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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, a la Shmoop.

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We live in a pretty visual society.

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The internet gives us all the wardrobe malfunctions, skateboard wipeouts and cats in sunglasses

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we can handle.

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We don’t just want money; we want you to show us the money…

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…and that skin cream had better have some impressive before and after pictures, or we’re

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sticking with our normal brand. Books, on the other hand, are usually more

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about words.

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Want visual aids? Better bust out that imagination. Or make a diorama. …

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But in Sherman Alexie’s <Uh-Lex-ee-s> The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian…

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…budding illustrator Arnold…or Junior… draws a ton of pictures for show and tell.

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Almost every character gets five minutes of fame, and Arnold even gives himself the cartoon

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treatment.

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Why does Alexie include so many illustrations in his Absolutely True Diary?

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Did he really love story time as a kid?

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Or was he just trying to fill space? Maybe it has to do with Alexie’s audience.

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Like Arnold, many of Absolutely True Diary’s readers are young adults who have a lot going

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on in their lives.

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Books have to compete with sports, final exams, family issues, and that cute sophomore from

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Pre-Algebra.

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With all this background noise, it’s hard to keep your attention focused on… Hey,

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what’s that?

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Let’s face it… the best book in the world can’t beat that meatball sub calling your

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name from the fridge.

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So what’s a novel gotta do to get some attention around here?

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Well, as any graphic novel reader will tell you, comics are hard to resist.

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Arnold’s illustrations are bite-sized treats, and there’s always one more right around

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the corner.

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They’re like delicious little Easter eggs, leading you on to the next page.

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Or maybe Alexie is trying to give the reader a break from his Kleenex-worthy plotlines.

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Arnold’s life is no day at the beach.

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His tribe boos him at basketball games…

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…and his one-time best friend is now the self-appointed president of the Anti-Arnold

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League. Just when he thinks it can’t get any worse,

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Arnold loses three loved ones to alcoholism, and goes a little nuts trying to cope.

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By this time, most of us would need some serious therapy, but when the going gets tough, the

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tough get giggling.

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Thanks to those illustrations.

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Maybe laughter really is the best medicine. At least it keeps Arnold from going off the

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deep end.[1] Although, there could be another reason for

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the drawings.

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Arnold’s[2] great at unflattering caricatures… we’d hate to be Coach or Mr. P. …

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…but he also creates snapshots of important people in his life, which are a lot easier

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to absorb than a three page write-up of a character’s vital stats.

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Arnold says that his illustrations help him understand the world, but they also help us

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get to know our part-time narrator.

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Is he Arnold, the All-Native-American basketball star, or Junior, the traitorous Caucasian

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wannabe?

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How does a poor kid buy his shorty a short stack?

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And what does a confused kid’s brain feel like after all of this role-playing?

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We haven’t walked a mile in Arnold’s shoes, but by the end of the book we can almost smell

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his sneakers. So what’s up with all the pictures in Arnold’s

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Diary?

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Are they attention-grabbers? …

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Is Alexie trying to dry your tears after all the sad parts?

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Or do Arnold’s pictures show us the world through his glasses?

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Shmoop amongst yourselves.

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[1]Can we be a little more explicit here about the fact that the drawings are what might

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make us laugh? (Because they're caricatures?) [2]Maybe a quick "Or maybe" type transition

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here?

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