Society is ruthless. It's a murderous community where people fight every day to remain themselves while trying to stay in the group. Sherman Alexie describes this in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian showing what it means for a single person to be an individual in a community and how it can affect our daily lives. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The struggle to remain an individual is described many times in the book. An example is when Junior first decides to change schools, stating, “I want to go to Rearden,” I repeated. I couldn't believe I was saying this. To me it felt as real as saying, “I want to fly to the moon” (45). At this point in the book, being an individual is clearly shown, but it took Junior a long time to get there. Leaving his entire family and his best friend Rowdy is an extremely difficult decision because no one has ever left the reservation before and going to an all-white school as an Indian with a disability could stack the odds even more against him. However, Junior stands by his decision, showing a clear depiction of being an individual and his struggles. Junior knows the tremendous amount of backlash he will receive for leaving, but he continues with the decision he made because he knows that in the end, it will benefit him and his education and it adds more to his individuality. Peer pressure and the comforting feeling of being with the rest of the crowd is also a major theme in this novel. For example, when Junior thinks back to a memory he and Rowdy shared, he says, "He wasn't really open to debate." I had to climb the tree with him. I couldn't back out. That wasn't how our friendship worked" (225). It hadn't been Junior's idea to climb the tree, but he did it anyway because he knew Rowdy would make fun of him if he didn't. Peer pressure is a great example of community, and that's exactly what happens in the book. Junior felt pressured into doing something he didn't really want to do in order to stay in this "community" and this further shows the pressures of society. Going against authority to make a point is a huge step to be an individual. A good example is when Gordy stands up to a teacher for Junior. Alexie writes, "He stood with his textbook and dropped it. Whomp! He looked so strong. He looked like a warrior" (175). Gordy dropped the textbook to show that he is on Junior's side. Gordy resisted to his community, which took a lot of courage and this shows an individual. His decision to go against his teacher is an important part of the individual-community relationship. Keep in mind: this is just an example. Get a personalized document now our expert writers.Get a custom essay All in all, Junior's struggles in high school are a representation of people's daily struggle to remain an individual in a community. Society is extremely brutal and sometimes it seems more important to try to "fit in", but actually individuality is just as beautiful. There are examples of individual and community constantly in our daily life, think twice before making a decision next time.