During Junior's sister's funeral he runs into Rowdy in the woods. Junior realizes that Rowdy is crying and he misses a punch. Rowdy says "It's your fault. It's all your fault." He says this because he thinks that Junior's leaving the rez gave his sister the courage to get married and move to Montana. I think he is right, Junior inspired his sister to leave the rez. She saw him pursuing his dream so she set out to pursue her own.
I think Sherman Alexie is trying to show that there is always love within death. This exists on many levels, when Junior runs into Rowdy, he sees that he really misses Rowdy and he wants to be friends like they used to be. On another level, when someone you love dies you will always love them and that is love in death.
When Rowdy blames Junior for his sister's death he isn't focused on Junior's sister. He is crying because of her death, but he is also crying for the loss of a friend. Rowdy is mad at Junior and he runs away because he can't face the one challenge he can't solve with a punch.
Questions: Will Arnold ever be able to fix his friendship with Rowdy? Will Arnold's personality start to fade because of all the death? Will Arnold be able to up hold his life on the Reardan side of things? Below are some quotes about love and death.
http://www.funeralhelper.org/funeral-quotes/love-and-death-quotes.html
I think that Arnold will be able to mend the friendship with Rowdy almost to the point at which they were before. However, even though I believe that the friendship can come back, it won't be as it used to. Since Arnold left Rowdy for a white school, since he beat him in a basketball game, and since Rowdy blames him for the death of Mary, the friendship will not be as strong as it was. For the second question I think that Arnold's personality will not fade because of the death. Arnold is not physically strong, but he his mentally strong. The deaths have pushed him to a breaking point, but Arnold will recover. He will not let anything deter him from reaching his goals. The death of his sister will push him way back, but he will overcome the barrier as he did before. Why do you think Arnold has such a strong personality?
ReplyDeleteI know this is cheesy but everything happens for a reason. Arnold left his tribe to show courage and hopefully inspire others which he did. He inspired his sister to move out of the basement. She moved by herself with out being pushed to move. Her decisions resulted in her death by accident.
ReplyDeleteWhen Arnold runs into the woods because he is sad he runs into Rowdy. Rowdy then blames Arnold for the death of his sister. I think Rowdy just needed something to blame Arnold for because he was still mad at him. Also I think that if Rowdy makes Arnold feel worse he might give in to Rowdy and Rowdy would win the fight.
I think Arnold's personality will start to fade away because he doesn't want to lose another close friend or a family member. Since Rowdy mentioned that it was Arnold's fault that Mary died, Arnold realized that it was actually his fault, and he will lose his hope due to the depression. He blamed himself for his Grandma's and Eugene's death. Arnold puts too much pressure on himself, and now that someone said that it is his fault Arnold will believe that it is his fault of his sister's death. Although he has been through deaths before, his sister ment a lot to Arnold and he can't lose his dad or mom. He doesn't want his hopes and wanting adventures get in the way. Do you think that Rowdy will become a different person because he cried? Will Arnold continue to follow his dreams?
ReplyDeleteGoing back to one of Isaac's questions, I do not think that Arnold's personality will fade because of these deaths. I believe that he is too mentally tough. He has also gone through many lows in his life that have also scared him. He was bullied, and had two close people die. Arnold's personality should fade, but it will not. Over the years, Arnold has learned how to take things in weither they are good or bad. There is no doubt that these deaths and tragic events will scar Arnold, but I think that his personality will eventually go back to normal.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Do you think that Arnold will be able to bounce back from back to back to back deaths?
Rowdy tells Arnold it was his fault his sister died. This had a large element of shock and realization to Arnold which caused him to stop laughing. When his sister died, he laughed because he was so disappointed that his sister died, he couldn't eve think straight-or react as a crying boy. This really shows more how much he cares for his sister,mi don't think it shows how the author shows love in death.
ReplyDeleteWhen Arnold's mother sobs and "baptized him in sorrow" do you think that she misses her daughter more than Arnold missiles his sister? How? Why?
I think that Arnold's personality will not fade because of his sister's death. Arnold has been to over 40 funerals. He has lost his grandmother, Eugene, and his dog. He went through some depression during these deaths, but he recovered. One more death will not affect him. Also i believe he will never rebuild his relationship with Rowdy. Arnold tries to fix the the relationship, but Rowdy is still mad at Arnold for leaving the rez. Rowdy also blames Mary's death on Arnold. The two are not getting back together unless Rowdy changes his attitude.
ReplyDeleteAlso i believe Arnold will be able to uphold his social status at Rearden. His classmates support him so he will make it through.
Rowdy misses his punch when he tries to punch Arnold. Why do you think that Rowdy didn't try to punch Arnold again?
I think that Rowdy didn't punch Arnold again because the only reason why he punched Arnold was to help himself deal with the sadness. Due to all the violence Rowdy faces at home, the only way he knows how to deal with emotions is by using violence. He tried to punch Arnold because he needed an outlet to channel all his anger and violence through, but he didn't punch again because he knew that it wasn't really Arnold's fault. Why do you think Rowdy was so upset over Mary's death?
DeleteI think he did not try to punch again for the same reason that the people on the rez left Arnold alone after his grandmother's death. Although they do not like Arnold, they are at least trying to give him some grieving space. Rowdy can be impulsive, mean, and hurtful, but Arnold still just lost his sister. Rowdy understands that and after his initial strong reaction he doesn't try to further hurt Arnold. Despite not actually punching him, Rowdy was still extremely mean to Arnold. Do you think Arnold will stay mad at Rowdy? Do you think Rowdy will stay mad at Arnold?
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ReplyDeleteArnold and Rowdy's relationship as always been a dependent and supportive bond. Throughout Arnold's life, Rowdy has always been there to stand up for him and protect him, but now since Arnold has new friends and is respected in his new community, he seems to have no need for Rowdy support. In a way Arnold's need for Rowdy has leveled out and he is progressing into a more independent lifestyle which has an obvious effect on their relationship. Do you think that the scale will change and now Rowdy will be looking for support?
ReplyDeleteYes, Rowdy clearly needs someone to be there for him. Arnold's good friends at Reardan are very supportive and helpful. Rowdy is his best friend and will always be, but at least Arnold has friends, unlike Rowdy. In a way though the scale wouldn't be a big difference. Arnold needs more support than Rowdy because of all the family deaths that he has to move on with. He needs the support more because he is unstable mentally. He doesn't really know what to think. Do you think Rowdy will ever forgive Arnold?
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