Poverty Challenges Essays - , Term Papers

Poverty Challenges Poverty Challenges Junior Arnold Spirit is a 14-year old Spokane Indian, who is the main character in the book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie. He does not have much self-esteem because of physical health problems and being poor. This explains why he is always picked on or even beaten up. The whole Spokane Indian reservation where he lives suffers from extreme poverty, which is a reason why most have given up on hopes and dreams. He fears that he might be trapped on the reservation too if he does not do something to change that. The challenges of poverty makes Junior decide to leave the reservation in search of a better life. Junior blames the Indian reservation for his family being poor. His parents were poor because they were born into poverty. According to the article, Make a Full-Time Effort to Read Part Time Indian, by Laura Dinovis, she says, Its a depressing place where pride and poor education have kept Juniors family members and neighbors in an endless cycle of depression and poverty (A.7). His mother and father both had dreams and talents that went unnoticed and unattained because of limited money and opportunities to those on the reservation. Junior was stunned at the fact that his Geometry book had his mothers name in it. The reservation was so poor that even the school could not afford new textbooks, which did not give children a good education. He says, My school and my tribe are so poor and sad that we have to study from the same dang books our parents studied from. That is absolutely the saddest thing in the world (Alexie 31). He does not resent his parents for being poor, because he loves them and he knows that they try to do everything in their power to give him the things he needs. Despite not having the finances, they respect his wishes to attend Reardon High School, but let him know that other people on the reservation might be angry with him because of his decision. Along with the educational setbacks from belonging to a low to no income community, the type of health care available is very limited. Junior talks about his health issues throughout the story and notes the insufficient access to dental needs to the poor and tell-tale government issue style eyeglasses. Poor nutrition also contributes to the poor health of the people of the reservation and can cause illnesses to go unattended for longer periods of time. He uses these examples to not only make point of the difference in how he views the healthcare provided to the reservation, but how it impacts his life and self-esteem and how he just wants to be normal. Junior expresses that going hungry is not the worst part of being poor. He is willing to sacrifice his well-being to care for a pet. At the beginning of the book, his dog, Oscar is sick and his parents cannot afford a vet. He thinks this is worse than going hungry. He doesnt see this as a major problem because he says sooner or later, my parents will come bursting through the door with a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken (Alexie 8). He wanted to help his best friend and even told his mother he would get a job. The thought of his dog dying and not getting help was devastating to him. He finally realized there was nothing he could do and that his father would end the suffering of his dog by shooting it. He points out that bullets cost less than veterinary care. He also notes the sadness in his fathers eyes knowing what he must do and the hurt it is causing his son. Junior sees the devastation of poverty and how it can end the life of a loved one. Junior tried to hide the fact that he was poor by lying to his friends. He knew that poverty was something to be embarrassed about. I can relate to this when friends ask me to go out, so I tell them I already have plans but in reality I have no money. He wanted to fit in with his