In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Junior’s girlfriend, Penelope, has a mental illness called anorexia. “Penelope gorges on her pain and then throws it up and flushes it away.” (Alexie 107). What Junior means when he says “…she’s scared all the time, but nobody will let her be scared…” (Alexie 108) is that since she appears to have a good life and no apparent problems, people don’t believe that she actually does have problems. Because her family is well off and she is pretty and popular, it is hard for people to believe that she has difficulties in her life. The truth is, mental illness doesn’t care what your situation in life is. Junior is now realizing that life for white people isn’t necessarily completely perfect. While life as an Indian may be harder in most ways, white people have problems too.
I agree, Junior and Penelope have more in common than meets the eye. Both have mental problems, and both sympathize with each other. Later in the reading section, Junior tells Penelope that he is poor, "I figured she was going to march right out of my life right then. But she didn't"(Alexie 127). The sympathy that Junior shows Penelope in her difficulties is mutual. They both realize that they can work through these times of their lives together.
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