What does Rowdy say to Junior? Why does he say this? Do you think there is truth in this?(Peter Lichtenberger)

After Junior stumbles into Rowdy in the woods after Mary's wake Rowdy says to Junior, “'It's all your fault,' he said. 'What's my fault?' I asked. 'Your sister is dead because you left us. You killed her.'"(211). When Rowdy says this Junior stops laughing about Rowdy's crying and feels "Like (he) might never cry again,"(211). After what Rowdy said Junior believes him and thinks that since he left he rez his sister thought that she had to also, and so she died because he left. I agree with Juniors self reasoning because earlier in the book Junior says, "I guess I'd kind of shamed her. If I was brave enough to go to Reardan, then she'd be brave enough to MARRY A FLATHEAD INDIAN AND MOVE TO MONTANA."(89) This shows that Junior had actually caused Mary to move out and leave the rez by leaving the rez himself. Also, I think that there is an element at which Junior is putting too much blame on himself. I think that Junior is thinking that as soon as he caused Mary to leave he set her on an irreversible path to death in the way she died. But he is not taking into account all the choices that she made outside of his influence like the decisions to have the party and to marry the person that she did. He’s also not taking into account the huge chance factor that occurred when Mary left the rez. I think that Rowdy says what he says to try to shame Junior for leaving the rez and more importantly for leaving Rowdy all alone and friendless.

Questions to think about: What will the long term effect of this realization be on Junior? Why do you think Rowdy was in the bushes during the wake? If Rowdy had said what he said then what do you think that their conversation would have looked like?

-Peter L

What does Rowdy say to Junior? Why does he say this? Do you think there is truth in this?

After Junior's sister's funeral, he, overwhelmed with emotion, runs into the woods and crashes into Rowdy. Rowdy, who is also feeling sad, tells Junior "Your sister is dead because you left us. You killed her" (211). Rowdy says this because he is upset about all the loss the Rez has suffered, and doesn't know how to feel without Junior. Ever since Junior left the Rez Rowdy is lonely, and with the recent losses, mad about Arnold leaving too, and he wants to blame someone.
There is a little bit of truth in what Rowdy says because if Junior had never had the hope to leave the Rez and chase his dream, his sister would have never left to live out her's, and died as a result. However she if she hadn't left she would have stayed in her parent's basement forever, wasting away; perhaps even dying from similar causes, over using booze to live the crazy life she missed. But because she left she was able to experience freedom, hope, and, most importantly, live out her dream. She got to live the way no other Indian on the Rez did, so even if Junior leaving prompted her to leave, he did not cause her death, and Mary died living a life she loved.

Do you think Mary should have stayed on the Rez? How will his sister's death affect Junior and his future decisions? Why do you think Junior, his mom, and Rowdy (etc.) feel especially emotional over Mary's death? Do you think Mary's death was Junior's fault?

(I am assuming "What does rowdy say to Junior" was referring to this and not the nomadic comment).

1. In this time of grief, why do you think Junior laughs so much? What are the specific moments he laughs the hardest? (Elizabeth Knox)

In this time of grief, losing all of these people that are very important in his life, he laughs a lot in the chapters. He does this because he doesn’t want to cry over everything that’s happening. He knows that it is sad, and he is sad, but he just wants to get past it. Also, he laughs at one part because he is very happy and excited that his father is alive. “Oh, man, I was absolutely convinced that my father was dead too. It had been...And just when I thought I’d start screaming and run around like a crazy man, my father drove up. I started laughing. I was so relieved, so happy, that I laughed.” He starts to laugh because even after hearing that his sister had died, he is happy and grateful for what he has, and loves his family. He doesn’t want to sit at home like his family, who were hiding out at home and cooking. He had to go to school so he didn’t have to deal with anything that was happening at home, and felt like he wanted to be happy, but if he stayed at home he couldn’t be.

There are some specific moments in the book where he is laughing very hard and crazily. One moment was when they were at his grandmother’s wake. Ted had left, and it was such a funny moment, even though they are at a wake, that they all start to laugh hysterically. They want to think about happy moments, rather than dealing with what actually is happening. Another moment was, like I mentioned before, when his father is late to pick him up. Junior gets so worked up inside and mad and nervous, because he thinks that both his sister and his father are dead. But, then his father shows up to school, and he starts to laugh, because he is so happy that his father is really alive, and didn’t die in a car crash. He needs to laugh, because if he doesn’t he will probably cry.

Other questions to answer: What other reasons do you think he laughs instead of cries? How do you think other people react to it? Why is it at the saddest times that he laughs? Do you think there were other moments in the story that he should’ve laughed but didn’t?

Summarize the outcome of the game. Why does Junior cry at the end? What does he realize?

Summarize the outcome of the game. Why does Junior cry at the end? What does he realize? -Jeremiah Mathieu

When Junior was in the locker room preparing for the game, he was saying to himself how he had to beat the other team for his future and for his confidence.  The coach said to him that he would be guarding Rowdy and Junior ‘s mood toward the game completely changed after that comment.  He was saying that he could not guard Rowdy because he was a shooter and not a defender.  The coach said four simple words “You can do it” (189) and that comment gave him hope, the hope that Mr. P wanted him to get at that school.  During the warm ups, Junior was very scared and told Rowdy that he would be guarding him.  Rowdy laughed at the thought of that.  When the game started, Rowdy got the ball and went straight to the basket for a dunk hoping to completely humiliate Junior.  Junior knew that he could not let that happen because in the course of the game any little action could determine if you win or lose.  Junior jumped up higher than he ever had before and blocked Rowdy’s dunk by ripping the ball out of Rowdy’s hands.  He ran to the other side of the court to pretend like he was doing a dunk.  He faked Rowdy out and as Rowdy has gone past him...he could see that Rowdy was sad and he could do nothing to stop the ball.  Junior splashed a three pointer in the basket.  Junior knew then that the game was set for them to win.  They ended up winning by forty points.  

The reason that Junior started crying at the end of the game was because he realize what he had done to his former team and former teammates.  He took away their happiness of winning by beating them.  He also had a epiphany that Rowdy’s father would beat him up for losing the game and that some of them would go back to their lives with nothing to look forward to and winning that game really meant more to them then it did for Junior.  The realization that it was two different world for two different teams playing one game together.  All of that emotion took over Junior and took over a time where he should have been happy for being a big part of that game.  

Do you think that Junior will continue to have empathy for his old teammates now that he will have a different future than them?  

Explain the humor/irony of the title of the chapter, “Rowdy and I Have a Long and Serious Discussion About Basketball.”

The chapter started off trying to be a serious apology but instead, it turned out to be just kind of funny and not serious at all. The irony of the title was that Rowdy and Arnold really didn't have a long or serious conversation and it was barely about basketball. The whole theme of the book deals with seriousness and sadness and oppression (kind of) but in all light and sarcastic tone. When Arnold tries to send the serious email to Rowdy, he responds with a “Series of homophobic insults (197).” It just ends up turning into a joke. Arnold wanted to be serious but Rowdy just starts joking around. I think this shows that Rowdy kind of wants to be friends with Arnold in a subtle way, when he said “That was the first time Rowdy had talked to me since I left the rez (198).” I think this is one of the first steps of having their friendship getting back on track because if Arnold had sent that email to anybody else, they would have responded thoughtfully but Rowdy just took it as a joke. Although Rowdy is not a serious person, he would not go around and calling other people homophobic slurs.

Questions to consider:

Why did Arnold just go along with the email insults instead of actually try to be serious?

How do you think Arnold felt inside when Rowdy did not answer his questions seriously?

Free Response: What happens in Arnold's social studies class, and how does it affect him? What is his epiphany? (Asher, in addition to that other post)

I couldn't come up with enough to write for either of the 2 questions, so I answered #1 in a different post, and am doing a free response here to hopefully make up for the fact that neither post is long.

In Arnold's social studies class, the teacher mocks him for missing school so much, even though she knows what his family has been going through.  Arnold does not have enough energy to protest, but Gordy drops his book and leaves the classroom, causing others to do the same.

This affects Arnold positively in multiple ways.  First of all, it gives him hope, which he has been struggling to find throughout the book.  For instance, on page 45, he literally asks his parents, "'Who has the most hope?'"  What his class does also causes an epiphany.  On page 176, he states "And I kept trying to find the little pieces of joy in my life.  That's the only way I managed to make it through all of that death and change"  I think this is an extremely important part in Arnold finding himself, because he realizes how his life works, and how he can stay happy even throughout the bad times that he constantly experiences.

Questions to think about:

What are some other times in the book that Arnold has found little pieces of joy in his life?  What people caused those moments, and in what other ways have those people affected him?  Can this also apply sometimes to bad things, where small bad things pile up and depress Arnold?  Why do you think the author chose to include the comparison of Rowdy and Gordy on page 175?  What does it show about Junior and Rowdy's relationship?

Why does Junior say he would always love his tribe? What do you think this reveals about Junior?---Richelle Chang

Junior says that he would always love his tribe because his tribe stops hassling him when they realize that Junior is going through the challenge of his grandmother’s death. Junior is at her funeral when he notices that his tribe is treating him differently: “I guess they realized that I was in enough pain already. Or maybe they realized they’d been cruel jerks...I would always love them for giving me peace on the day of my grandmother’s funeral” (160). Junior betraying his tribe has gotten everybody furious (i.e basketball game) and after what he had done, it almost seems unforgivable. Even after Junior had betrayed his tribe, they were still really understanding when it came to a challenge. This reveals that Junior has come a long way from who he was before because he always interpreted situations in a negative way, like when he calls himself names such as loser, zombie, and nothing. Now, Junior interprets situations in a more positive way just like when he said after the funeral, “And all of us laughed as we walked and drove and rode our way back to our lonely, lonely houses" (167). Junior’s reaction to the way his tribe treated him could’ve been negative, but instead, he says that he loves his tribe. Junior could've been like "oh now in this challenge you give me peace? what about the rest of my life?" Instead, Junior reacts in a positive way in which he thanks his tribe for giving him a rest on this depressing day.

Questions to Consider:

Why was Junior’s grandma an influence on his positivity? What might Junior’s grandma’s death have to do with Junior viewing situations differently? What has made Junior happy again and why has it made him happy? Where is Junior in finding his identity and who is a major influence?