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Cheyenne Stewart
ENG 322.01
Dr. Reynolds
02 December 2015
Dear reader, are my main points clear to you and if so what are they? Let me know if my
evidence supports these points, and if not, do you have some suggestions to improve it. What is
my center of gravity and why? Are you able to summarize what you just read? Thank you all in
advance, I appreciate any feedback whatsoever.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian:
Through Marxist Lens
The novel Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is about a
young Spokane Indian, Junior, who is determined to find hope off of the reservation. During this
novel, we see cultural issues that developed due to the containment of the Native Americans by
the U.S. Government. Because of the relocation, Natives suffered from widespread poverty.
Alexie shows in his novel many levels of social class, which is the separation of societies based
on economic position. He also shows social power which is the point of influence that a group
has within their society as a whole. Social realism focuses specifically on social issues and the
hardships of everyday life in a specific society. The social structures that are determined by the
economic conditions of people is known as Marxism. Purdue Owl states, Based on the theories
of Karl Marx, this school [Marxism] concerns itself with class differences, economic and
otherwise, as well as the implications and complications of the capitalist system (Purdue Owl).
Throughout this criticism, we will examine how Sherman Alexie allows economic factors
influence social classes, power, and realism between the white society and the Spokane Indians
through a Marxist lens.

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Social class plays a vast role in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian because
the governments arrangement of a reservation to enclose Native Americans caused extreme
suffering, such as the widespread poverty throughout the culture. The novel feeds off of money
and poverty, and through Marxism, we see how the economic condition determines the structure
of the Native Americans and their social class. Majority of the Native Americans live on the
reservation, where it was evident that they were of a lower class compared to the white society
living outside of the reservation. Alexie expresses the economic differences between the two
cultures by an illustration of comparing the two. The white culture was given a bright future,
where more than half of every graduation class went to college (Alexie 56), but not one person
in Juniors family attended college. Juniors family, like most on the reservation, live in poverty
not only because of the government, but also because his father spends most of their money,
when they have it, on alcohol. Because of poverty, Junior lived a tough, unprivileged life that he
knew he could never change. He states, And because youre Indian you start believing youre
destined to be poor. Its an ugly circle and theres nothing you can do about it (pg. 13). The
students that attended Reardan were of a higher class than the Native Americans because they
were the rich, white farm town a few miles from the reservation. They were more privileged than
the students at Wellpinit because the students at Reardan were offered enhanced academics,
superior athletics, and a successful future. The Indians on the reservation didnt have these
privileges because the culture didnt have the money to put into better educational systems.
One thing that stands out the most in this novel is the way Sherman Alexie addresses
issues that are frequently ignored, such as the social power throughout classes. Social power is
the point of influence that a group has within their society as a whole. Through Marxism, well
see how economic factors determine the social power of the Native Americans on the

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reservation, but overall how Junior decides to overcome this cultural influence. Because of the
relentless cycle of poverty and alcoholism, the only thing Native American children are being
taught is how to give up on their education, on their families, and on themselves (Alexie 42).
They are children that grow up and know nothing other than how to be poor, drink because they
dont have money and continue to not have money because of drinking. After an inspiring talk
with Mr. P, Juniors geometry teacher, Junior decides to leave the reservation to find people with
the most hope. Mr. P. tells Junior, Son, youre going to find more and more hope the farther you
walk away from this sad, sad reservation (43). Junior is determined to live a better life than his
friends and family, and because of leaving the reservation, Junior is immediately ostracized for
going after his dreams. Other than his family, everyone on the reservation oppose his goal of
getting a better education and experience in life. He is now known as a traitor and he cannot win
back the love of his tribe, but he knew if he didnt leave, he would die (Alexie 52).
Alexie shows how different the white society is compared to the Native Americans by
expressing what Junior and his family go through. Social realism focuses specifically on social
issues and the hardships of everyday life in a specific society. We will look at the hardships
through a Marxist lens, and see how economic situations lead to the social realism of the tribe.
Because of the cycle of poverty and alcoholism, Junior is fourteen years old and has attended
forty-two funerals, three of which are mentioned in the book due to the consumption of alcohol.
His Grandmother Spirit was hit by a drunk driver, Juniors fathers best friend, was shot and
killed by a friend that was too drunk to remember (pg. 169). His sister had passed away because
of a big party they had, she passed out and someone left soup on top of the stove and the trailer
burned down (pg. 205). This is a hardship of the Native Americans. Junior states, We Indians
have LOST EVERYTHING. We lost our native land, we lost our languages, we lost our songs

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and dances. We lost each other. We only know how to lose and be lost. (Alexie 173).The
amount of deaths every year due to the fact of drinking. The act of alcoholism has a vast effect
on violence throughout the tribe. Rowdy, Juniors best friend, is violent because it is what has
been taught by his father. His father gets drunk and beats him, in return, Rowdy will end up
being exactly like his father. It is a never ending cycle unless you leave the reservation. It is the
social realism of Native Americans.
The government produced an arrangement of a reservation to enclose Native Americans.
The Indian culture suffered from this separation, leading to widespread poverty and alcoholism.
Because of the relentless cycle of poverty and alcoholism, the only thing Native American
children are being taught is how to give up on their education, on their families, and on
themselves. The social structures concerns itself with class differences, economic and otherwise,
and t hroughout The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Alexie shows many levels of
social class, social power, and social realism between the white society and the Spokane Indians.

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Works Cited
Alex, Sherman, and Ellen Fortney. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York:
Little Brown 2007. Print.

"Welcome to the Purdue OWL." Purdue OWL: Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism. Web. 5
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