Arnold feels alone because he is excluded. He thought once he had a connection with Penelope and that he would be noticed, but not at all. Arnold is lonely. He doesn't talk to anyone. He doesn't socialize with anyone.
When Arnold is lonely he grows a zit. Sherman is trying to show that people are often judged on physical appearance. People judged Arnold and ignored him. Now they are even more likely to ignore him because he has a giant zit. Arnold is an outcast within an outcast.
In science class, Mr. Dodge, the science teacher, is talking about petrified wood and how wood could turn into rock. Junior raises his hand and proves him wrong. (pg. 85) Dodge stared at me. He was dangerously angry..."Gordy," Dodge said, all happy and relieved and stuff. "I'm sure you can tell us the truth." Mr. Dodge doesn't trust Arnold. He doesn't trust the Indian, but when Gordy raises his hand he is relieved because he trusts Gordy, the white kid. Sherman is trying to show that racism still exists today in our society. People trust the white people more than the minorities.
Questions: Will Arnolds sister leaving effect Arnold in the future? Will there be negative or positive effects? Will Arnolds friendship with Gordy help Arnold not feel depressed?
I believe that Mary leaving will cause a positive impact on Junior's life. By Mary leaving, she has given Junior hope. Her whole family thought that she had given up, but she fixed her mistake. This proved that there is hope in life. This is big for Junior because this means that Mary can become Junior's roll model. He thinks that she is a warrior. Mary is a positive character in Junior's life
ReplyDeleteJunior needs a roll model in his life. I think that because of this news, he had the guts to befriend Gordy. This is the start of a huge new friendship that will last for awhile. Mary has put hope into Junior.
Question: How do you think Rowdy will react when he learns about the new friendship?
When Rowdy hears about the friendship between Gordy and Arnold, I think that he will be somewhat jealous but not a raging jealousy. Rowdy knows that Arnold will never have anyone to replace him and won't see Gordy as taking over the friendship. However Rowdy might be a little mad because Arnold has found a friend in his new school whereas Rowdy's only true friend, Arnold, left his school. Only for this reason I think Rowdy will be mad, because he doesn't have a school friend, but Arnold does. He might be mad at Arnold for being friends with a white person, but he knows that Arnold will always be his best friend. As said in the book Rowdy and Arnold are.
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