"You Will Travel the World"

Chris Lang

At the end of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Junior realizes the real "meaning of his life." As explained by Rowdy on page 229, Junior is nomadic. If you are nomadic, you have no home, and you are always moving around. Rowdy explains to Junior that he is the only person still living on the rez that is a nomad. Everyone else has lost hope. When Rowdy initially explains this to Junior, Junior doesn't think much of it, he just pushes it aside. Junior slowly starts to realize that he is nomadic when on page 229 Rowdy says, "No, I'm serious. 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." This quote shows a little of both sides. Rowdy explains how happy he is about Junior working for his great life. At the same time, Rowdy may just be trying to make Junior feel bad. Maybe not. Rowdy may have done that because of his reactions earlier in the novel. He wasn't happy about Junior leaving. Junior was "an outlier."