The more I think about it, the more I see that the Reservation in The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian is very similar to my community. First off, Arnold repeatedly explained how close every one was in the rez and how everyone basically knew each other. Obviously this is not completely true in my community because I'm not quite that popular (yet) to be close with EVERYONE in my neighborhood. But I do know quite a lot of people and my family does as well. Since we have been living in the same place for generations, just as Arnold and his family have, it is easy to get to know everyone around us. The closeness of the reservation and my community are positive comparisons, however there are some negative comparisons as well.
In the book, Arnold constantly expressed his feelings of feeling left out or feeling as if he didn't belong in either his school or his home.
"I was half indian in one place and half white in the other."
I can totally relate to this in my life. In my particular community, I'm not seen as fully mexican, although I am. But since my dad's side has green eyes and my mother's side has blonde hair, all my siblings have blonde hair and blue/green eyes. My complexion is lighter than some people as well, so I am kind of looked at as an outsider in my community of black hair, brown eyes and brown skin. So because of this, I can really relate to this feeling that Arnold has because people don't fully accept him in his own community.
Both of our communities are sort of really racist and the people judge easily based on what someone does (like going to a white school) or what someone looks like.
So I guess Pilsen and the Spokane Indian Reservation are not that different afterall.
