The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Codes and Conventions

First person narration Definition Example from the book Also known as first person point of view When the story is narrated by the main character Allows us to get to know the character intimately Written using “I” “I was only six months old and I was supposed to croak during the surgery. And even if I somehow survived the mini-Hoover, I was supposed to suffer serious brain damage during the procedure and live the rest of my life as a vegetable.” (page 2)

Multi-Genre Definition Example from the book Combining different genres to tell one story (narration, e-mails, drawings, letters etc…) Allows the reader to get different points of view Pictured on the left is Junior’s self-portrait on page 57

Allusion Definition Example from the book Allusion is a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance. “ I was the only kid, white or Indian, who knew that Charles Dickens wrote A Tale of Two Cities. And let me tell you, we Indians were the worst of times and those Reardan kids were the best of times.” (page 50)

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens 1859 Set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution Tells the story of the poor peasants in France vs. the rich aristocracy & monarchy First line is: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us…”

Tone Definition Example from the book The author’s ATTITUDE toward the subject, reader or audience. The tone can be formal, informal, serious, comic, sarcastic, sad, and cheerful etc… Tone is shown through the author’s word choices and details. “Yes, I was a terrible fighter. I was a human punching bag. I lost fights to boys, girls and kids half my age. One bully, Micah, made me beat up myself. Yes, he made me punch myself in the face three times. I am the only Indian in the history of the world who ever lost a fight with himself.” (pages 62-63)

Imagery Definition Example from the book Using language in such a way that it appeals to the physical senses (sight, sound, touch, taste & smell). Author’s often use figurative language to create imagery. This enables the reader to create a image in their mind. “If those Andruss brothers had punched a hole in the aquarium of my skull, I might have flooded out the entire powwow.” (page 21)

Conflict Definition Example from the book Internal Conflict: a struggle within yourself External Conflict: a conflict between the character and another person, society, nature etc… Internal Conflict: “I felt like two different people inside of one body. No, I felt like a magician slicing myself in half, with Junior living on the north side of the Spokane River and Arnold living on the south.” (page 61) External Conflict: “ …there were a few of those Reardan boys, the big jocks, who paid special attention to me…So mostly they called me names.” (page 63)