When going to the bathroom Arnold finds out that Penelope is anorexic. Before the incident when he hears her throwing up, he thinks of her as a goddess; someone that has a wonderful stress-free life. Sadly, life is not so simple and her life is not that glorious. She has to face many issues and is consumed in them because since she is "pretty and smart and popular" (108), no one would let her voice her issues. Since she is so popular she is held to a standard that she cannot sustain while still staying sane.
When she finally voices her stress to someone else, Arnold, she has a burden come off her shoulders. She finally gets past being scared to voice her troubles and trusts Junior with her secret.
Even though she hangs out with a lot of friends she knows that it can change in a moment if she takes one wrong move, like when "Penelope had... declaired that I was cute... all the other girls... decided I was cute to" (110). This shows how her friend group can change their mind in an instant, and that is what worries Penelope. With the stress of all her relationships resting on a thin wire, she needed someone to confide in. Everyone just looks at her cover and doesn't consider the pages inside, the thoughts and challenges she faces as well as many other issues she deals with. Since she cannot voice her thoughts they have built up and have finally have to come out.
1.Will her secret come out, if you think so what are the implications?
2.Do you think that her large dreams will impact Arnold to want more out of life?
3.Is Arnold still only focusing on Penelope's outside or looking deeper?
4.How will Arnold help her find herself? 4.5 How will she help Arnold find himself?
I don't think Penelope's secret will get out unless she tells someone other than Arnold. So far, Arnold is the only person who knows about Penelope's secret, and he wouldn't betray her trust and tell anyone. If Penelope told/tells someone else her secret, than it might get out because that person could tell others. It's also possible for another girl to see her throwing up in the girls' bathroom. If that were to happen, than it could get out to anyone if someone told their friends about it. I think her secret won't get out, only because she's popular, and if someone heard her throwing up in the bathroom, they might not want to tell other people because they like her, and Arnold loves her, and knows that she'll never love him back if he tells her secret, so he won't tell anyone.
ReplyDeleteI think Penelope's secret is already out, and nobody is saying anything (there are no implications). After Penelope vomits and comes out of the bathroom, she is caught "chomping hard on cinnamon gum. She'd obviously tried to cover up the smell of vomit with the biggest piece of cinnamon gum the world. But it doesn't work." (106). Penelope's cinnamon vomit stench is so strong that Junior can smell it easily. And if he can smell it, then the other kids must be able to smell it. However, these kids must not be talking about it, because then Penelope would be getting help outside of school, and everyone would know about her condition. However, these events aren't happening, and the kids aren't speaking about it, even though her cinnamon vomit, or cinnavomit stench is so obvious
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