Introduction
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, written by Sherman Alexie, uses humor as a powerful tool to convey both the hardship and humanity of living as a modern Native American teenager. Throughout this poignant and humorous novel, Alexie masterfully employs jokes, cartoons, and wit as a means of exploring and critiquing societal inequalities and finding optimism and laughter in the face of adversity. This essay will analyze Alexie's expert use of humor in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and demonstrate how it brings heart and hope to the story while addressing serious themes of poverty, marginalization, and resilience.
Arnold Spirit's World: The Spokane Indian Reservation and Its Ongoing Struggles
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian follows Arnold Spirit, a 14-year old Spokane Indian living in poverty on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Filled with self-deprecating jokes, quirky cartoons and amusing anecdotes, the novel sheds humorous light on Arnold's experiences dealing with violence, alcoholism, racism, and the numerous other challenges he faces while attempting to receive a better education at an all-white high school off the reservation. Since its publication in 2007, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian has won several awards honoring Alexie's ability to craft a story that is at once enlightening, heart-wrenching, and laugh-out-loud funny.
Dark Humor as a Tool for Healing: Arnold's Response to Tragedy and Loss
One way Alexie utilizes humor in the novel is through Arnold's witty, sarcastic narration and coping mechanism of using jokes to deal with the tragedies in his life. For example, after the death of his grandmother, Arnold quips, "Talk about your drunk Indians!" (Alexie 44). This moment of dark humor helps Arnold process and heal from the loss, while also pointing out the sadly high rates of alcoholism plaguing his community. Additionally, Alexie frequently pokes fun at the excessive poverty on the reservation, like when Arnold describes living in homes "filled with dust and sadness" (Alexie 18). By finding the humor in these painful circumstances, Arnold gains some control over the adversity he faces.
The Cartoonist's Touch: Sherman Alexie's Creative Use of Cartoons as Visual Humor
Furthermore, the cartoon drawings scattered throughout the book provide moments of visual humor and levity. For instance, there are countless cartoons of Arnold getting pummeled or enduring misfortune, like getting flattened by a meteor, that help make light of his constant hardships. There are also more nuanced cartoons, like the panel showing Arnold’s white crush Amy surrounded by open books and Arnold surrounded by closed books, underscoring the vast educational discrepancies between their worlds (Alexie 176). These creatively humorous illustrations, crafted by Alexie himself, offer an additional layer of comedy and social commentary to complement Arnold’s narrative.
Honoring the Struggle: How Alexie's Skillful Use of Humor Strikes a Delicate Balance
Some may argue that Alexie’s use of humor minimizes or makes light of the very real struggles facing modern Native Americans. However, Alexie artfully walks the line between comedy and tragedy throughout the novel to highlight these issues, not downplay them. While the jokes help Arnold cope with his circumstances, the heartbreaking realities of life on the reservation are never obscured or dismissed. If anything, the poignancy of the humor shines an even brighter light on the social injustices Arnold faces daily. Though Alexie uses comedy, he takes Arnold’s plight and community seriously and addresses these topics with nuance and care.
Conclusion
In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie masterfully employs humor through Arnold's witty narration and funny cartoons to provide an uplifting, powerful portrait of a young Native American boy facing adversity with open eyes and an open heart. Alexie's careful balance of comedy and tragedy brings attention to the sobering realities of life on the reservation while also emphasizing Arnold's resilience, optimism and humanity. This poignant novel reminds us that even in our darkest moments, humor and laughter can provide light and hope. Through this skillful use of comedy, Alexie creates a story that both sheds much-needed light on systemic inequalities and celebrates the determination of the human spirit.
