Arnold cries after the game against Wellpinit because he realizes that even though a lot of terrible events had occurred recently between them, they still are his tribe and he loves them. He realizes that no matter what they will always be his family, and he knew his feeling were wrong towards them. Junior feels guilty. At first in the game Junior is a slight bit ignorant towards the other team, and only feels hate. He mentions that "man, oh, man, we were sending some serious hate signals across the gym," (191). He also says that " you have to love somebody that much to hate them that much, too," (192). What Arnold means by this is that you can only truly hate one if you have had a past with them. It takes time, pain, and past to feel that kind of hate. This specifically applies to Rowdy. During the beginning of the game Arnold wants to prove himself to Rowdy, and show him he is more than what he thinks. He wants to almost be better than him. Junior feels that revenge is the solution to the problem. Though near the end of the game Junior realizes that this may not be the case.
Towards the end of the game Arnold realizes that his fellow Rez Indians are his family and that the way he treated them was wrong. he acted as if for sometime he was a superior to them even though the are equal. This make them feel bad as they are one family and they have always battled hardships together and now they have been stripped of many things, just like Arnold. Even Junior's father sees this, Arnold says "I thought he'd be cheering. But he wasn't. He wasn't even looking at me," (195). Then Arnold realizes his mistake and feels terrible because it wasn't just him who was facing problems the whole time. So he feels guilty for not realizing it and being misunderstanding as well. "I suddenly wanted to apologize to Rowdy, to all of the other Spokanes," (195). Overall Arnold feels guilty for not realizing and feels bad. He wants to make it up and be a better community together.
If you were in this situation, what would you do? Would you cry too?
Why do think its such a big deal when Coach says "you can do it"," (189) to Arnold?
Do you think Arnold and Rowdy will become friends again? Why?
Does Arnold not need Rowdy? Why?
I agree with you on the fact that Arnold needs to love Rowdy to hate him too. I think that Arnold cries because he feels like his is living in two alternate universes. One on the rez and the other at Reardan. In one place he is an outsider and in the other he is rejected because he decided to live in two universes instead of one. Arnold is living on the edge of both and if he gets off balance he will slip and fall off both of them, becoming a nobody hermit. If He was expelled from Reardan do you think that Juniors tribe would let him back in and accept him again or would he live the rest of his life in exile.
ReplyDeleteEven though Arnold has his own friends now, he still needs Rowdy. He can go on without him however deep down he wants to be friends again. We saw at the very end of the reading that Rowdy sent him messages, the first time straight to him. This shows that they might finally get to be friends again. Arnold always mentions Rowdy and how they used to be friends. Rowdy was one of the most important people in his life, you can't just loose someone that important and live on fine.
ReplyDeleteI think Rowdy crying wasn't really necessary. First of all Rowdy obviously doesn't care as much as he does and he just has to let it go. But he wont let Rowdy go. Also him crying after the game showed his emotional side in knowing what the Wellpinit High boys are going to go back to so I understand ,but he cant keep turning everything into his fault or something bad he has to let it go. I think he has to take this win as a confidence booster and not too get sad and bring his confidence back down.
ReplyDeleteI do think that Arnold still needs Rowdy, even though he has made new friends at school. Although he has created relationships that provide things that Rowdy didn't, it is no replacement. Penelope, Roger, and Gordy try to understand Arnold, but Rowdy is still the only one who can really share his experiences. Also, for years Rowdy has been Arnold's rock, so he also provides a sense of comfort when Arnold hasn't really found his identity yet. Furthermore, if Rowdy and Arnold become friends again, then I think that it will make Arnold feel like a bigger part of the rez.
ReplyDeleteArnold still needs Rowdy. Throughout the past chapters Arnold has been telling us, the readers, how much he misses Rowdy. This notifies you that he still needs Rowdy. Rowdy and Arnold have been through so much together that it would be nearly impossible to no longer need each other. Even though Arnold has made so many new friends at Reardon, they are so different from Rowdy, and can't share the same experiences and Rowdy and Arnold can. Most importantly, they still need each other because they are best friends and that is so hard to let go of. Neither of them are at their best without each other.
ReplyDeleteIt's such a big deal when Arnold's coach says you can do it because event though those are just four simple words, he doesn't here them very often. Arnold has never heard an adult tell him he could do something. He is Indian, and none of the Indians in the past have been successful. Most of them grow up to be poor drunks, and have kids that grow up to be poor drunks, and so on. He really feels encouraged because his coach is telling him he can do it. His coach thinks he'll be successful, and nobody has ever told Arnold he could be successful before, he's never had that chance.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think its such a big deal when Coach says "you can do it"," (189) to Arnold?
ReplyDeleteI think it is a big deal when coach says he can do it because it gives him an inspiration and a task to complete. He probably has never heard any words of encouragement from his family of his friends. He has never heard encouragement from an adult before and this is huge for him. "Do you you understand how amazing it is to hear that from an adult? Do you know how amazing it is to hear that from anybody?"(189). His coach who is white and has probably been coaching kids for years and has trusted him to carry the team to success. Arnold is one of the youngest players on the varsity team and his coach depends on him. With his help they can beat any opponent.
I think that is is such a big deal because this is the first time that Arnold has gotten such positive influence from an adult. This matters because he almost does not know how to respond to such good advice. Arnold then uses this to crush Rowdy in the game and Arnold finally realizes that he is not just a poor disabled indian kid anymore, he is a boy who is good at basketball but he will always be indian.
ReplyDeleteThe game effects Arnold enough to make him cry because of the hope that he has taken away. For everyone at Rearden it is just another win or another loss. On the other hand there is Wellpinit; a team of all indians who don't have a chance of going to college except sports if they are lucky. The Wellpinit team has slowly been gaining the hope that they can accomplish anything if they put their mind to it, but when they get destroyed the hope that they had is taken away. For Arnold it is depressing because he got to a place where there is hope and left the others in the dust. If I were in his place I would have tried to resurrect the bridges he has burnt and helped other people get to where he is. The most notable of the people would be Rowdy who although he hasn't always showed it in a normal way still cares about Arnold.
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ReplyDeleteIf I was Arnold I would of cried because I sacrificed my old life for this new and better one, but embarrassed his old friends and classmates like he has never met them before. It is such a big deal when Coach says "you can do it", (189) because no one has ever believed in him like this, and that motivation of finally had someone believing in him made Arnold believe that he can do it. Arnold also needs Rowdy to remember his old life on the Rez and to stay true to himself and his tribe.
ReplyDeleteArnold definitely needs Rowdy. He's always looked to Rowdy for support, and now that he has made the switch to Reardan, he needs it more than ever. Arnold feels disconnected from his family, friends and tribe. If he has a friend in Rowdy, he might be able to reconnect. Also, Rowdy is the sort of person you don't want to argue with, so Arnold would rather not be on his bad side. I also think Rowdy might miss Arnold. Since Rowdy's home life is very rough, he needs someone to talk to and support him as well, even is he doesn't show it on the outside.
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