Theme Response Example

In the Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, a major theme is hope. The theme is developed through the protagonist, Junior, who is an improvised Spokane Native American living on a reservation. His family and many of the people on the reservation are alcoholics. Junior’s family also lives in poverty and each day it is a struggle just to eat. Junior has an epiphany when he sees his mother’s name in his geometry textbook and realizes he will be like his mother-stuck on the reservation in poverty. He has no hope for a better future. Junior throws his book at his math teacher, Mr. P., in frustration. Junior is suspended from school. Surprisingly, Mr. P. visits Junior at his home and tells him if he wants a better future, he will have to leave the reservation. Junior takes his advice and starts going to school in Reardan, an off reservation, white school. At Reardan, Junior sees hope for a better future through obtaining a better education, becoming a star basketball player, and dating an attractive, caring girl. Back on the reservation, alcohol related deaths of those close to Junior (his grandmother, his father’s friend, and sister) remind him of the hopeless of living on the reservation and further motivate him to remain at Reardan.

The theme of hope is significant to me because it allows me to work towards a better future. Like Junior, there are things in my life I would like to improve. In particular, I have hope for obtaining a good teaching job that will allow me to support myself after I graduate from U.W. River Falls. While the graduate program requires much dedication and work, my hope for a good teaching job in the future motivates me to continue. Similar to Junior, I had to move to go to a new school and leave my comfort zone of familiar people. I even had to go one step further and actually move to where my school was located. This meant I had to make new friends. As with Junior, it was a sacrifice I was willing to make in the hope of a better future.

Question: What are you hopeful for in the future and what are you doing to obtain your goal?

Example Blog Post

Click "New Post" in the upper right hand corner to create a blog post about your book theme. You can respond to a post by clicking the post title and writing a response below it in the text box. Then click "Publish Post" in the lower left hand corner.