Turning on the Light (True Diary Essay)

Christina Hunter

English 102

February 14^th, 2013

Turning  on the Light

    How does one swim and not sink, when they have to overcome hard times? Having a positive mindset is not something everyone can accomplish. Even if you’re going through the hardest of times, is there something positive that you can do to make it a little less of a burden? There’s always something. Even if there’s nothing you can do about a situation to change the circumstances, you can certainly   strive to keep a positive attitude, and continue to have a little bit of hope, and a positive outlook on like.  The character Albus Dumbledore, from the movie, Harry Potter, and the Prisoner of Azkaban, said, “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” What he says is true, but we ourselves have to remember to turn on that light, otherwise we cannot find happiness, and hope. In the book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie shows how hard it can be to have hope, when the protagonist, Arnold Spirit is faced with more than just small complications when trying to find that better life for himself, while living on a Native American Reservation.  Even since birth, Arnold is already fighting complications, but by having hope, and keeping a positive outlook on life, and his future, he is able to turn on his own light, and find his own happiness.

Junior’s search for hope begins with a surprising beginning. After throwing his math book at his math teacher, due to surging emotions about being stuck on the reservation with a poor education, his math teacher, Mr. P. actually takes the time to visit him, and talk to him more about his future. He confides in Arnold, when he tells him, “You have to leave this reservation. (42).” and, “All the kids here have given up, all your friends,. All the bullies. All their mothers and fathers have given up, too. And their grandparents gave up, and their grandparents before them. And me and every other teacher here. (42).” “But not you, you can’t give up. You won’t give up. You threw that book in my face because somewhere inside you refuse to give up. (43).” Then Mr. P. tells Arnold the most important thing that starts his journey, “You fought off that brain surgery. You fought off those seizures. You fought off all the drunks and drug addicts. You kept your hope. And now, you have to take your hope and go somewhere where other people have hope. (43).” “You’re going to find more and more hope the farther and farther you walk away from this sad, sad, sad reservation. (43).” Mr. P knows that Arnold has that quality of someone who keeps fighting the good fight, and doesn’t give up. He knows that there is still a chance for Arnold to have a better life, and get what he wants.

     It is then that Arnold decides he has to make a choice. He then decides to transfer to Reardan High School. An all-white school off the reservation, where there’s hope. Going to Reardan is a very scary experience for Arnold, at first. It’s not easy for him being the only Native American kid, in a sea of white faces.  But he is able to be brave, and mussel through it. He even makes friends with the High School Jock, a popular girl named Penelope, and a really smart student named Gordy. Arnold creates his own hope at Reardan, when he approaches Gordy for the first time, and says, “I want us to be friends. I meant regular friends. I mean, you and I, we have a lot in common. (94).” Gordy agrees. This is one way that Arnold turned on the light, and created his own happiness, at Reardan. Arnold even tries out for the school basketball team. He goes to tryouts, “And that’s when I knew I was going to make the team. Heck, I ended up on the varsity. As a freshman. Coach said I was the best shooter who’d ever played for him. And I was going to be his secret weapon. I was going to be his Weapon of Mass Destruction. (142).” Arnold created his own hope and happiness at Reardan through making friends, and playing on the school’s basketball team. He made the most of it. Before a big basketball game against his best friend Rowdy, Arnold says, “I feel like this is the most important night of my life. I feel like I have something to prove to the people in Reardan, the people in Wellpinit, and to myself. I have to prove that I am stronger than everybody else. I have to prove that I will never give up. I will never quit playing hard. And I don’t just mean in basketball. I’m never going to quit living this hard, you know? I’m never going to surrender to anybody. Never, ever, ever.  I’ve never wanted anything more in my life.”(186).” Arnold really is stronger than everyone else, because he never quits, or gives up, and he always finds the hope that he needs to keep moving. He always creates his own hope, and never fails to turn on the light.

     Soon, Arnold finds himself within one family tragedy after another. His Grandmother and Father’s close friend Eugene both die. At this point, Arnold is devastated, and ends up missing school for a little, while because of his grief. After a few days, he finally shows up to class, and his Teacher mocks him in front of the class about him missing school. His classmates were all there for him, and knew he had missed school because of the deaths in his family. The all support him by throwing their books down, and walking out of class. Then it was Arnold’s turn. “I walked out of the classroom and felt like dancing and singing. It all gave me hope. It gave me a little bit of joy. And I kept trying to find little pieces of joy in my life. That’s the only way I managed to make it through all of that death and change. I made a list of the people who had given me the most joy in my life. (177.)” That little piece of hope triggered Arnold to again create a little bit of hope for himself, to help himself make it through those tough times. So he begins making lists of things that gave him joy, and is grateful for having so many things he could create different lists about.

    Arnold refers to a story his Father had told him about a lake called, Turtle Lake. In the story, Turtle Lake is a dangerous place to swim because, it’s so deep, and murky, that no one could see the bottom of it. His father had said when they were younger; many people on the reservation saw a horse sink in the river and disappear. They eventually named it stupid horse. But weeks later, Stupid horse’s body was washed up ten miles further down from Turtle Lake.  The body was recovered, and burned, to do away with it. The lake had caught on fire, and Stupid Horse’s body was found again on the shore. “Despite being burned at the dump, and burned again in the lake of fire, Stupid Horse was untouched. (224).” The story of Stupid Horse represents Arnold in the sense of how he lives his life. It shows how he is relentless, and does not give up. Even though Stupid Horse was supposed to sink, and disappear, he still showed up on the shore every time. He’s just like Arnold, who doesn’t give up, who keeps creating, and finding his hope, and doesn’t give up.

    In order to swim, and not sink, one must create their own hope, and find the light, even in the darkest of times. We just have to be that person, who actually turns the light on, and stay positive and keep an optimistic outlook on life, like Arnold does. In the words of Albus Dumbledore, “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”