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?