815 Discussion discussion

Read “Sorry I’m Not a Stereotype” article. If you are feeling confused, CHUNK IT!
Then, write a paragraph for each question:

1.) How does this apply to Absolutely True Diary?

2.) How is Arnold's life/perspective different from the author's?

The "Sorry I'm Not a Stereotype" article applies with Absolutely True Diary because the author form that is talking about how she is indian and hears about a lot of stereotypes that have to do with that. Also, Arnold gets stereotypes with people like the Reardan kids also. Those are two similarities.

Arnolds life is different from the author because Arnold was born live and talks about the reservation, and the author was born in Chicago and talks abut stereotypes. Also, Arnold has different different experiences during his school year, when the author is tailing about the present as an adult and other people. That is the differences between Arnold's life and the author's.

1) It applies by speaking out about stereotypes. In the book Absolutely True Diary Arnold, once he attends Reardan, is made fun of by the "jocks". They would call him names such as chief, sitting bull and tonto which are the stereotypes that are made about Indians. Also it said in they text that a native scholar said "The American public feels most comfortable with the mythical Indians of stereotype-land who were always there." He is saying that when it comes down to Indians they believe what the want to believe. They believe that they wear beads and feathers and have long braided hair which is not true. The American public rather keeps their shutters closed to the truth instead of facing the reality that Indians are not like that.

2) There are many differences between the authors and Arnolds life. For example in the story "atd" Arnold feels that Indians deserve nothing while Rita, the author of the article, stands up Indians. Also based on what I read, it sounds like Rita did not really have a rough time growing up. People don’t even realize she is Indian while Arnold is made fun of for being Indian, get beat up and has a rough time throughout his life.

um MS.Flagg, You did not give me the "Sorry I'm Not a Stereotype" article. I will ask for it tomorrow, sorry again that I could not do it. :(

Well the article "Sorry I'm Not a Stereotype" applies to Absolutely True Diary because it's about being different as well. In Absolutely True Diary Arnold is so different in both the reservation and to the rest of the world. It's just as in "Sorry I'm not a Stereotype" Native Americans are just as different and feel like they don't belong just because of how their ancestors were.

Arnold spirit's life perspective is that the key to the world or in his way of connecting to it is his drawings. The author Sherman Alexie's life perspective is that he want's to be the superhero of the Native American students because he wants to save the lives of the students just like how his father and his books saved him. I think that both Arnold Spirit and Sherman Alexie's life perspective is different because Arnold wants to get to know the world and have the world get to know him. While Sherman Alexie wants to change the world for the better.

The article, "sorry I'm Not A Stereotype", by Rita Pyrillis applies to A.T.D because both Arnold and Rita are being judged by being Native American. Rita would be called names and would be criticized in this "white world" while Arnold is being bullied in his "white school".

Arnold's life perspective is different because Arnold views white people as hope and that they're better than everybody else. Rita views white people as obnoxious bigots because they make fun of her and are racist towards her. Rita and Arnold have completely different views toward white people, although they are practically in the same predicament.

Sorry I'm not a Stereotype applies to Absolutely True Diary because in both the people make stereotypes about Indians, and just assume and think that they look and live a certain way. For example it says "You don't look Indian, a woman told me once. She seemed disappointed. I asked her what an Indian is supposed to look like. "You know. Long black hair,braids,feathers,beads." That woman made a stereotype and judged her. Also in Absolutely True Diary all the kids at Rearden made stereotypes, and judged Arnold, they made fun of his name, the way he looked, and where he came from.


Arnold's life is different from the author's because Arnold grew up on a reservation, and the author was born, and raised in Chicago. Arnold's perspective is different from the author's because the author is honored to be Indian, and Arnold is like embarrassed to be a Indian, he wants to be like the white people at Rearden.

I think that "Sorry I'm Not a Stereotype" and ATD relate because both Arnold and Rita Pyrillis (the author) deal with stereotypes and racial profiling in their everyday life. The jocks at Reardan call Arnold horribly racist names. And Rita in the article deals with people who think they are better because of their race. Both the jocks and the random people call them names because they're uneducated and unexposed.
They're situations are different because Rita has experienced it her whole life, I'm assuming, because she didn't grow up on a reservation, she grew up in Chicago. Arnold, who has just left the rez, is experiencing this racism for the first time in his life, which I imagine is tough to deal with.

The article "Sorry I'm Not a Sterotype" is like the Absolutely True Diary because it is about being different from everyone. Aronald is very different than everyone. In "Sorry I'm not a Sterotype, Indians feel like they are different than eveyone and they feel ike dont belong, just because of movies, tv-shows, and their ancestors.

Aronolds life prosepctive is that he connects to it with his drawings. Sherman Alexie's is he wants to save people lives, b y them reading books, just like his father saved his.

This applies to absolutely true diary because Arnold is getting the same treatment that the girl in the story is by the people at Reardan. I know that from the chapter Fighting Monsters. Arnold is always getting bullied by the fact he is indian and everyone follows the stereotypes against him.

Arnold fights back more than the lady in this story. Even if Arnold looses those fights he still stands up for himself. The lady in this story never stands up for herself.

In the article "Sorry for Not Being A Stereotype" it applies to True Diary because in the book the Reardan kids made assumptions about Arnold since they found out he was an Indian. Even in the article people in the article about how Indians should look like, what they are suppposed to do and how their lifestyle should be. What also applies to Absolutely True Diary is that Arnold takes everything that it is. He is used to things that people do to him and say to him. Arnold takes it as his everyday. The narrator also takes everything as it is. He is so used to it, he takes as his everyday life. Like there is nothing wrong. Just saying this is how the way things are.

Arnold's perspective is the opposite of the narrator's point of view. Arnold is a big learner, he wants to learn new things. Like adding something to the world and showing that even though he is Indian, he can have hope. While the narrator he focus's on something different- what people say about him. In the article he says, "I'd rather take in on my son's Little League game, but as long as other people insist on telling me when to be honored or offended, or how I should look or talk or dance, I will keep telling them otherwise. To do something will be less than honorable." He only views what stereotypes people make about Indians.

The article "Sorry for Not Being A Stereotype" applies to the Absolute True Diary because one both of the main characters are both Native American people who grew up in poor places on reservations. They also apply to each other because in both circumstances, the white people around them make fun of them and they both think to themselves that they both dont deserve all of this hatrid from the people around them just because they are different and lucky because of talents they have.

Arnold's life is a little bit different from the narrarator of the other story because Arnold is just coming into the world that this other talent that wrote the short story overcame in her life but Arnold is about to face it and he is coming on strong.

I think the article " Sorry for not being a stereotype" relates to "A.T.D" because both characters are being hurt and affected by stereotypes. Rita in the article is being judged by her sin color and how she looks. In the book "A.T.D" Arnold is being judged by how he looks and that he came from the reservation.

I think that Arnold situation is more serious then the situation with Rita because Rita's situation was just a simple one time comment on an action. Arnold's situation is constant bullying and he is always getting picked on and it got so serious Arnold punched a kid, that was bullying him, in the face.

The article "Sorry I'm Not a Stereotype" applies to A.T.D. For example, some people tells a lot of stereotypes. Arnold was being insulted by Rodger for telling him a stereotype. Arnold didn't like what Rodger said, so Arnold punched him in the face. Another example, is that nobody are treating Indians equally. Arnold is different from everybody outside the reservation. The narrator in "Sorry for not being a stereotype" is being treated differently outside of the reservation.


Arnold and the author life are different in many ways. Arnold wants to learn more. He made a difference in the reservation. He walked out and followed his dream. He never gave up. While the author doesn't stand up for herself in the city. She didn't stand up for herself when the lady in the grocery store said "Why don't you people just go back to your own country." The author isn't brave enough to do what Arnold did.

This is similar to True Diary in the way that people are stereotypical. Racist towards Native Americans, expecting them to look a certain way, be good at certain things... Just people thinking they know somebody just because of what their race. For example when the woman says to the author "You don't look Indian." She replies with "How should somebody Indian look?" Then the woman says to her... "You know, long dark hair, beads, feathers." True Diary deals with this topic as well. The way people are towards Arnold.

Though they both deal with some of the same conflicts, Arnold and the author of "Sorry I'm Not A Stereotype" are different in many ways. First of all Arnold is a kid, this is a grown woman. Though that's the thing, Arnold as a kid, was able to have the courage to make a difference and go to Reardan, and stand up for himself. Though the author of "Stereotypes" (short for the full title) didn't stand up to herself, at least she didn't describe herself at any moments giving anyone a piece of her mind. I think Arnold is more courageous.

1) The article "I'm sorry for not being a stereotype" applies to The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. It applies to this book because they are both about Native Americans. Both of these Native Americans aren't stereotypical ones with feathers in there long black hair, and other stuff like that. Sometimes, people assume stuff about Indians, so when the author of "I'm sorry for not being a stereotype" tells people she's actually Native American, people are taken aback and even a little disappointed. Arnold, on the other hand, is very different from his stereotype. His Native American stereotype is that he's supposed to be stupid and all he's good for is dancing and chanting by a fire and fighting, that kind of thing. But instead, Arnold is smart and ambitious.

2) I think that Arnold's life is a little harder than the author's because his stereotypes are more embraced and enforced. With Rita, people have to be idiots to think that real Indian's are "extinct" or wear feathers in their hair and wear dear hides as clothes anymore. So it's not really like what the people say mean anything very hurtful to her particularly. With Arnold though, EVERYONE expects him to be just another burnout. And they don't just expect it, they live it everyday. With Rita, she grew up in a city with many different people around her and Arnold grew up in a small Rez filled with burn outs, people who never had hopes or lost them as a child. Arnold is supposed to grow up to be one of them, and it's so hard for him to break away from a life already lied out for him.

I think that the article "Sorry I'm Not a Stereotype" relates a lot to ATD because of the fact that is is taking about stereotypes about Indians. In the book, the kids at Reardan make assumptions about Arnold and stereotype him. They think that just because he lives on a reservation, he is poor, he does not dress well, they make fun of his name and they don't think he is smart. These assumptions and stereotypes that are made about Arnold are very similar to the ones that are described about the woman in the article. The woman in the article is Indian as well and people make a lot of assumptions as to what she might look like and how she might dress and where she might live. They make stereotypes about how she should probably have long black hair, braids, feathers and beads. IN the article in talks about how the people assume the woman is one way but then people say things like "You don't look Indian" and so she thinks "Well sorry for not being a stereotype".

Arnold's life is different from the one in the article because he is younger, he stands up for himself more and he gets treated differently then the woman in the article. Since Arnold is younger, he is affected a little bit more by the fact that he is an Indian because many kids do not know much about Indians in his situation and so they make more assumptions about him. Also, since he goes to Reardan, he is the only Indian in a school full of "white kids" so he stands out more. Another things is that when Arnold is made fun of about his race or appearance, he does not go down without a fight. In the article, the woman did not do that. Therefore, that is how I think that Arnold's life is different than the woman's life from the article.

The article "Sorry I'm Not a Stereotype" applies with Absolutely True Diary because Arnold is like the person in the article "Sorry I'm not a Stereotype". They both are different from everyone else and other people think that they shouldn't be here because of that. Most people believe in the stereotypes and think that it is okay to make fun of them and make false assumptions.

Arnold's perspective is different from the author because Arnold is a person that loves to learn new things. Also, other people think Indians are really dumb and stupid, but it is not true. The author reads to live. She doesn't have the same experience that Arnold had in school. This is why I think Arnold's life is different from the author.

This article applies to Absolutely True Diary because Arnold and the author have the same perspective. What I mean by this is that the author and Arnold both feel as though they do not belong in this world, due to the fact that they are both Indian. People will automatically assume stereotypically that since they are Indians, they are poor or have feathers and such. However, there is more to it than just that. Indians are people just like you; people who have feelings and make an effort to succeed. That is what both Sherman Alexi and the author of the article is trying to point out. This is how this article applies to Absolutely True Diary.

Aside from all the similarities between Sherman and Arnold, the difference between them is that Arnold MAKES drawing to escape from the rez while Sherman reads already MADE books to become more knowledgeable and escape from the rez. These are two very different things, although they are both trying to get the same point across: to escape the rez.

The article, "Sorry I'm Not A Stereotype", by Rita Pyrillis relates a lot to The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. I think Sherman Alexis is very similar to Rita Pyrillis in the sense that they both agree that Indian (Native Americans) tend to be often put into categories such as; long black hair, braids, feathers, beads, living in tee-pees and victims of violent crimes. I also think that the whole "Aren't Indians extinct?" thing really bothers Rita Pyrillis and Sherman Alexis. I bet if they met, they woud have a lot in common and A LOT to talk about.

Well I think Arnold's life is different then the authors life because, Arnold is currently a child, he stuck up for himself when that bully came and he puts white people into a category. I can not really expand on Arnold being a child and Rita Pyrillis being an adult. I can say that when that bully was calling Arnold really mean names, Arnold stood up for himself and punched him in the face. Rita Pyrillis did not say anything, or even think of saying something the next morning when a lady skipped her in a grocery line and said "Why don't you people just go back to your own country". Rita Pyrillis was NOT standing up for herself when she did not say anything. lastly, I think Arnold and Rita Pyrillis are different because Rita Pyrillis just says those people but Arnold s always says WHITE PEOPLE. I think Arnold just puts all white people into a category; perfect, hopful, bright and has a bright future ahead of them. Rita Pyrillis does not make clear what people are being rude to her.

I think "sorry for not being a stereotype" is like ADT because they both talk about how people stereotype indians by their past and not the way they are today. For Arnold these stereotypes come from most of the kids at Reardan while the author the stereotypes are from people all over.

Arnolds life is different from the authors because Arnold's stereotypes were mostly in his childhood where he's in poverty but for the author it is in her later years where a lot more people had stereotypes about her and she wasn't seeing this through poverty.

I think "Sorry for Not Being A Stereotype," is like The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, because for one, both of the characters are native Americans themselves. Also, many people think of the Natives to live in the tepees, and to have long braided hair. It also applies to true diary, because the white man is always thinking of the natives as the ones they see in textbooks or in movies. Not only that, but the natives are treated badly as well. For instance, in "Sorry for Not Being A Stereotype," the woman told Rita to "go back to your own country." How do people say that to other people? Plus, the natives were the first ones in America, so what she said is not only untrue and pretty dumb, but as well as mean too.

Arnold's life is different the the author's life because, Arnold was born and raise on the reservation, while the author of "Sorry for Not Being A Stereotype," was born and raised in Chicago. Also, Arnold's perspective of the white people is not really hatred, but more of admiring. Arnold even believes that all hope is white and that everything good is white. For Rita, she thinks of the white people as stuck up and insensible.

I think "Sorry for Not Being a Stereotype" by Rita Pyrillis relates to The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian because Arnold is always talking in the book how many stereotypes there are about Native Americans/Indians.
I think this affects Arnold so, so, so, much! In the last chapter we read it was when Roger told Arnold that really racist joke. In this story I noticed Rita Phyrillis said " Sometimes, people simply don't believe I'm an Indian. 'You don't look like Indian', a women told me once." Which is something we talked about in class. How do you know what an 'Indian' looks like? You can't just stereotype what you think they look like. If you say oh all Indians' wear feathers, that is being a stereotype. You can't judge a book by its cover!