<P> Not all opinions on the novel are completely polarized . Some have discussed the merits of the book, while also mentioning the risks of exposing children to the harsher scenes . Young Adult Fiction author Raquel Rivera wrote in an essay on censorship: </P> <P> "I recently insisted my son, now 12 years old, read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part - Time Indian . It is an excellent book and happens to have much useful material for a boy entering his teens...But there is a scene in Part - Time Indian in which a racist joke is told, and the protagonist is compelled to fight . For me, the joke was nothing more than a tool to propel the plot . In the story it is duly vanquished and forgotten . But the joke stayed with my son, and he continued to be bothered by it ." </P> <P> Sherman Alexie grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington . While living on the reservation, he had to make sacrifices and choices that guided the direction of his future . In Diary, he writes a story based on the challenges he faced once he left the reservation, and how his decision to go to school for a proper education was quite difficult to adjust to . Critics have discussed the role of Historical Trauma in Alexie's life and works . </P> <P> In "Healing The Soul Wound," Jan Johnson, a writer and literary critic, analyzes Sherman Alexie's purpose in sharing stories of marginalization and oppression in Native American communities . Johnson identifies the "soul wound," a concept that evolved from the historical oppression of Native Americans . This phenomenon is responsible for the characterization of Native Americans as individuals who are constantly suffering, and according to Johnson, this struggle has become a cultural trait . Johnson writes, "Alexie feels that--as a result of this grim history--suffering and trauma are fundamental to the experience of being Native American . Ceaseless suffering attains an epistemological status ." Johnson also talks about how Junior went from being one of the smartest kids on the reservation, to being a target in his new prominently white school . Johnson explains that behaviors of the characters in Flight is a reflection on the traumas Native American Indians went through . On the other hand, Diary is a possible indication of the healing process from the tragedies and traumas the Spokane Indians faced throughout history . It is important for people to understand how this specific group and other groups of Native Americans were dehumanized and ripped of their cultural values, which is what Johnson considered to be the "soul wound" of American Indians . </P>

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