Five Important Words In The Absolutely True Diary Of a Part-Time Indian

Hope: Arnold has all of the excuses in the world to give up, still he hopes to better himself. He uses the lost hope of those around him to fuel his own and make sure he never loses his.

Poverty: Poverty plagues not just Arnold but also his community.  poverty makes his already difficult life even harder, not knowing if he will have enough food to eat, or enough gas in his parents car to go to to school. Poverty killed the hope of the Indians on his reservation and infected them with the disease of alcoholism.

Education: Arnold knew that it was education that was gonna save him from falling in the pit of hopelessness that everyone else around him fell into.He also knew that the education he was getting on the reservation wasn't gonna get him anywhere so he decided upgrade to get the education that the more privileged kids were getting in Rearden.

Race: Race plays a huge role in Arnold's life. When he is at Rearden he is a Indian and when he is on the reservation he is viewed as a "apple" by his own people because they say that he is red on the outside and white on the inside. Throughout the whole book he has a difficult time dealing with his identity.

Death: Death has always been alive in Arnold's life. He is surrounded by the dead dreams of everybody in his community. Death took his sister in a fire and nabbed his grandmother due to a car accident that involved alcohol.