the absolutely true diary of a part-time indian banned Yes Or no
Andrew Walker
10/10/13
The Absolutely true Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Banned Yes or No
Four hundred and sixty four attempts to ban books were made in america this year. In 2012 The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian was the second most challenged book. It is also one of the most beneficial books that I have read. In June of 2011 The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian was removed from the Richland schools. Not only was the action of banning the book unjustified, the book contains realistic views of the world, and it also gives useful and practical advice to help teens get through their teen years.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian although containing some sexual content and racism none of it is obscene and all of it is a accurate representation of the world today. In the book Sherman Alexie wrote,“Living in a world built for winners” (P.55) and to me this can't be more true. It’s another way of saying The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. This might be too bleak to say to a young children but for teens it is relevant and important for them to know that the odds are against them and they need to work hard to succeed. Another thing that Alexie wrote that I think accurately conveys high school and new places is, “I was a stranger in a strange land ”(P.81) So many times in your life you get this feeling, when going to a new school, a new job, even just a party. It is important to deal with this feeling correctly and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian shows how to do that through juniors experiences. Another similar massage is the balance you need to have a successful social environment. “well, life is a constant struggle between being an individual and being a member of the community”.(P.132) It is a sad fact that in high school if you want to be apart of a group of friends or community you can't be yourself. Having a good social balance of having friends but not becoming a clone of society is an important lesson to learn in your teen years, and the book teaches that lesson well. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian Accurately shows the state of the world and what it is like to be part of the earthy community which is very important to for teens to learn.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian helps teens with their lives by giving good advice. As Junior goes to a new school he is met with many challenges, one of them is his lack of money but towards the middle of the book he opens up to one of his friends and he helps him. “If you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing”. (P.129) This quote tells teen who read it that it is ok not go through life alone. I know at times I feels that I don’t want to get help from anybody, I want to solve my problems by myself but no one will get too far in life like, and Sherman Alexie’s book has this positive message. One of the other positive types that Absolutely True Diary conveys is not to lie. “Lies have short shelf lives”. (P.119) This simply says that lies don’t last long which is a very good lesson for people of all ages to take in. You can't deny the positive messages that are found in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, it is one of the most beneficial and positively influential book that I have ever read.
I the June of 2011 the Materials committee banned The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian from their schools reading list and libraries. The Instructional Materials Committee of Richland had no right to get rid of the book from the reading list. “None of the board members had read Absolutely True when they first voted on it”. (Jacques von Lunen) The main problem is that the people that judge the book don’t have enough time to read all of the books that they need to judge in their entirety. “The district has about 70 books left to review and has given itself six to nine months to do it.” (Jacques von Lunen) This is very concerning because how they could judge a book on weather it is beneficial or not, without reading it. How many good book have been banned from school because a committee didn't even bother to read it, didn't give it a chance to show its greatness. This reveals a fundamental problem on the process of challenging books one that I think needs to be taken seriously and fixed quickly. In the end after reading the book, the same board members that banned the book voter 4 to 1 to re-add The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian to the Richmond school board reading list. Although that may be a good step, what about those other 70 books will they get the chance that Absolutely True Diary did? Or will they be skimmed and voted upon quickly. Taking away their chance to share their full meaning with the students of Richland.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian is a beneficial and realistic book that has good values, a realistic view on the world and should never had been banned from any school. The Book Helps teens cope with their lives by giving good advice and not sugar coating the world for them. By being real and straight forward Sherman Alexie wrote a book that is nothing if not beneficial to read. In his book one of junior's friends is talking about books in general and I think what he said accurately shows what The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian does for teens.“It helps you navigate the river of the world”(P.95)
10/10/13
The Absolutely true Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Banned Yes or No
Four hundred and sixty four attempts to ban books were made in america this year. In 2012 The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian was the second most challenged book. It is also one of the most beneficial books that I have read. In June of 2011 The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian was removed from the Richland schools. Not only was the action of banning the book unjustified, the book contains realistic views of the world, and it also gives useful and practical advice to help teens get through their teen years.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian although containing some sexual content and racism none of it is obscene and all of it is a accurate representation of the world today. In the book Sherman Alexie wrote,“Living in a world built for winners” (P.55) and to me this can't be more true. It’s another way of saying The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. This might be too bleak to say to a young children but for teens it is relevant and important for them to know that the odds are against them and they need to work hard to succeed. Another thing that Alexie wrote that I think accurately conveys high school and new places is, “I was a stranger in a strange land ”(P.81) So many times in your life you get this feeling, when going to a new school, a new job, even just a party. It is important to deal with this feeling correctly and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian shows how to do that through juniors experiences. Another similar massage is the balance you need to have a successful social environment. “well, life is a constant struggle between being an individual and being a member of the community”.(P.132) It is a sad fact that in high school if you want to be apart of a group of friends or community you can't be yourself. Having a good social balance of having friends but not becoming a clone of society is an important lesson to learn in your teen years, and the book teaches that lesson well. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian Accurately shows the state of the world and what it is like to be part of the earthy community which is very important to for teens to learn.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian helps teens with their lives by giving good advice. As Junior goes to a new school he is met with many challenges, one of them is his lack of money but towards the middle of the book he opens up to one of his friends and he helps him. “If you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing”. (P.129) This quote tells teen who read it that it is ok not go through life alone. I know at times I feels that I don’t want to get help from anybody, I want to solve my problems by myself but no one will get too far in life like, and Sherman Alexie’s book has this positive message. One of the other positive types that Absolutely True Diary conveys is not to lie. “Lies have short shelf lives”. (P.119) This simply says that lies don’t last long which is a very good lesson for people of all ages to take in. You can't deny the positive messages that are found in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, it is one of the most beneficial and positively influential book that I have ever read.
I the June of 2011 the Materials committee banned The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian from their schools reading list and libraries. The Instructional Materials Committee of Richland had no right to get rid of the book from the reading list. “None of the board members had read Absolutely True when they first voted on it”. (Jacques von Lunen) The main problem is that the people that judge the book don’t have enough time to read all of the books that they need to judge in their entirety. “The district has about 70 books left to review and has given itself six to nine months to do it.” (Jacques von Lunen) This is very concerning because how they could judge a book on weather it is beneficial or not, without reading it. How many good book have been banned from school because a committee didn't even bother to read it, didn't give it a chance to show its greatness. This reveals a fundamental problem on the process of challenging books one that I think needs to be taken seriously and fixed quickly. In the end after reading the book, the same board members that banned the book voter 4 to 1 to re-add The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian to the Richmond school board reading list. Although that may be a good step, what about those other 70 books will they get the chance that Absolutely True Diary did? Or will they be skimmed and voted upon quickly. Taking away their chance to share their full meaning with the students of Richland.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian is a beneficial and realistic book that has good values, a realistic view on the world and should never had been banned from any school. The Book Helps teens cope with their lives by giving good advice and not sugar coating the world for them. By being real and straight forward Sherman Alexie wrote a book that is nothing if not beneficial to read. In his book one of junior's friends is talking about books in general and I think what he said accurately shows what The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian does for teens.“It helps you navigate the river of the world”(P.95)
Also see In sickness and in Health Page