Not Afraid To Embrace Freedom #2

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!