On pages 107-109, Junior explains how he figures out that Penelope is bulimic. The situation is a little awkward because Penelope isn’t really friends with Junior and doesn’t really talk to him, and now he is finding something out that nobody else really knows. Penelope and Junior talk for a little while and have a conversation, and Junior feels kind of happy that she is talking to him. She confides in him, because, like I said before, she really has no one that knows about this, and is very stressed. Junior is able to relate this to his own life with his father. “Penelope gorges on her pain and then throws it up and flushes it away. My dad drinks his pain away”(107). He can talk to her a little by thinking about his dad and what he says to him, so he can help her. He is sort of able to understand how she is feeling, and, doesn’t want anything bad to happen to her. Later on, Penelope goes against what people seem to usually think, and starts hanging out more with Junior, and it is showing that she doesn’t want to listen to what everyone thinks and doesn’t want to continue what’s happening at Rearden, and wants to be different.
Junior is continuing to talk to Penelope and she is explaining how everyone thinks that she has a perfect life because she is pretty and popular and smart, when her life really isn’t perfect. She is bulimic, stressed, and as Junior says “And Penelope’s father, Earl, is a racist”(109). Junior says “…she’s scared all the time, but nobody will let her be scared…”, because no one will let her be upset, because they all want to believe that her life and all of their lives are perfect, but that isn’t true. Also, no one will let her be scared because they all think that she is fine because she doesn’t show emotion that anything is wrong, because she is always pretty, smart, and popular, so they don’t let her because they don’t know. They don’t really know what she is going through. Penelope says that she wants to leave the small town they are in. This relates to what Junior was going through when he was going to school in Spokane, and he may see that even white people who seem great go through hard things too and don’t want to stay in Rearden like everyone thinks. Maybe in upcoming chapters, she may not feel so scared and may actually leave, or travel the places she says she wants to go to.
Other questions to answer: Why do you think that Penelope cries and actually talks to Junior? Why do you think that she starts talking to Junior more when in the beginning she didn’t seem to like him? How do you think that Penelope and Junior’s friendship will end up? Will Junior try to go to Rowdy for advice about the situation again?
I agree with you (sorry Mr. Rossiter). Junior says, "…she’s scared all the time, but nobody will let her be scared…” (108) because people have high expectations of her, and she feels pressured to meet those expectations. I think this ties into your question about why Penelope talks to Junior. Junior is an outsider at Reardan, so he is also having trouble fitting in. I also think that she needs someone to talk to and cares too much about being popular to tell anyone else. Junior is not popular, so him knowing her secret will not affect how other kids think of her.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, and to answer your question, I think that Penelope stopped talking to Junior because she may feel embarrassed that she is talking to an Indian. Since she is a white girl full of white hope, she may feel downgraded by the possibility of not being popular anymore, all because of having an Indian as a friend. Another theory that I have is that Penelope may like Junior a lot, and she may be afraid that if she spends more time around him that she may grow to like him more and more, and she will have no choice but to hang around with him which will embarrass her because that is what her heart will be telling her to do. And to answer: 'Will Junior try to go to Rowdy for advice about the situation again?' I don't think that he will, because Rowdy already denied Junior and I think that is the end of this situation since Junior may feel bad at being disregarded.
ReplyDeleteAnother question to think about is: Do you think that Penelope has had a tough time with her life, and that is why she reached out to Junior since she can relate? What do you think Penelope's lifestyle is at home? ~Isabella
I see what you are saying, but I think Penelope is always scared because if her image is tarnished then people will not think of her as "perfect" anymore. To answer your question, I think that Penelope talks to Junior because he is new and he does not have as much of a pre-set idea of her. He is more willing to accept who she really is more than the other people at school. I think that Rowdy and Junior are going to become friends again because when Junior reached out to Rowdy---he responded like his old self. The only thing that was different was that he did not physically talk to Junior. Rowdy showed Junior that he was still there, but still upset.
ReplyDeletePenelope cries and opens up to Junior because after all that she has been through, she is just ready to break out and express all her emotions. Penelope has been holding in all her emotions inside of her because she feels as though she can't talk to anybody about her problems. Penelope was scared that she would get judged about her situations, but she wanted to keep her popularity and her "name" in the school. Penelope opens up to Junior because she knows that Junior would understand since he is also different being the only Indian at Reardan. Penelope thinks that Junior would be the only one that wouldn't judge her for being who she really is. I think that this part of the book also changed Junior because now he knows that he is not the only one on this crazy journey.
ReplyDeletePenelope cries because she is lonely and she opens up to Jr. because they both feel similar about their social life. Penelope is disappointed because while she is very popular no one really expects her. Jr. is different because it's not like he's the most popular, he's new completely. He's a different race, he looks very different and in general he is just picked on. Penelope realizes the connection and opens up to him. This is important in the book because in a way he is bringing Rowdy closer to him again for advice. I think Rowdy in the end is gonna come to Reardan.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think?
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