Skip to main content

Question 4: Respond to one of the quotes to note. Please identify, speaker, interlocutor, context, and significance

        “My sister is running away to get lost, but I am running away because I want to find something” (46).

        In this quote, the speaker is Junior, the main character in the book. He is talking to himself. The day after Junior is suspended, Mr. P comes up his driveway to chat with him. After asking Junior many questions, he says that Junior has to leave the reservation. He says, "The only thing you kids are being taught is how to give up" (Alexie 42) The Indians have given up hope. He says, "You threw that book in my face because somewhere inside you refused to give up" (Alexie 43) He still believes in Junior, and he thinks he can persevere and find hope. In this quote, the difference between Junior and his sister is that Junior is looking for hope, and his sister has given up, just like the other Indians. Mr. P said that she liked to write romance novels, but then, as time passed, and she just stopped writing. She gave up. Later in the chapter, Junior asks his parents who has the most hope. They tell him that white people do. The people outside the reservation. Immediately, Junior knows what he has to do. He has to transfer schools. He says, "I want to go to Reardan," (Alexie 45) loud and clear. Reardan is hope. White kids are hope. That is what Junior is looking for. His sister ran away because that glimmer of hope she had with her writing disappeared.  This is the difference between him and his sister, and in turn, the significance of this quote.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

#4. At the end of the novel what does Junior realize about his own identity, his life and Rowdy? (Andrew V)

At the end of the novel, Junior realizes a lot about himself and his life.  He realizes that he has so many happy memories with Rowdy and the rest of his friends. Junior says "When we were little, like ten years old, Rowdy and I climbed that sucker." In this quote he starts to remember the good times with Rowdy and how much fun they had together. He also figures out that he finds joy in lots of things, and isn't always depressed. And even though his family is broke and Indians are almost always drunk, when they aren't, they are the best people to be with in the world. Junior learns that Rowdy still cares for him, and even though they got in a fight, they will forever be friends. He still has things he look forward to in life.

8. Why does Junior cry on pages 216 and 217- (Ben Surenian)

On Pages 216 and 217 Junior is crying because he is upset that Mary made tried to leave and search for her dreams. He then realized that he had made that attempt too. Mary left and Junior was upset but throughout the book he later realized he did the exact same thing as her. He explains “She went searching for her dreams, and she didn’t find them, but she made the attempt. And I was making the attempt, too. (Alexie 216). After he realized all this he started to cry, but the weeping was not only for himself and his sister, but he cried because in the next year more Spokane's would die as well, and from drinking, just like Mary. Junior explains “It all made me cry for my sister. It made me cry for myself. But I was crying because I knew five or ten or fifteen more Spokane’s would die during the next year, and that most of them would die because of booze. Junior cries because he realized he and his sister made the same attenpt of leaving the Rez and trying to find their dreams.

#2 Who is the first game against? How is he treated by the crowd at the first game? How does the team (and coach) react / support him? How does this impact him? (Xavier I)

     The first game is against Wellpinit, his old school, now his rival. Consequently, the crowd treats him poorly, intimidating him by chanting, "Arnold Sucks!" (Alexie 143) and throwing things at him. Seeing the look on Arnold's face, Coach tells him he doesn't have to play this game. But, Arnold knew he had to play. He needed to prove something to his fellow tribal members, especially Rowdy. When he looked at Rowdy, it looked like he was just about to kill Junior. "He didn't want to turn his back on me. He wanted to kill me, face-to face." (Alexie 144) Thinking and looking at Rowdy, he starts to laugh, the only sound in the entire gym. But then coach joins him, as well as his teammates. They laugh all the way to the locker room, which makes him feel better. But then he starts to cry, overwhelmed with what just happened. But coach tries to support him. "If you care about something enough, its going to make you cry. But you have to get used to it. ...