Gordy Character Analysis in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Junior’s friend and the “class genius” at the Reardan school, who loves computers and books. Described as “an eighty-year-old literature professor trapped in the body of a fifteen-year-old” white farm boy from Reardan, Gordy teaches Junior how to take books seriously and also draw joy from them. He is “an extremely weird dude” and also the smartest person Junior has ever known.

Gordy Quotes in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

The The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian quotes below are all either spoken by Gordy or refer to Gordy. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Identity, Belonging, and Coming-of-Age Theme Icon

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Little, Brown and Company edition of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian published in 2009.

Gordy gave me this book by a Russian dude named Tolstoy, who wrote: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Well, I hate to argue with a Russian genius, but Tolstoy didn’t know Indians. And he didn’t know that all Indian families are unhappy for the same exact reason: the fricking booze.

Related Characters: (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 200

Explanation and Analysis:

Gordy Character Timeline in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

The timeline below shows where the character Gordy appears in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Racism, Poverty, and Alcoholism Theme Icon

Furious at being contradicted, Mr. Dodge belittles Junior’s education from the rez, and calls on Gordy, the “class genius,” to explain the truth. When Gordy confirms that Junior’s explanation is correct,... (full context)

Junior tries to thank Gordy for standing up for him, but Gordy just says that he did it for science.... (full context)

...turn by Mary’s dramatic act, Junior decides to face up to a confrontation and asks Gordy to be his friend. In their initial conversation, both Gordy and Junior annoy each other—Gordy... (full context)

Drawing, Writing, and Junior’s Cartoons Theme Icon

Gordy teaches Junior how to read books: first for the story; then for the words, taking... (full context)

Junior asks Gordy for advice, and Gordy Googles “in love with a white girl,” finding an article about... (full context)

Confessions, Revenge, and Forgiveness Theme Icon

...spontaneity—the Reardan kids are too worried about their futures to do something like that. When Gordy sees, Junior tells him the story of his fight with Rowdy, and explains that the... (full context)

Gordy says that “life is a constant struggle between being an individual and being a member... (full context)

Junior thinks the best thing about Reardan is Penelope—as well as Gordy, maybe—and the best thing about Wellpinit was his grandmother. He thinks his grandmother’s greatest gift... (full context)

From Gordy, Junior gets a book with what seems like a good definition of his grief: Euripides’... (full context)

To show his support for Junior, Gordy stands and drops his textbook, leading the rest of the class to do the same.... (full context)

...been to more than five. He also disagrees with the Tolstoy quote he gets from Gordy about unhappy families, since “all Indian families are unhappy for the same exact reason: the... (full context)

...friends—Penelope, whom he’s written three love letters although she hasn’t written one in return yet; Gordy, who wants to come to the rez and stay with Junior for a week or... (full context)