The Diary of a Vanishing Indian: Arnold Spirit's Assimilation in Sherman Alexie's YA Novel the Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

<p>This thesis provides an overview of the current ongoing debates regarding Indian autobiographies and their relevance to Sherman Alexie’s Young Adult novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. The introduction and subsequent chapters provide a background on Indian autobiographies and present a critical reading of Alexie’s text, arguing that, just as Indian autobiographies address the stereotype of the vanishing Indian, Alexie’s Absolutely True Diary deals with the theme of the vanishing Indian. Over the course of the novel, the reader witnesses the increasing loss of Arnold’s activism in his Indian culture. The thesis also discusses the bicultural aspect present in Indian autobiographies. This factor has led autobiographical scholars to consider these works abject due to the fact that they cannot be seriously considered as authentically Indian life stories. Likewise, Arnold’s collaboration with whites at Reardan calls into question how Indian Arnold’s autobiography is at the conclusion of his diary. This thesis argues that Arnold’s finished diary indicates that Arnold’s thinking about Indians remains consistent with the manner in which whites regard Indians. As a result, the pattern of the vanishing Indian seen in Indian autobiographies is evident in Alexie’s novel as illustrated by Arnold’s assimilation into white society.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts in English (M.A.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis (restricted to Georgia Southern)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Department of Literature and Philosophy

Year dc:date.available

2013

Author dc:creator

• Cato, Valerie

Contributors dc:contributor

• Caren Town
• Gautam Kundu

• ETD
• Sherman Alexie
• Indian autobiographies
• Vanishing Indians
• Mythology
• Stereotypes
• Indigenous Studies
• Literature in English, North America, Ethnic and Cultural Minority
• Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/805

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu:etd-1802