The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

We are reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, in my English class and were discussing the themes. The main character Arnold/Junior moves from the school on his reservation, being the only thing he knew, to moving to an all white school twenty-two miles away. Junior is in pursuit of hope and believes he will find it at Reardan. Junior's determination to strive in an academic setting is inspiring to me. Why is it that we often find ourselves holding back because of societies out look what is expectable and what is not. We all conform and try not to break the mold that we have been set in our entire lives. Junior is fearless, on the outside, for making this decision, knowing for a fact that he will be hated on the reservation, and at Reardan. After a while he begins to become accepted at Reardan and has made new friends. After his grandmother's death, he stopped being harassed on the reservation but doesn't feel 100% normal. And unfortunately his best friend still hasn't forgiven him, believing that Junior left to hurt him, not to better Junior's outcome of life.