Junior is hesitant to tell Rowdy that he is transferring to Reardan because he is afraid Rowdy will get mad, and when Rowdy gets mad it takes him days to get un-mad. Junior tells Rowdy that he is changing schools and since they are best friends he should come with. At first, Rowdy thinks that he Arnold in playing a joke on him, but then Arnold tells him it's not a joke and he gets really mad. "Rowdy spun around and shoved me. Don't touch me, you retarded fag! I started crying. That wasn't surprising at all, but Rowdy started crying too, and he hated it."(52). Rowdy got so mad when Arnold was explaining that he had to go or else he would die, that he punched Junior right in the face and Junior fell down. Rowdy acts this way because he thinks he will lose his friendship if he goes to Reardan and that he will a"lose his identity as an Indian". He thinks that he is a white lover(picture on page 53). When Junior tells Rowdy he is leaving, Rowdy turns into a totally different character, and is so mad, he doesn't want to be around Junior at the time. At the end of the chapter, Junior says that his best friend has become his worst enemy.
1) If you had to tell your best friend that you were going to a different school, what would you say?How do you think they would react?
2) Do you think that Arnold and Rowdy will still stay friends?
3) Do you think Rowdy will transfer to Rearden because of Arnold? The education? His parents?
2) I don't think that Rowdy would want to stay as Arnold's best friend, even though Arnold wants to stay as friends. Rowdy is so mad that he ended the fourteen-year-long friendship with just a few words. Arnold would feel helpless and friendless. However, deep inside, Rowdy would miss Arnold when he leaves. Even though Rowdy seemed not to care and acted tough, he still lost his best friend, so he will eventually meet his breaking point. Rowdy and Arnold wouldn't stay as friends at this moment, but they will get back together, missing their old friendship, because they used to be everything to each other.
ReplyDelete3 - No, I don't think Rowdy will transfer. Rowdy has extreme pride and won't give in to begging. He hates white people and doesn't want to be associated with any of them. Even if, deep in his heart, Rowdy wants to transfer, his ego is too large to allow it. Also, Rowdy has less hope than Arnold, and might not think that transferring would be a good idea. But Arnold looks on the bright side and sees all the possibility that comes with going to Reardan. So I don't think Rowdy will ever transfer, but he might see why Arnold chose to. - Kate
ReplyDeleteRowdy and Arnold have been friends for a very long time, and when Arnold decides to leave the school that leaves them both without a friend at school. To Rowdy it feels like Arnold is deserting him, and he reacts badly to the news. To Rowdy, the other school is not an option he would even fathom, and it helps him realize how alone he is at the camp. Rowdy does not realize how much courage it took for Junior to go to Rearden, and regards it as a bad thing. I expect that they will still have an underlying friendship, but will not be very good friends anymore.
ReplyDeleteIs Rowdy going to transfer to Reardan because of Arnold?
ReplyDeleteI don’t think that Rowdy is going to transfer to Reardan because Rowdy clearly hates Reardan. After Arnold tells Rowdy that he is transferring Rowdy punches Arnold. I think that this means that Rowdy hates Reardan. This could also mean that Rowdy doesn't like that Arnold didn’t tell him earlier that he was transferring. I also think that even if Rowdy wanted to transfer his parents would treat him even worse because he goes to school with the whites. The final reason that Rowdy would not transfer is because he has lost all hope and without hope nothing can be accomplished.
~Jack Kerrigan
ReplyDeleteI think Arnold and Rowdy will not stay friends since Rowdy beat Arnold up after he confessed that he was going to transfer schools, and Rowdy does not want to admit he is desperate for a friend. After Arnold got beat up by Rowdy, he "stayed on the ground for a long time after Rowdy walked away" (53), showing that Arnold has given up trying to reason with Rowdy, and Rowdy will never be his friend again, because he is finished with him. However, the scene doesn't show what Rowdy is thinking. When Arnold was about to confess to Rowdy about transferring, he realized that he always sat alone at the playground, because "everybody was scared of him" (48), meaning he is lonely without Arnold, but he will not admit it, so he can protect his pride. In conclusion, the fight impacted the boys to separate their friendship, and ruined it forever.
No, I don't think Arnold and Rowdy will stay friends. "I had to stand eventually, and when I did, I knew that my best friend had become my worst enemy (53)." This quote by Arnold proves that although at times he really needs a friend, he can't forgive Rowdy for punching him, and Rowdy wouldn't forgive him for transferring to Reardan. After Arnold confessed to Rowdy that he had decided to go to school at reardan, I think that Rowdy felt some betrayal, and thought that Arnold had sort of given up his tribe to try and become what he is not. If Arnold tried to become friends with Rowdy again while he was still at Reardon, Rowdy would reject him, and if Arnold came back to the Res and tried to become friends with him again, Rowdy would still have no respect for him because he left to Reardan, then returned because he couldn't handle it. Overall, they both have made actions that one another can't forgive.
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ReplyDeleteDo you think Rowdy will transfer to Rearden because of Arnold? The education? His parents?
ReplyDeleteI think if Rowdy would transfer to Rearden if anything because of Arnold, but I don't think he will end up transferring because of the things listed above in the question. "But they never, ever, never, ever, hit me. "(16) says Arnold, on the other hand Rowdy's "father is always drinking hard and throwing hard punches, so Rowdy and his mother are always walking around with bruised and bloody faces,"(16). As we an see from this quote Rowdy is tough, but his parents are not good influences. So he doesn't have much hope compared to Arnold. Since of his parents influence the way he thinks so much, when Arnold tells Rowdy that he is going to Reardan, Rowdy thinks that Arnold has become a traitor. Arnold mentions that he "knew that my best friend had become my worst enemy"(53). Clearly Arnold or his parents will not be the reason he would transfer to Reardan. Mr.P says "your friend Rowdy, he's given up,"(42). Rowdy has no intention to have a better education as he feels it is not necessary. For him he has different values, but it seems that he doesn't have the hope to dream big enough.
I think that Rowdy will not transfer to Reardan. I don't think he likes Arnold much anymore. I don't think he'll start beating up Arnold, I just think he'll ignore him. If they're no longer friends, it would make no sense for him to transfer because of Arnold. I don't think Rowdy would transfer to Reardan because of the education either. Rowdy seems like a tough guy, that beats kids up, and doesn't really care much about his education because he knows he's just going to grow up to become a drunk that picks fights with people. I don't think he'd transfer because of his parents because there's no other reason for him to transfer, and his parents probably wouldn't agree. He can deal with his parents at home anyways, and he probably wouldn't transfer schools just to be away from them. Even if he did, he'd still see them in the morning and afternoon, and they'd probably get mad if they had to drive him.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think that Rowdy and Arnold will stay friends, even if Arnold tries to fix things. Last time they got in a fight, Rowdy treated him very delicately. “I am his best friend, his only friend. He couldn’t hurt me” (20). The fact that Rowdy explodes and gives him a black eye shows just how serious this is. Also, Rowdy probably feels pretty betrayed. After all, his only friend just told him that he is leaving him and his culture behind. I also think that even if he eventually wanted to be friends with him again, it would be very difficult for him to face Arnold and apologize, especially after the terrible things and said and did.
ReplyDeleteI don,t think that Rowdy will ever transfer to Reardan. I say this because he obviously didn't enjoy Arnold's news of telling him he was going to transfer to Rearden. Also it sounds like he has had some tough times with Reardan sports and sports sound like a huge part of his life and something he enjoys and is very talented at. He is hesitant to tell Rowdy because he Is afraid Rowdy will make fun of him and they wont be best friends ANYMORE AFTER 14 YEARS.
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