The Rez

The Reservation or Rez is the home of characters like Arnold or Victor. As American Indians, living on the Rez is a way of life, but is a way of life that bring lots of bad things with it. Poverty is one example. In the Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, Arnold is always hungry. He will go long periods of time without food due to the lack of money his parents have. Most reservation Indians are also faced with the same horrors because there are not enough jobs. Alcohol also poses a significant problem. Arnold and Victor were both faced with abusive fathers. Arnold was lucky enough never to be hit by his father but his best friend Rowdy was usually beaten. In Smoke Signals, Victor at a young age is usually hit by his drunken father because of small things that anger him. It is a significant problem in the society. In Part-Time Indian, Arnold is shown that he must leave because he has more hope than the people at the Rez. The Rez is full of drunks and angry people. Arnold escapes the chains of the Rez that has a disease that is passed down by generation of the same terrible flaws. The Rez poses a threat to anyone trying to flee and become something other than another indian on the Rez. If you leave the Rez you become an outcast to the society you once knew. Once you leave you can never come back. That is one terrible fact Arnold comes to realize as his best friend abandons him. The Rez is home but it also is a chain that holds back the inhabitants from leaving, exploring, and expanding.