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? E-Book.
His first game is against his old school the rez high school which is very emotional for him because his “old” best friend is there Rowdy. Another significant thing about it is because earlier on in the book he says “ they would kill me If I went back to the rez”, and they do something that is somewhat related to that. When he walks into the stadium his name is chanted along with the word sucks, and it is pretty intimidating for him. The real incident happens when he enters the court for the first time at Reardan and is pelted with a quarter which makes him bleed on the forehead. It’s honestly hard to believe that the coach picked him only for shooting on the basketball team and that fact definitely works against him, with his height, weight and overall looks just makes it easier for the bigger players to hurt him.
This game is extremely important because it could change the way he is looked at, at Reardan. This is his old school and if he is beaten he is going to be in a lot of trouble with his friends at Reardan but if he wins he will be in a bad position with Rowdy. This definitely one of the hardest moments in the entire book so far with all the tension between Rowdy and him. But one of the best things that happens is him getting pelted with the quarter and not being able to play the first half. He avoids a lot of pressure from him teammates and Rowdy, in the second however he is knocked out by Rowdy almost as soon as he starts he is knocked out. Looking on the bright side he doesn’t suffer much from his teammates at Reardan.
What do you think was going through Rowdy’s head when he knocked out Arnold? What would Mr. P say? What do you think his grandmother and mom thought about him playing the second half. Why do you think Eugene was being so nice?
E-Book
I sort of disagree with you, I think that if Reardan had won the game and Junior had made a lot of good shots and whatever then Rowdy may have gained back some more of his respect. On the other hand, if Reardan had won and Junior really hadn't done well in his first game, that would've just convinced Rowdy more that Junior made the wrong decision and wasn't doing any better at Reardan than he had been doing at Wellpinit. But I do agree that had Reardan won, regardless, Rowdy would have been really mad at Junior and probably would never forgive him. The fact that Reardan lost and Junior didn't get to play much was probably the best for everyone because it provided less room for something bad to happen (or something worse than what did happen). Even though Rowdy and Junior are former best friends, I still think that it takes a lot of hatred to knock them out cold. Rowdy must've been thinking about Junior's betrayal, especially since they were playing against his new school. I also think that this game was really symbolic of Rowdy's relationship with Junior because it was the first time that Wellpinit won against Reardan, and the first time that Reardan lost to Wellpinit. This might be rough for Junior later on after he recovers from being knocked out and slightly concussed, when he comes back in contact with the kids at Reardan. They might want to pin all the blame on their newest team player.
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Junior would've gained back more of Rowdy's respect, not the other way around (I phrased that weirdly in the above comment).
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DeleteI think his grandmother and mom were both proud and scared about him playing in the second half. Junior's grandmother would be more proud than scared because she is a big influence on Junior and his hope. She would be proud of Junior for taking a big step and being so committed, determined, and confident even in this time of tension. So far from the book, I learned that Junior's mom is very supportive but also very protective. I think that Junior's mom would be different than grandma in a way that she would be scared for Arnold and his brain damage. Overall I think his whole family would be proud of him for going back out there even after his first injury.
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