Summarize the outcome of the game. Why does Junior cry at the end? What does he realize?
Arnold's victory in the game brought him mixed emotions. "Coach and my teammates thought I was crying tears of happiness. But I wasn't. I was crying tears of shame". In another quote, Arnold describes how all the white kids on his team were well off and how they had futures outside of Basketball, but for his tribe members, that was all they had to strive for in their lives. Unlike the white kids, they were confined to their depressing surroundings. And when they got home, they knew that some of the parents would beat them for not winning the game whereas if the Reardan kids lost, their family's would be far more accepting and supportive.
When Arnold realizes that he has taken away something that mattered dearly to his old friend, he had a fit of remorse. He ran off into the bathroom and started vomiting and crying. He teammates assumed that this was simply out of excitement and happiness, but it was truly out shame that he had rid the rez kids of hope from accelling in life. This goes to show that Arnold's inner dispute between moving on in life or staying at the rez even applies to Arnold's basketball games.
How do you think Arnold's Parents feel about the game?
In the end Arnold's dad was looking at the Wellpinit kids as though he had some sympathy for them but does this pose any further complication to the plot?
If Arnold could have changed the outcome of the game, do you think he would have?
I believe that if Arnold could have changed the outcome of the game he wouldn't have. Even though his is empathetic to the natives, if you think about it they destroyed his childhood. They constantly beat on him and harassed him. Rowdy did not but Rowdy was a sacrifice in moving and Rowdy humiliated him in the last game so now its payback. Poetic justice in a way.
ReplyDeleteI think Arnold's father felt the same way as Arnold, almost as if they were betraying their tribe. Their mother fainting of happiness is not in this moment of realization which shows how strong Arnold's dad and Arnold's relationship was.
ReplyDeleteI think I Arnold went back he would let the Rez win because he doesn't want to break his best friends heart and he wants to give the kids who will never have a future and will live in disappear for the rest of their lives, a moment of happiness and self confidence.
In the end, Arnold realizes that he just destroyed the confidence of the people with no confidence. The Redskins wanted to win that game, they had to win the game. When Reardan won they just boosted themselves in the present moment. The Reardan kids all had futures and the Wellpinit kids had to go back to the rez with no hope. As for Arnolds dad, I think he was thinking the same thing as Arnold and he knew what it felt like to have no future, but he didn't want that for the younger generation.
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