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?
I agree with you very much. I think that he could laugh because he is so overwhelmed with emotion that he doesn't know what else to do. He may also have this reaction and then later cry because he wants to look strong and tough like the death doesn't bother him at all. Junior also could be finding the possitive memories that he has and laughing at those, but I highly doubt it. I think that the real reason he is laughing is that he is in pain and doesn't know what to do, or what you said about needing to laugh because if he doesn't he will cry and look weak.
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ReplyDeleteAfter the death his loved ones, he has become immune to death, or rather, he was suffering an emotional breakdown. He was too desperate to cry and he became numb about the reality, therefore he decided to laugh instead of cry, to express his emotion in an extreme way. Additionally, I think he wanted to cry but was perhaps too ashamed to do so. He used to be considered as a crybaby who would cry over everything. But after transferring to Reardan, Arnold built up confidence and became stronger. He wanted to man up and comfort his depressed parents instead sadden them with his own tears.
The reason that Junior laughs during this time of grief is because he is confused about the amount of deaths that has happened in his life during a short span of time. For him, his natural coping method for all the loss is to laugh in confusion by everything that is going on. The time when he laughs the hardest is when he saw Rowdy crying. He was confused to see Rowdy crying and he was really sad. He felt like he forgot how to cried, so he laughed instead.
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