Race, Technology, and Human Connection in Alexie and Anderson

Arnold's Resistance Through Art and Irony

One way Arnold Spirit Jr. tries to change his perspective of race and poverty in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is through drawing. Drawing allows him a momentary, albeit fantasy, escape from his reality. As Alexie writes, "I draw because I want to talk to the world. And I want the world to pay attention to me" (Alexie, p. 5). Arnold believes that his drawing pen is his tool of choice, that he feels special when he wields it, and that he hopes to "be somebody important. An artist" (Alexie, p. 5). Illustration offers him a way out of his reservation and his imposed "identity" as an Indian. It offers him a window into a new world where he gets to set the perspective rather than have everyone else set it for him.

Throughout the narrative, Arnold also uses an extreme form of irony to convey the overall ridiculousness of "typing" people by race or economic status. He calls out the doctor for thinking Indians are only half human and therefore only need half the pain medicine. He calls out his friend's racist father for warning that Arnold better not get his daughter pregnant so that she has to carry a half-breed, despite the fact that Arnold is simply her friend with no such intentions.

At every turn, Arnold calls out the hypocrisy of others—if only in his journal—pointing out the cruelty of a silly world that stubbornly insists on asserting a ridiculous perspective viewing others as though they were worms, all based on a sense of "types" and where every "type" belongs and how every "type" deserves to be treated. His art and his sardonic voice become weapons against a dehumanizing system of categorization. For more context on how coming-of-age narratives address identity formation, this novel stands as a key example in contemporary young adult literature.

Technology as Prison in Feed

My initial impression of the "feed" in M.T. Anderson's Feed was that it was intrusive; however, I was not surprised by how such a large percentage of the population used it. Sometimes people do not mind being intruded upon—for instance, when they travel through an airport and wait in line to be "searched." Anderson's book reflects this intrusiveness, using environmental and technological themes. The fact that Titus and Violet are on the moon when their feeds crash shows how the feed has them so locked into a prison extending outside their minds to their own reality—the fake clouds, the deadly water—that they have to physically leave the planet before the author can even begin to take them out of their artificial world implanted in their minds. Otherwise, if their feeds were to crash while at home, the experience would not be as impactful. Anderson places them on the moon first so that they have at least a chance at coming to themselves in a way that their ordinary environment would not permit.

There is also the problem of the feed distracting its users from real-world issues. Titus and his friends are so caught up in m-chatting and communicating "telepathically" that they fail to understand the world in which they live and, consequently, themselves. They are detached from their environment and consider technology to be their environment, but it actually functions like a prison. Their native country is polluting the earth, and other world powers are considering going to war with them over the problem—yet Titus and his peers remain oblivious.

Anderson's novel does not give much hope for the characters, except for the knowledge that "everything must go" (Anderson, p. 299), which resembles the saying "this too shall pass." In the end, the feed entirely consumes the characters, taking away memory and the ability to function. Titus can only tell Violet the story of their meeting as though it were a movie trailer. Their functions are so limited that it is impossible to connect for any longer than a snippet or two.

Conclusion: Systems That Isolate

Is the feed to blame for all of this? Not entirely. It is the people who allowed the feed to displace real learning and real affection. Everyone has the option of disconnecting, but few do. Why? Because there are too few people out there offering a better way of being. The problem lies not solely in the technology but in the human choices that permit technology to become an instrument of disconnection rather than understanding.

Both Alexie and Anderson critique systems—whether systems of racial and economic categorization or technological mediation—that prevent authentic identity formation and human connection. Arnold uses art and irony to resist being "typed" and to assert his own voice. Titus and Violet discover genuine connection only when the technological system fails. Yet both novels suggest that individual resistance, while necessary, is insufficient without broader cultural change. The tragedy lies not simply in the existence of these systems but in the passive acceptance of them by those who might choose differently. Dehumanization occurs not only through external oppression but through our complicity in allowing systems to replace authentic human experience. These essays on Part-Time Indian and Feed ultimately argue that literature serves as a crucial space for naming these systems and imagining alternatives.