more and more hope
the farther you walk away from this sad, sad, sad reservation.” (pg 43,)
To be free of all the destruction back at the reservation meant Arnold
had to have the courage as well as hope on his journey to freedom as he seek
to find his voice as an Indian. During the course of his journey he
was able to stay forgiving and show a substantial amount of courage. Arnold
found ways of making light of his situation by drawing cartoons to express his
feelings to the outside world. (pg 43, see cartoon) In countless ways he
felt the huge responsibility to promote the dignity of self-sufficiency all
while embracing freedom. Although at times he felt like damaged goods, he
was able to swim and individualize his strong desire to embrace freedom.
Embracing
freedom empowered him to remain hopeful and express the continual mixed
emotions of his life on the reservation. Although he was trapped in
poverty he still found the ability to navigate and swim beyond what may have
drowned others on the reservation where he lived. Finding the strength to
leave the reservation and the life he had become so accustomed to was not an
easy task, however he needed to break the cycle and hold his-self accountable
for his own legacy. He never once looked at his-self as been victimized
by his circumstances and found a way to stay encouraged and hopeful as an
acquired gift. The heroic example in his life always pointed directly
back to his grandmother, “Grandmother Spirit” whom he loved dearly.
Because of her Arnold was able to view the unpleasant things happening in
his life as just a part of life on the reservation. Arnold and his
grandmother connected spiritually and emotionally through the achievement of
tolerance and forgiveness. Consistent with “Grandmother Spirit”, Arnold
harbored no hatred, anger or revenge for all that he suffered. The
prospect of leaving the rez was embraced by him as nothing more than another
quiet challenge. A challenge he felt was fundamental in breaking his
family's cycle of addiction among many other things. Whether it was playing
basketball with his friend Rowdy or leaving the reservation to attend the all-white
school. From the beginning Arnold felt comfortable in his own skin and
recognized that it would be his responsibility to achieve self-sufficiency and
embrace freedom above all.
After
reading the story, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by
Sherman
Alexie,
I can only reflect on the words quoted in the global post of Nelson Mandela
which states, “difficulties break some men, but make others. No axe is sharp
enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one armed with the hope
that he will rise even in the end”. The survival techniques he used by
making light of his-self and drawing pictures to
tell
his story championed him to stay encouraged and eager to succeed.
Although there were many misfortunes in Arnold’s life, he always found a
way to display the two most important virtues, hope and courage on his journey
of embracing freedom!
