The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Character Summaries
Arnold Spirit, nicknamed Junior, is a fourteen-year-old boy who lives on the Spokane Indian Reservation. He enjoys basketball and drawing in his free time. Junior and his family, along with the others on the reservation are dealing with poverty. A lot of times, there is not enough food to eat in their home or enough money for gas in the car, forcing him to hitchhike to school or not go at all.
Junior's Mom is a Spokane Indian, living on the tribe her whole life. She's a bad liar and likes to read books a lot of the time and she's very smart. "She's a human tape recorder. Really, my mom can read the newspaper in fifteen minutes and tell me baseball scores, the location of every war, the latest guy to win the lottery and the high temperature in Des Moines, Iowa.
Junior's Dad is an alcoholic, but is a good singer. "He sings old country songs. And blues, too. Like a pro." He plays the piano and saxophone.
Mr. P is bald and short. He is Junior's geometry teacher.
Rowdy "He is long and lean and strong like a snake." Junior and Rowdy have been friends since they were little.
Junior's sister, Mary has long hair and is nicknamed "Mary runs away". She likes to write. After high school, she did not go to college or get a job.
Gordy wears glasses, and stands up for Junior when the teacher says he's wrong.
Penelope has blond hair and Junior thinks that she is very pretty. She wants to help others and is bulimic.
Eugene is Junior's father's best friend. "Eugene was a good guy, and like an uncle to me, but he was drunk all the time." He becomes an EMT for the tribe.
Junior's Grandma is Junior's source of advice.