"'But not you,' Mr. P said. 'You can't give up. You won't give up. you threw that book in my face because somewhere inside you refuse to give up.'" (43). Mr. P says this to Junior because he thinks that Junior is different from the other Indian kids, and he won't give up. Mr. P says to Junior that he has been fighting since he was a baby. He's fought brain damage, seizures, bullies, and more. He's always kept his hope, and now he has to take his hope, and go somewhere with it. Somewhere where other people have hope. Somewhere where he has a chance at a better life if he doesn't let go of his hope. Somewhere away from the reservation. He's telling Junior that he has to run away in order to have a better life.
Do you think Junior will run away? Do you think he should? Why or why not?
How do you think Rowdy will react to Junior leaving to go to Reardan? Why?
Do you think Rowdy would've ever thought of transferring schools or running away if it weren't for Mr. P? Why, or why not?
How would you feel if you were in Junior's situation? What would you do? How would you decide?
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ReplyDeleteI think Arnold would have never transferred if he had not been upset and thrown his book at Mr. P. That made Mr.P realize that Arnold is very upset with the situation there, and wants something better for himself. Mr. P tells Arnold that he is a very smart kid and has a very good potential. Everyone at school has told him he is worthless and stupid and he started to believe them. Then, Mr.P got Arnold out of the curse that "He is stupid". "I hit you because I am stupid. Your not stupid"(34). Mr P. does not like indians because they fool around. Also, he does not like kids who fool around or kids like Rowdy who live in violent backgrounds. Mr P. really loves Arnold because he is smart and does not do stupid things that could get him in trouble. "You are a good kid. You deserve the world"(41).
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Zoe said about how much Arnold has gone through and still has hope. I do think that Junior will leave the reservation. This intuition is due to the fact that Arnold doesn't want to be stuck in the circle of the reservation. I know that Mr. P has inspired Arnold to leave the reservation, and though Arnold’s parents may not like it, Arnold will work hard to do what he has to do. I think that Rowdy will not be happy about Arnold leaving the reservation. Rowdy is a little rough on the outside, and Junior is the only person that can get to him. Rowdy will be sad that he will no longer have a friend at “the rez,” and will most likely react with brute force towards whoever gives him the news. I do not think that Junior would have thought of transferring without Mr. P’s speech. He is born with the sad belief that he will be stuck in the reservation for his whole life until Mr. P tells him the way to escape. If I was in Junior’s situation, I probably wouldn’t have the guts to leave everything I know, and go to a school where almost everyone will be racist and biased towards me. Arnold has a rare amount of courage and perseverance that he is definitely going to need if he transfers to Reardan.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you, the indians on the reservation are doing nothing but destroying themselves. They have the mindset that is setting themselves up for destruction, they grew up poor therefore they will be poor. Over and over they tell themselves that and over and over they get told that. If Junior had never gotten mad at Mr. P, he would have never realized that he was in a trap. He would have kept letting himself believe that this is what he was meant for, to live off his life getting drunk and spending his money gambling. Now that Junior is transferring to Reardan High school he is slowly but surely severing the ties holding him back. Severing the ties that otherwise would become stronger and stronger until Junior could not cut them, and he would live in desperate poverty just like his parents did and his grandparents did and his great grandparents did. How would you think another teacher would have reacted to being smashed in the face by a book? What would their reaction be?
ReplyDeleteArnold has kept his hope even through the roughest of times and has shown us that he is capable of much greater things, but he never actually had the courage to escape his reality until Mr. P nudged him onto the right track. Mr. P certainly left a large impression on Arnold because no one had ever told him that he is smart, capable, and most of all, important. All his life he was told that he was poor, and he started to believe that he was weird, poor and wouldn't ever be anything else. The fact that he still hasn't accepted his poverty shows us that he is a very strong person, and that he is capable of doing something more, expanding on his lifeboats. Now that Mr. P has convinced Arnold that he is important, and that his life has more to it than just poverty, he has a large chance that he will complete this dream of being something more. Arnold definitely has the guts to do this, but that isn't all, he also has a great desire to escape his poverty, and also to find himself. Overall, Arnold has proved to us that he has a rare level of desire, and courage that is almost impossible to find in a place where he comes from.
ReplyDeleteIf Junior goes to Reardan and leaves the reservation, Rowdy, could react violently, or he could be happy for Junior, and eventually move on-it can go both ways. Rowdy is known for being “the toughest kid on the rez” (15), meaning he starts fights (trouble). This means, he could beat Junior up, regardless of their friendship, because he “has a temper and stuff” (41). However, he also is Junior’s best friend and protector, meaning “he would always tell me the truth” (16). Arnold is the narrator of this story, and he trusts Rowdy to be honest about how he would feel if he left for Reardan. Rowdy can be supportive and encouraging, or angry and violent-it can go both ways since he has such varied personality traits. Rowdy is nice, but angry, making him unpredictable.
ReplyDeleteJunior's decision to leave the reservation and go to a different school will impact his life forever. Going to the different school will give him a better education, but also possibly split up Reardan, his only friend. I think that this leap will be really helpful because the white children have not given up hope, and surrounding him with that will help him strive for more. On the other hand, given the limited number of friends, it might one help him make new friends, and two possibly lose his only friend. One factor that I think helped push him towards deciding to go was his sister, someone he was pretty close with, who gave up hope of her dream to just become another Indian.
ReplyDeleteDo you think Arnold would have ever thought of leaving the res if it weren't for mr. P?
ReplyDeleteNo, without Mr. P's advice to leave the Res as soon as possible, Arnold would have never thought of leaving the Res. Of course Arnold always wanted a better life for himself, and not to follow in the trail of his relatives, but the idea of leaving behind his home, Rowdy, and all he knows never occurred to him. When Mr. P brought up Arnold leaving the Res, Arnold was in shock (42), which infers that he never had thought of the idea, and most likely wouldn't have any time in the future. Arnold making the mistake of throwing his book at Mr. P will change his life forever.
Arnold is in a very difficult situation, especially at such a young age. He has to choose between his culture and what is he told is his only chance at an escape from poverty. We obviously know that he decides to leave, but I’m not sure that was the right choice. Although he needs to realize what he needs to be successful, I think that he also needs to understand the role that his culture plays or doesn’t in that. Mr. P told him that hope is separated from the reservation, but Arnold needs to come to that decision himself. I think that he made this choice too soon, because he listened to the first person who offered a solution, which might show that he hasn’t really thought this through.
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