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Chapter 18
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Identity, Belonging, and Coming-of-Age
Overlapping Opposites
Racism, Poverty, and Alcoholism
Confessions, Revenge, and Forgiveness
Hope, Dreams, and Loss
Drawing, Writing, and Junior’s Cartoons
Summary
Analysis
In another happy letter, Mary tells Junior that although she hasn’t been able to find a job yet, she has begun to write her life story, entitled “How to Run Away From Your House and Find Your Home.”
Mary’s decision to write her life story means she’s finally pursuing her dream of becoming a writer, but it’s also a metaphor for her decision to take control of her own life.
Themes
Mary encloses a photo of her “gorgeous new place,” an aluminum trailer that Junior, who reproduces it in cartoon form, thinks “looks like a TV dinner tray.”
In some ways, Mary’s happiness seems delusional, as her reality doesn’t match her “gorgeous” dream, even though she thinks it does. On the other hand, she’s found a lot of joy in a life that doesn’t seem very glorious, proving that finding your dream isn’t so unattainable after all.
Themes
