"Life As We Know It"

In the last chapter of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexi, Arnold puts together the "puzzle pieces" of his life. He realizes who he is and what he is going to do with his life, and surprisingly Rowdy helps him. On page 229 Rowdy tells Arnold that Arnold is nomadic. Nomadic means "people who move around keep moving, in search of food and water and grazing land." Rowdy means that Arnold is going to explore the world, and discover new things. Arnold later realizes that himself. On page 229 Rowdy says"I always knew you were going to leave. I always knew you were going to leave us behind and travel the world. I had this dream about you a few months ago. You were standing on the Great Wall of China. You looked happy. And I was happy for you." Those quotes are pretty self explanatory. I think they are important though, because it shows that Rowdy, one of Arnold previously missing puzzle pieces, supports Arnold. Rowdy wants him to find a better life. It shows that Arnold does not have to worry about disappointing anyone while trying to pursue his different lifestyle. This truly helps Arnold and motivates him to explore the world.

In this chapter it also talks about how Indians are no longer nomadic, in the sense that they stop looking for a better life. Arnold realizes that he wants to leave the reservation to make the reservation proud. Arnold knows he cannot change the people who have grown up on the reservation all of their lives and accustomed to the Indian lifestyle, but he is going to try to make an impact for future Indians. Through out this book Arnold is portrayed as unselfish. Toward the end of the book it talks about Arnold going on to do something more for his life, but I predict he will always come back to help and try to encourage other Indians.  

Carly