Do you think the tribe will forgive Junior after his Grandma's tragic death? Do you think this incident will affect Junior and Rowdy's relationship? How will this affect Junior in the future?
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
In the last sentence on page 167, Junior says: "And all of us laughed as we walked and drove and rode our way back to our lonely, lonely houses." What is the irony in this? Why is this such a powerful moment for Junior? What is he saying about his tribe?
When Junior and the rest of the rez were lowering Junior's coffin into the ground they all start laughing. To the people on the rez, "laughing and shedding tears are pretty much the same thing" (166). The reason why all of them laughed instead of just Junior's family is because in the Indian culture "each funeral was a funeral for all of us. We lived and died together." (166 ) The irony of this is that people are laughing at a very sad moment, although it maybe a tradition to the people on the rez, to people outside the rez it may seem a little bit out of the ordinary. Another reason why this phrase is ironic is because they are going back to their "lonely houses". But if the whole entire rez is one big family, no matter where you are you should never feel lonely. This moment is powerful for Junior because one of his closest relatives is now dead. Aside from his immediate family, he only had Rowdy and his Grandma. When his Grandma dies the whole entire tribe came to her funeral, when you go to a funeral you go there to show respect the dead and give support to their family. Junior is saying that even though it may seem that the whole entire rez hates him, they do still care about him when it matters most. After Junior's Grandma died, the tribe stopped nagging him every time he passed by.
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I think that after his grandmother's death, Junior will not be bullied and will be left alone because everyone in the Rez is a family. When a member of your family dies, there is a deep sadness within yourself and this was spread throughout the entire community. Everyone at the Rez loved Junior's grandmother and now will leave Junior alone with his loss. I think that Rowdy's and Junior's relationship will grow after this incident because it is religion to stick together and to help those in need. Right now Junior is in need of support and I think Rowdy will give him that. I think that Junior is becoming a little depressed with his life and if not for Penelope sadness would be the definition of this book.
ReplyDeleteI think that Junior will indeed still be bullied by only a few people. Yes, everyone understands that Junior's grandmother has just died, and yes, everyone loves his grandmother. Junior's grandmother had such an effect on everyone's life. She was a great person that brought back the "old Indian" ways of life. But there are a few people that just don't care about anyone. Those three brothers that bully Junior in the beginning of the story will not change after this experience. That is just the way they are natured. I also believe that Rowdy will continue to be mean to Arnold. In the past, Rowdy has not reached out to be mean to Arnold. Only Arnold has reached out to try to connect to him. I believe that this will not change a single bit, even though the book says that Rowdy stayed away from him in the begging. This will not change because this is how Rowdy in natured. I think that in the long run this will help Junior succeed in his goal in life (to be someone important). This thoroughly explains how to overcome bad experiences.
ReplyDeleteI do not think that tribe will forgive Junior after he betrayed them. The tribe may have stopped being mean to him. That still doesn't mean they forgive him for going to Reardan. I do not think that this will affect Junior's relationship with Rowdy either. Rowdy is already really pissed at him as shown in the last chapter where he fouls him hard. Rowdy is just mad at him and I don't think that will change at all unless Junior makes the stupid choice to go back to the rez. This will affect Junior for sure. His grandmother is gone.
ReplyDeleteI think that the tribe will never 100% forgive Arnold completely but I think that this is the first step of Arnold becoming less of a weirdo and more accepted by the people. I think that the respect that the people paid his grandmother will transfer over to him. I think that Rowdy will always hate Arnold, despite the fact that he didn't rip up his cartoon. I mainly think this because of the violence he inflicted on him in the basketball game. In the future I predict that the tribe will treat him almost like a ghost and not really acknowledge him as a member because of him leaving the school.
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