This account lets us see how it is to grow up in this world. If you are different in any way, people cannot quite understand what is not like them, so they get offended by it. The Part- Time Indian begins by identifying himself through hs series of unfortunate events that have happened to him from birth. He wants to sound poetic, or like he matters, or even like the ugly things are still beautiful so he describes himself as having "been born with water on the brain (Alexie, pg.1)" rather than describe it as as awful experience, he deliberately compares what he thinks about his defect with how the doctors describe it.
The one thing that he mentions as an outlet that he uses is art. "I draw all the time... I draw because words are too unpredictable. I draw because words are too limited (Alexie, Pg. 5). Here, the narrator is surprising his experiences and oppressions by transforming them into drawings. The author recognizes at 14 that this form of expression is pure and personal. He understands that all of his emotion and history is encased in the art where words and emotion might fail him. "But when you draw a picture everybody can understand it (Alexie Pg. 5)". This is the author recognizing that people make art personal. The viewer is interpreting the artists experience and transforming that interpretation through their own filter, or set of rose colored glasses. They can only feel what the artist allows them to feel and this is where the narrator finds his control where he couldn't find it is his physical or emotional or through others. "So I draw because I want to talk to the world and I want the world to pay attention to me (Alexie Pg.6)". This is his form of controlling the viewer. By having them pay attention, he can say what he needs without having his outer person affecting it. When he lost his dog Oscar, he really understood the world around his was out of his control. All of the restraints out on him were relieved through being a cartoonist.
Without his oppressions, would the narrator have turned to art as a form of self expression?
The way he writes sort of reminds me of how Howl and Lolita were written in certain parts. Since it is such a short story, is the word choice, repetition, and how things fumble out in series a good indicator of the repressing of emotions and experiences?
If Oscar was better than any human he had ever known, what does that say about human emotion? Dogs can remember but they do not dwell on if they have had a hard life. Is there a lesson to learn just from the Oscar experience? What is it?
I draw because words are too limited.If you speak and write in English, or Spanish, or Chinese,or any other language, then only a certain percentage of hu-man beings will get your meaning.
Think about Oscar in this regard: he is a dog, and so he does not hold onto bitterness like humans do. He does not dwell in his situation. While he is dying, the dog knows that he is loved, and he is content with that fact.
ReplyDeleteThe lesson would be to to love those who love you unconditionally and take comfort in those around you before you fall victim to destruction.
Furthermore, in order to not be like Oscar, the dog, in a positive manner, no one should be content with a shit situation. They should do everything in their power to change, no matter how much it blows. Otherwise, they will end up dying, too.
Without the oppression that Junior faces on a daily basis I feel like he would be a very different person in a couple ways. I think the oppression makes Junior not take life too seriously and gives him the comedic outlook on life. I feel like the oppression also influences Juniors interest in drawing cartoons as an outlet of self expression and venting because he doesn't have anybody to share his problems with. Rowdy his best friend is too tough for that. So yes I feel like Junior would be a very different person without the oppressions he faces.
ReplyDeleteI agree with whitney, i feel like his shortcomings in his health and social standing keep him from doing certain things, whether physically or because of his self esteem, and mold this identity that depends on art and writing to express his emotions. I feel like the community he is raised up in is similar to the outside of the reservation in that the men have to be strong and or emotionally detached to be valued, so if he was "normal" i don't think the audience would get an in depth account of Junior's emotions.
ReplyDeleteSebastian
ReplyDeleteI figured with the oppression it forces Junior to have a more comedic outlook on life because, he would just be sad all the time and I'm sure that's tiring. Also with the oppression it helped him find himself in doing cartoons and using them to express himself. I feel this was a good thing because without the oppression and the ways of drawing he wouldn't be able to express his self very much because he felt that words are limiting and could be miss understood. While his art, could get right to the point, so oppression and art made him way different from him not being or having oppression in his life.
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