Friends.....Again

On page 230, Rowdy and Arnold are playing a game of pickup basketball and Rowdy is making fun of Arnold and the two of them continue playing. Arnold says a powerful statement, "We didn't keep score." What Arnold is saying is that ever since Arnold changed schools the two haven't been as friendly. When they finally decide to continue playing and hanging out they both express their love for basketball, and they play a game of basketball. Arnold says they didn't keep score, and this statement means that they have moved past their differences and they have settled the ongoing issue; who is better at basketball. For the first time in a while Arnold and Rowdy just play, as friends; for fun.

Hot Trailer

              Rowdy tells Junior that, "You killed her (211)" because in Rowdy's point of view Junior's sister was pressured to move out of the reservation as Junior moved to Reardan, an all white school outside the rez. Though Rowdy is a bit jealous that Junior will probably go to college and have a better life outside of the reservation, Rowdy has a point that Junior's sister felt that if she did not move out soon she would become an average poor person in the rez. Rowdy makes a valid point in this sentence, but it was her own fault that she was killed. Late that night she was to drunk, and her senses were to dull to know that she was burning to death. Rowdy believes that it was all Junior's fault, but the people at Reardan high school try to comfort him in this terrible time for Junior. Junior is disheartened to think that he was the cause of his sisters death and this adds to the many bad things that have happened to Junior after he has started going to a white school. Junior has lost another loved one to alcohol and carelessness, but this time Junior can't shake the feeling that it is his fault.   

                                                                                                                                                           - Irfan

Their Competition

At the end of the book, after being in a long fight, Rowdy and Arnold repair their lost friendship. At the beginning of the scene, Rowdy goes over to Arnold's house, essentially ready to call a truce, because he wants to play basketball with his old friend. Gladly, Arnold accepts the invitation and the two head outside to play.

While they are playing, Arnold re-invites Rowdy to come to school with him at Reardan the following year. Though Rowdy declines, he explains to Arnold that he always knew Arnold would be the one to leave the reservation. He even had a dream about Arnold at the Great Wall of China looking happy. When Rowdy had that dream, despite his toughness and competitive side, he was happy for Arnold. And, in a way, the Great Wall represented Reardan. Arnold had gotten to a place that is in a very different community, still managing to enjoy it and be happy, while Rowdy was on the outside looking in.

Then, while the two friends are playing basketball, just like the old times, the novel ends. "We didn't keep score. (Alexie, 230)" were the final words of the book. This statement made me think about the whole story and how everything was, essentially, always a competition: Rowdy against Arnold. Whether it was the basketball games, switching schools, or the fighting, the two were always in a disagreeing and against each other. But, at the end of the book, when the boys are just playing their favorite game together, their whole competition vanishes. The two finally realize that life doesn't have to be a competition with a winner or a loser. But more importantly, they realize that, while they have many similarities and differences, they will always be best friends who enjoy being together.

--Sophia

Opening Doors - Izzy

          At the end of the novel, Junior relizes, with the help from his best friend, Rowdy, that he is one out of many Indians that will be nomadic.  On page 229, Rowdy says, "Hardly anybody on this rez is nomadic. Except for you. You're the nomadic one."  At this point in the novel Junior truly realizes two things. One is that he will be the one, if someone was to leave the rez.  He also realizes that Rowdy is loyal to him, and although he doesn't always show it, he loves Junior.
          Junior realizes that his life is going to be adventure-filled, because after Rowdy tells him that, "...I always knew you were going to leave us behind and travel the world...(pg. 229)."  Junior starts crying because he realizes that he won't be a drunk parent like his were, he won't be stuck on a small Indian reservation.  He realizes that he is destined for great things and cries tears of joy.  These tears of joy are also filled with some sadness about leaving his friends, family, and way of life.  With every door that closes, a new one opens, and as Junior closes his door to reservation life, he opens a new door to the rest of the world.

Junior's Identity

Lidia
Junior's Identity

      At the end of the novel, Junior is shooting hoops with Rowdy and they aren't keeping score because the game they are playing isn't about keeping score. It's about being together as friends. Junior os the Indian on the Rez. that has decided to be a better person and has decided to live life to it's fullest. He does not want to be like the other Indians, where they are afraid of the white people, or they are mean to the white people. He does not want to become an alcoholic like the rest of his family, ever. "It's pretty." Rowdy said. "I've never seen anything so pretty." It was the only time I'd ever heard him talk like that. (pg. 226)
     I think this quote relates to the new Junior because when Rowdy said this, I believe Junior wanted Rowdy to turn into that kind of person. He wanted Rowdy to also move away from the life of an alcoholic. That is also why Junior was so sad to hear that his sister had become one as well. Junior's life literally revolves around alcohol and he doesn't want that, so he decides to become the alcohol free Indian.

Junior Finally Belongs

Why does Junior cry on pages 216 and 217?

Junior Finally Belongs

Lucy 

For Spokane Indians, alcohol is the center of their lives. On happy occasions, they drink. When someone dies, they drink. All some of the people on the reservation do all day and night is drink. For Junior, drinking is the worst thing in the world. Almost all of the important people in his life have died because of alcohol. When Junior finds out that his sister has joined that group, he cries. Junior is not only crying for his sister, “I was crying for my tribe too… because I knew five or ten or fifteen Spokanes would die during the next year, and most of them would die because of alcohol. (p. 216)” Junior knows that the deaths he has already experienced will not be the last. 

Junior also cries because he is happy and proud of himself. He is proud because he was the only one to ever leave the reservation, and he cries because “I knew that I was never going to drink and because I was never going to kill myself and because I was going to have a better life out in the white world. (p. 217)” Junior knows that he is different, and he is in poverty, and has brain problems, and he is an Indian going to an all white school. Despite all this, Junior realizes that he belongs, and he is not “alone in his loneliness (p. 217)” 

Who's Fault?

Question: Why does Rowdy tell Arnold, “You killed her” (211)? Is there truth to this statement?

Answer: Rowdy believes that it is Arnold’s fault that one of his closest friends, and Arnold’s sister, died. He thinks that since Arnold decided to stand out, and not follow everyone else’s paths, Arnold pushed his sister to change her life as well, and so she left the reservation, got married, and moved away before her family could even say good bye. At her new home, she and her husband got drunk at a party in their trailer and passed out in the bedroom. Everyone forgot about them and left. They had forgotten to turn off the hot plate, and the hot plate touched the curtain, which began to burn. Eventually, the trailer burned down, but they were too drunk to even feel it. Rowdy believes that since it was Arnold who started the entire chain, it was his fault.

When Arnold is told his sister died, despite their love, his way of coping with the pain is laughter. He laughs and laughs and laughs, until he sees Rowdy. Since he and Rowdy were fighting, they had been avoiding each other, but Rowdy had been unable to resist coming to Arnold’s sister’s funeral. He didn’t want to be seen, so he hid in the forest. When Arnold ran back there to escape the depression of the memorial service, he banged into Rowdy, who was crying. This was the first time Arnold had ever seen Rowdy crying, and he stopped in shock. Then he stood in shock for a moment, before saying, “Rowdy, you’re crying” (209). Rowdy denied that he was crying, and said that Arnold was crying, not him. When Arnold didn’t fall for it, he reached out to place a comforting hand on Rowdy’s shoulder. Rowdy was angry, and though he attempted to, he swung and missed at Arnold, unable to hit his former best friend. Arnold was even more surprised by blunder, and laughed. Rowdy looked up with hurt in his eyes, and told Arnold, “You killed her” (p. 211). Only then did Arnold stop his laughter and absorb this new opinion. ‘Had he killed her?’ he wondered to himself. If he hadn’t left to go to the new school, would his sister still be safe at home, living in his basement? 

Slowly, Arnold began to blame himself for his sister’s death. He started to think that if he hadn’t left the reservation first, his sister wouldn’t have either. Arnold began to think it was his fault.

I think that it wasn’t Arnold’s fault, because the reason his sister had left was because she wanted to escape. Seeing Arnold change his future made her realize she didn’t want to stay on the reservation forever. It was smart of her to move, though she didn’t make the right decision of how to get out. This was her fault. If she hadn’t gotten that drunk in the first place, she wouldn’t have died. This was her fault. If the people at the party hadn’t forgotten and left their hosts in danger, she wouldn’t have died. This was the people attending the parties faults. In all, there were  several people to blame for his sister’s death, but Arnold was not one of them. 

~Mila

"You Will Travel the World"

Chris Lang

At the end of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Junior realizes the real "meaning of his life." As explained by Rowdy on page 229, Junior is nomadic. If you are nomadic, you have no home, and you are always moving around. Rowdy explains to Junior that he is the only person still living on the rez that is a nomad. Everyone else has lost hope. When Rowdy initially explains this to Junior, Junior doesn't think much of it, he just pushes it aside. Junior slowly starts to realize that he is nomadic when on page 229 Rowdy says, "No, I'm serious. I always knew you were going to leave. I always knew you were going to leave us behind and travel the world. I had this dream about you a few months ago. You were standing on the Great Wall of China. You looked happy. And I was happy for you." This quote shows a little of both sides. Rowdy explains how happy he is about Junior working for his great life. At the same time, Rowdy may just be trying to make Junior feel bad. Maybe not. Rowdy may have done that because of his reactions earlier in the novel. He wasn't happy about Junior leaving. Junior was "an outlier."

You Killed Her

When Rowdy tells Junior "You killed her (pp. 211)," he's talking about Junior's sister.  He's saying that by joining Reardan, he killed his sister; he's saying that Junior's sister only left the rez because Junior did first.  It was Junior's sister's--Mary's--funeral, and Junior was so sad that he wanted to run out of the funeral and into the woods.  "That was it.  I had to get out of there.  I turned and ran out of the graveyard and into the woods across the road. (p. 209)."  Suddenly, Junior bumped into Rowdy who had been watching the burial hiding in the woods.  Rowdy was crying, but he wouldn't admit it.  Junior started laughing and it got Rowdy mad so Rowdy said "Your sister is dead because you left us.  You killed her. (p. 211)"  Junior believes this.  There is truth in what he said because if Junior hadn't left, Mary probably wouldn't have either, but it's not Junior's fault.  Junior was doing something courageous and he inspired Mary to do the same, but it's not Junior's fault that it ended up killing Mary; Junior didn't want Mary to drink and he had no way to know that going to Reardan would lead to his sister's death.
--Elizabeth

"Life As We Know It"

In the last chapter of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexi, Arnold puts together the "puzzle pieces" of his life. He realizes who he is and what he is going to do with his life, and surprisingly Rowdy helps him. On page 229 Rowdy tells Arnold that Arnold is nomadic. Nomadic means "people who move around keep moving, in search of food and water and grazing land." Rowdy means that Arnold is going to explore the world, and discover new things. Arnold later realizes that himself. On page 229 Rowdy says"I always knew you were going to leave. I always knew you were going to leave us behind and travel the world. I had this dream about you a few months ago. You were standing on the Great Wall of China. You looked happy. And I was happy for you." Those quotes are pretty self explanatory. I think they are important though, because it shows that Rowdy, one of Arnold previously missing puzzle pieces, supports Arnold. Rowdy wants him to find a better life. It shows that Arnold does not have to worry about disappointing anyone while trying to pursue his different lifestyle. This truly helps Arnold and motivates him to explore the world.

In this chapter it also talks about how Indians are no longer nomadic, in the sense that they stop looking for a better life. Arnold realizes that he wants to leave the reservation to make the reservation proud. Arnold knows he cannot change the people who have grown up on the reservation all of their lives and accustomed to the Indian lifestyle, but he is going to try to make an impact for future Indians. Through out this book Arnold is portrayed as unselfish. Toward the end of the book it talks about Arnold going on to do something more for his life, but I predict he will always come back to help and try to encourage other Indians.  

Carly

Delila- Tears of Hopefulness

On page 216, Junior cries because he is disappointed and sad for his Indian community and tribe.  He knows how many Indians die every year do to alcohol addiction, and wishes he could do something about it but realizes that sadly, he cannot.  "I was crying because I knew five or ten or fifteen more Spokanes would die during the year, and that most of them would die because of booze (p. 216)."  This realization makes him feel hopeless and hopeful at the same time.  He knows that he is probably doomed to the same fate just because he is surrounded by people who are alcoholics, but he also feel hopeful because he knows that he can change his future.  Although he can't do anything about other people's life threatening decisions, he can change himself and his situation.  "I wept and wept and wept because I knew that I was never going to drink and because I was never going to kill myself and because I was going to have a better life out in the white world (p. 217)."  Junior has the power to dictate how his future lays out, and that sense of control makes him feel hopeful and better about himself and his heritage.

When Junior says that he is going to have a better life out in the white world (in the quote above), he feels sad and a little bit of a traitor because he knows that he is leaving his community.  This fact makes him cry even harder.  He also knows however, that he is not throwing away his Indian background.  He is making a decision to do something productive while keeping his heritage.  Junior becomes aware of the fact that he does have full control over how he wants his future to play out, and that thought eventually causes his crying to cease.

"You Killed Her."

John
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part–Time Indian
5.26.13

Arnold had to leave the reservation in order to regain hope, in order to add excitement to his life. He ended up heading to the white school, Reardan, and he has enjoyed his time there. His sister, Mary, noticed his courage and bravery to break free from the Indian's typical path of life, and admired his choice to do so. Arnold believes that that was the reason his sister decided to run off and get married in the first place. He believed that Mary looked at him as a role model and decided to modify her life as well. It was claimed that if Junior never went to the Reardan school and showed those signs of bravery, Mary never would have fled to Montana and died. However, there is no proof that Mary wouldn't have died anyway without going to Montana.

The accusation has truth to it. Rowdy, who was the first one to blame Arnold for this, has a point. The chain of events in Mary's life was modified by her brother, leading to her death. However, It is not known if that would have changed even if Arnold didn't go to Reardan. It is possible that she could have gotten drunk at the reservation and accidentally died some other way. Or, some other event could have happened that would lead her to Montana anyway, even without the help of Arnold. Though what Rowdy said had some truth to it, I think that it is unfair for Junior to put all the blame on himself. There is nothing that says that she wouldn't have died any other way without moving away. Everyone has a time in which they will die. It is possible that no matter where Mary was or what she was doing, that she would have died anyway.

Fixing Junior's Life

            "We didn't keep score (p. 230)." Rowdy and Junior were portrayed in a competitive attitude when they were playing against each other in basketball with their school teams. It didn't help that the two were not getting along well. Ever since Junior decided to go to Reardan, Rowdy and Junior lost their friendship. Junior wanted to go back to when they were still friends, and read comics together. He missed spending time with his best friend. There is still a competitive edge to their one-on-one game of basketball at the end of the book, but by stating 'we didn't keep score,' it suggests that their friendship is slowly being mended back together. 
            The way the book was wrapped up gives the idea that Junior's life is slowly sewing itself back together. He got over the main difficulty of his life, changing schools and guaranteeing a future for himself, and he got his best friend back. He has hope, and his friend supports him. If the two had played basketball against each other one-on-one earlier in the book, they would have kept count. Yet, they didn't this time. Just like they most likely hadn't when they were younger. 

~Zetty

Back to the old days

              In the end of the novel, “The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian,” Rowdy and Junior reconcile while playing one-on-one basketball, and resolve to agree no matter where the future takes them. Rowdy begins to accept the fact that Arnold has left the reservation, and Arnold has found a way of looking at himself that is not only based on "white" or "Indian," but that he belongs to many different tribes.

            The last sentence of this book “We didn't keep score” (Alexie, 229) reflects Rowdy and Arnold’s change in friendship.  “He wanted to play. He didn't want to turn his back on me. He wanted to kill me, face-to-face.”(Alexie, 144) This quote shows that when Rowdy played Arnold in the chapter “Reindeer games,” he did it merely to beat and destroy him. But in the end, they gave up their anger for each other by not even caring about who won, they just wanted to be with each other like the old times. This also shows that Rowdy’s competitive ways were diminishing and he’d rather have his best friend then to prove who was better.

            In conclusion, the last sentence, “we didn’t keep score” shows that their old friendship is beginning to restore itself and their anger and competitiveness for each other is melting away. 

-Michelle

Irony - “Rowdy and I have a brief and laid-back convo about b-ball”

After basketball season ends, Arnold emails Rowdy to say sorry that he beat them and sorry their season went downhill, but he replies saying that they will kick their butts next year. Throughout this brief chapter, Rowdy and Junior start rekindling their friendship  in an odd way.

The irony of the title of this chapter “Rowdy and I have a long and serious discussion about basketball” is that in contrary, they actually had a short and casual conversation. On page 196, Rowdy replies, “We’ll kick your asses next year, and you’ll cry like the little faggot you are.” Junior writes back: “I might be a faggot, but I’m the faggot who beat you.” and the conversation ends with Rowdy saying, “ha-ha.”

In conclusion, their chat only lasted for three lines and the language used was extremely casual and humorous, which explains the irony of “long and serious discussion.”

A Sour Victory

In the chapter, "In like a lion" Rowdy and Arnold face off in a rivalry game. Rearden is playing Wellpinit and Rearden's only loss came at the hands of Wellpinit. Arnold was starting that game and was assigned to guard Rowdy. Rowdy only scored four points and Arnold had a very spectacular offensive game. The game resulted in a Rearden win by over forty points. Rowdy's team had lost and he was embarrassed by Arnold. However after the game is over Arnold thinks about how the Wellpinit team felt, and more specifically how Rowdy felt. Arnold realizes that he may of beat Rowdy but some of the Indians on the Wellpinit team may not have eaten breakfast. Some of the players have drunk parents, and Rowdy was probably going to get beat up for losing. Arnold suddenly realizes that he may of won the "game" but not the "war". On page 195, Arnold says, "I knew that none of them were going to college." (Alexie 195) Arnold concludes that even though he won the game, he is still Indian and many of his friends and family have a very dismal future. Arnold begins to cry after the game because he feels sorry for attempting to "destroy" Wellpinit. He wants to even apologize to Rowdy for seeking so much revenge. Even though Arnold beat Rowdy and the other reservation kids, he realizes they still are from the same background, and they all lack a very important thing; a future.

-Ryan

Which Side?

On page 182, there is a cartoon drawing of Arnold looking like the devil in the Wellpinit Gym with fans yelling "White Lover!" In the second half of the cartoon, there is a picture of Arnold looking like the angel at the Reardan Gym with fans yelling "Destroy them, Arnold!" Lastly, in both pictures there is a thought bubble from Arnold saying, "Who am I?"

While I was looking at this cartoon, the first thing that immediately struck me was the metaphor of a devil and an angel. I found it somewhat ironic to think that at his real home, where his real friends are, he's portrayed as the devil. Then, at his new school, where he has only been attending for a few months, he's portrayed as an angel. Also, a devil is usually red or brown and an angel is usually white, which, in this case represents the skin color of the people at Wellpinit against the skin color of the people at Reardan. This shows the point that at Wellpinit Arnold is viewed fully as an Indian, and at Reardan he's still an Indian, but fits in as a white person some of the time, making him a Part-Time Indian. 

After I noticed the point about the devil versus the angel, I noticed the "Who am I?" bubbles. I think that this aspect of the drawing is extremely crucial to the understanding of the main idea because it's explaining that Arnold is not sure which side he's on. Is he a full Indian? Or is he someone who acts partly as an Indian, but partly as a white?

When I finished dissecting the image, I realized that this very image, while it may just seem to be an "extra," may be the basis for the title of the story. Then, with this image and its meaning in mind, I am lead to think that Arnold may choose to be a Part Time Indian, who has great potential to succeed outside of the rez.

--Sophia

The Actual Self-Edit - Izzy

          At the end of the chapter "Valentine Heart (pgs. 169-178)" Arnold starts to make lists about things that bring him joy.  He draws cartoons about things that make him angry.  "It became my grieving ceremony (pg. 178)." Arnold says about his lists and cartoons.  He is letting all of his emotions out by writing and drawing.  Arnold is basically clearing his mind and starting over and "editing" himself.  On page 178, Arnold says, "I keep writing and rewriting, drawing and redrawing, and rethinking and revising and reediting."  Since all Arnold's emotions are down on paper, by editing the paper, he is actually editing himself.  He is bringing joy back into his life by making his lists, and releasing his anger, by drawing his cartoons.
          Arnold's grieving ceremony relates to the cartoon on page 166 because, "Laughter and tears are pretty much the same thing (pg. 166)." also means that Arnold's, "joy lists," and cartoons expressing his anger, are the same thing.  This thing that they both have in common is that they are both part of Arnold's "self edit."

Delila- Junior's Privileges

               In the chapter "Red Versus White" Junior realizes that he is lucky to have parents that don't ignore him.  He also becomes aware about the fact that the white kids who go to school with him who are generally considered more fortunate, do not always have parents who fully support them and listen to them fully.  "Ever since I've been at Rearden, and seen how great parents do their great parenting, I realize my folks are pretty good.  Sure my dad has a drinking problem and my mom can be a little eccentric, but they make sacrifices for me (p. 153)."  Like Junior said, his parents do care about him and make sacrifices for him.  For example, Junior's father saves him a five dollar bill for Christmas that could of been worth a lot of value to him.  "Drunk for a week, my father must have really wanted to spend those last five dollars.... He could have spent that last five bucks and stayed drunk for another day or two.  But he saved it for me (p. 151)."  This quote demonstrates how his father gave Junior money instead of using it for his own benefit.  Ironically, Junior does have some privileges that some white kids do not have.  He has loving parents that worry about him and try their best to look after him.

Forgiveness

What was Junior’s grandmother’s greatest gift? What has

 happened to Indians’ sense of tolerance? Why has that

 occurred?


       Junior's Grandmother's greatest gift was tolerance. This used to be common in Indian life, but now it is much more rare. Since the Indians are now mostly alcoholics in the Rez, and Junior's Grandmother isn't, she has the power to be much more free-minded. As it states on Page 157: "Did she say anything before she died? he asked. Yes, the surgeon said. She said, 'Forgive Him. '" This quote shows how Junior's Grandmother is tolerant to other peoples behaviors.
       The Indians' sense of tolerance has almost totally diminished. As an example, when Junior was going back to his old High-School to play a basketball game, his old classmates weren't able to ignore the choice Junior made to go to Reardan. They feel so highly of this opinion that they even had chants before the game. Rowdy also hit Junior in the back of the head, leaving Junior unconscious with a minor concussion. The Indians may not be able to overcome this, because they are realizing that the white people are getting more opportunities than them, and they are getting jealous. As described in the book, the Indians are lazy people; most of them are alcoholics. Since they are lazy, they aren't willing to try to make their life better by going to a better school, and making a better life for themselves. Hopefully soon the Indians will soon gain some tolerance, and become less "lazy."

Chris

Laughing At A Wake

Chapter "Wake" in the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie was a bit confusing. This chapter takes place at Arnold's grandma's wake. I feel as though I had trouble interpreting it. In this chapter though there is a picture on page 166 that demonstrates a person laughing and smiling. Then on page 167 the word "laugh" was repeated several times. It is quite strange to think that laughter would be in a chapter about someones death. But laughter is used differently in this chapter. Laughter is used to show that they are sad. On page 166 it says"When it comes to death, we know that laughter and tears are pretty much the same thing." I think that the sentence above shows that everyone is different people cope with death in a different way. When they (the Indians at the funeral) were laughing they were in reality crying. They were truly sad but they laughed. They laughed at the memory of his grandmas existence. They laughed at all the memories they shared with her. Another line from page 166 is "We lived and died together." And that is also why they were laughing. They were sad to let her go, but while letting her go they remembered all the good times they had spent with her. It was as if part of them was dying along with her. I think the picture on page 166 shows that there are many ways you can deal with death and laughing is just better than crying. To some people it may seem as though you do not care, but to the Indians it was just a more pleasant way of recognizing ones death.

Carly Newell 

Scared

                   When Junior says that she's scared all the time, but nobody will let her be scared he means that, since she is a pretty, smart and popular girl everybody expects her life to be perfect and that she could not wish for anything better. Though this is the common view, Penelope is scared as she fells that she is lonely and has nobody to talk to and express her feelings. Soon Junior can feel what is going on in her life and that she has a dictatorial father that does not accept certain views. As Junior talks more and more to Penelope he realizes that she is a kind girl that needs a friend that will help her to get through tough times.  When Junior gets to know Penelope, the more he realizes that she is a normal girl with regular problems that he would like to help her solve. In this time for Penelope Junior tries to help her and says "Don't give up (108)" and to keep on trying to get to her goal of not being scared. In this time Junior is a good friend and is able to give Penelope great help.

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?

Jackson Greeley
5.20.13

               Junior's first Varsity Basketball game at Reardan was a against his old school: Wellprint High School. This school is located in the middle of the indian reservation that Junior lives on. Earlier on in this book Junior moved to a white school and this made many of the people who lives on the reservation became hostel to him. When Junior arrived at the Wellprint High School Gym the audience, the people who lived on the Reservation, started yelling, "Ar-nold sucks! Ar-nold sucks! Ar-nold sucks!" Once Junior walked into the gym all of the chanting stopped, instead all of the "crazy Indians" turned there backs on the team.              During the time this incident was occurring his coach was telling him that he didn't need to play and supporting him. His team on the other hand was showing absolutely no sportsmanship. When the room go silent and the crowed had there backs on the team Junior and his team mates started to laugh at the fans.  

Dream Big

Lucy 

5.20.13

How did Junior make the basketball team? In what ways was this related to his conversation with his dad earlier?

When Junior first showed up to basketball tryouts, he was intimidated by all of the bigger white guys. He thought he was, “C-squad material, for sure. (p.131)” Despite this, Junior tried his hardest in the tryouts. He didn’t quit no matter what happened, and this impressed the coach greatly. Junior was immediately put on varsity; the coach didn’t even consider putting him on the C-squad.

Earlier, before the tryouts, Junior’s dad told him the story of how he met his wife. Junior’s dad was only five years old when he met his future wife, who was thirteen at the time. Junior asks about the significance of this story to his upcoming tryouts. His dad explains to him, “You have to dream big to get big. (p.129)” Junior thought he couldn’t ever make the varsity team, similar to how his father never could have imagined he would have married the thirteen year old girl. Junior tries his hardest and makes the varsity team, like his dad dreams big, and marries the thirteen year old girl. 

Revealing Poverty

John
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part–Time Indian
5.19.13

Arnold's poor financial state was not revealed to his friends. In fact, he tried to reveal the opposite of what he actually had, and struggled through getting enough money everyday from his parents so that he could continue his lie. However, when Penelope, Roger, and others decided to head to a diner for pancakes, Arnold was put on the spot again, having the need to pay for something big when actually having very little. Though Roger helped him out, he discovered his secret later on: he was poor. Yet Arnold then realized that people could help when him when he let them in closer, rather than shove them away with lies.

He was worried at first that his secret would spread around at the school, as Roger was the popular one.   However, when Penelope talked to Arnold about his poverty, she showed nothing but sadness and sympathy for him. Roger did the same thing too; he drove Arnold home many times after that night to prevent the hitchhiking. This is when Arnold realized his mistake. The more honest he was with people, the closer he became with them and helped with friendship: "If you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing (p. 129)." After keeping a major secret to himself, which caused much anxiety and pressure, he noticed that when he released it, not only did it take a big weight off of his shoulders, but also that he was receiving more help and love. At this point, he really could not have asked more than that.

Thanksgiving

"I always think it's funny when Indians celebrate Thanksgiving.  (p. 101)"  Junior thinks that it's ironic that Indians celebrate Thanksgiving, and he's right.  Thanksgiving is a celebration of thanks from whites to Indians because the Indians taught the whites how to fertilize, and grow crops in their native land.  On Thanksgiving, people have a feast to celebrate how that the Indians taught the whites to grow food.  This may all seem normal, but the ironic part is that "a few years later, the Pilgrims were shooting Indians (p. 101)."  So, Junior thinks that Indians shouldn't be happy that they helped the whites because they got no thanks from the whites, instead they got thrown off their territory and had to live in reservations of bad land, like where Junior lives now.  Indians only celebrate Thanksgiving because they like to celebrate, and it gives them an excuse to do that.  For Junior, Thanksgiving just reminds him that he's Indian and that Indians were treated unfairly.  This year it also reminds him that his friendship with Rowdy is broken.  "He'd always come over to the house to have a pumpkin-pie eating contest with me.  I missed him (p. 102)."  On Thanksgiving, Junior gives Rowdy a cartoon to try to fix their friendship, but he also gets offended by Rowdy's dad calling his cartoon 'gay'.  Junior is also trying to go to a more privileged white school, but he also gets offended that all the white kids ignore him at first.   Indians celebrate Thanksgiving anyways because they're thankful even when they have nothing to be thankful for.
-Elizabeth

Respect

Question: Explain/explore Junior’s interaction with Rowdy’s dad. What are the implications? And what does Junior resolve/decide?

Answer: After Junior “betrays” Rowdy and his tribe, he tries to make amends by visiting Rowdy’s home, with a present for him. He is met at the door by Rowdy’s father, an abusive alcoholic. Rowdy’s dad sees the cartoon that Junior drew of Rowdy and Junior together as super heroes, and mocks it. After the unpleasant exchange in which Rowdy’s dad eventually agrees to give the “gay” drawing to his son, Junior spots Rowdy, sitting in the upstairs window, holding the drawing. Rowdy gives Junior the middle finger in response to Junior’s friendly wave, but keeps the drawing.

Rowdy’s father’s immediate response at the door, despite seeing it was his son’s best friend, is “What do you want” (p.103). He lies about Rowdy not being home, and then calls Junior gay, an insult in their community. Junior’s calm reaction shows that it is normal for Rowdy’s father to behave in such a manner. Junior is annoyed by Rowdy’s father, but doesn’t show it. “I wanted to cuss at him. I wanted to tell him that I thought I was being courageous, and that I was trying to fix my broken friendship with Rowdy, and that I missed him, and if that was gay, then okay, I was the gayest dude in the world. But I didn’t say any of that” (p. 103). Rowdy’s dad didn’t realize he was influencing Junior in the sense of teaching him what was “gay.” Society had been drilling Junior to think being gay was acting a specific way, and being weird and different, and the context of Rowdy’s father’s attempted insult tells Junior that being gay was bad. Junior doesn’t care, and accepts that he might be gay. He doesn’t deny his feelings to avoid the insult, nor does he let his angry emotions at the larger man influence his actions. Junior doesn’t let anything stand in the way of getting his artwork to Rowdy.

In the end, Junior realizes that there might still be a sliver of respect left in Rowdy for Junior, and he understands he mustn’t lose hope. “He stepped away from the window. I felt sad for a moment. But then I realized that Rowdy may have flipped me off, but he hadn’t torn up my cartoon. As much as he hated me, he probably should have ripped it to pieces. That would have hurt my feelings more than just about anything I can think of. But Rowdy still respected my cartoons. And so maybe he still respected me a little bit.”

Junior decides that he may still have a chance of being best friends with Rowdy, and he hopes that Rowdy will maintain an open enough mind and enough respect for him to listen to his apology. He truly misses his best friend.

Mila

Talking about Penelope

            The "discussion" that Rowdy and Junior had about Penelope was short, and straight to the point. Junior is confused about his feelings, and turns to his ex-best friend for help. "I'm in love with a white girl. What should I do? (p. 115)" Rowdy then responds by calling Junior racist, and says that he "claims" to be in love, when in reality he just wants to have Penelope as a "trophy." From what the email Rowdy sent said, it can be assumed that Rowdy felt as if Junior was acting a little condescending towards him, as well as Penelope. Rowdy doesn't want his friend to turn out to be like other people who only see humans as objects to be collected.

           In some ways, calling Junior racist was the right thing to do. Junior dreams of being more important to Penelope, but mistakes his infatuation with love. In this situations, Junior can be compared to the romance novels that his older sister liked to read. If Junior had written that he was in love with a girl, and not a white girl, then Rowdy might have acted differently. By stating that Penelope is a white girl, Junior was already degrading Indians. He made it sound like he had no chance, and that Indians in general didn't have a chance when it comes to people of white skin color.

Gender equality...

Lidia Goldberg
Page 132.

    On page 132, the last sentence states, "Yep, even the weird boys are afraid of their emotions." I think this sentence is true, because sometimes we are afraid that our emotions will get the better of ourselves and our minds. In other words, we let our minds get carried away and then we are afraid of something or someone. When Arnold thinks this, I think what he was trying to say is that, he was afraid of his emotions because he wanted to hug Gordy. Arnold also wanted to act strong, and kind of like, "yea whatever."
     Not only is this statement true, it also shows something about gender equality. Arnold says even the "weird," boys which classifies himself and Gordy. Yes, girls and boys are all afraid of their emotions, but the weirds boys and girls feel this way also. Also, throughout the book, Arnold's sister reads romance novels, and wants to write one. I think she may want to write one because she feels emotions when she reads them, and she wants other people to feel that way as well.
     The sentence at the end of the page is true, and it shows difference and similarity between boys and girls so far in the book.

Explain the significance/importance of the friendship with Gordy for Junior.

During geology class, Junior corrects his teacher, Mr. Dodge that petrified wood isn't really wood, and the class nerd, Gordy backs him up. The next day, Gordy explains to Junior what tautology is, and Junior makes a joke out of it. After calling each other “weird” and “singular witted,” they become friends.                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Gordy is the smartest person Junior has ever met, but he surprises Junior by telling him that he has to read a novel several times to really understand it; first for the plot, then for the history and the meaning of each word. Each book is like a mystery, no matter how much you learn, there is still more to know in this world. Junior tells Gordy that he draws cartoons and thinks that Gordy will think he’s pathetic, but instead, he explains how just like reading a book for the story, Junior draws cartoons for the stories and that’s what gives him joy. They head off to the Reardan High School Library and Gordy describes how although it’s a small library, with only “three thousand four hundred and twelve books, it would still take you almost ten years to finish.”(Alexie, p. 97) In other words, “The world, even the smallest parts of it, is filled with things you don’t know.”(Alexie, p. 97)                                                                                                                                                          

From becoming friends with Gordy, Junior realizes there’s a world out there, beyond the Rez, Wellpinit, or even Reardan; but each place, even the small places, are filled with mysteries, just like there is always more to learn in a small library. Although at first Junior thinks that Gordy knew everything, he is still learning more and more each day. The sky’s the limit. Gordy tells Junior that he should approach life like he approaches books, with hope, knowing that something good will come out of it one day that will bring him joy. Later, Junior realizes that hard work and the feeling of complexion is joyous. Gordy is giving Junior the ability to see for himself and have the determination to explore the possibilities in this world, giving him the feeling of hope, a feeling that Junior has never been able to experience.  

       

-Michelle

Loneliness

          On pages 82-84, Junior expresses a very strong desire to be noticed and accepted by his classmates. Junior has tried to talk to Penelope, and he has tried to stand up to the "tough" kids in the school. However, none of this puts Junior on the radar. On page 83, Junior says, "Well, Roger would nod his head at me, but he didn't socialize with me or anything. I wondered if maybe I should punch everybody in the face. Maybe they'd all pay attention to me then." Junior in this chapter is very depressed, confused, and lonely. Junior feels that he should be noticed and because he is not, he considers punching people in the face in order to be noticed. Junior throughout the book has been portrayed as a very studious, and diligent person; not someone who would punch another person in the face. Junior feels very lonely because of the lack of attention and popularity he receives.

        In science class, Junior is paying attention to his teacher, Mr. Dodge's lesson. Mr. Dodge explains to the class what petrified wood is made of and why it is considered wood.  Junior isn't a very articulate person and has trouble expressing his thoughts. Junior does mumble, "Petrified wood is not wood." (Alexie page 84) Mr. Dodge becomes very angry and responds by saying, "Okay, Arnold, if you're so smart, then tell us how the petrified wood works." Junior gives his explanation to Mr. Dodge who is laughing hysterically at this explanation. Junior now feels terrible, and for the first time Junior has been noticed but in a negative way. However Junior does salvage some pride as the class "know-it-all", Gordy responds to Mr. Dodge's laughter by saying that Junior was correct. Mr. Dodge is extremely upset and gives Gordy the credit for sharing the interesting fact. Junior even when he answers the question correctly is basically belittled by Mr. Dodge. Junior's confidence is rapidly diminishing because of the lack of support he gets from his parents and teachers as well as the little acknowledgement he receives from his peers. On top of that Rowdy and some of the people on the reservation have "shunned" him for leaving the reservation school. Junior feels alone because of the little attention he gets as well as the minimal support and no praise.

-Ryan