Tuesday, April 16, 2013
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?
The first basketball game for Reardan is against Wellpinit High School, which happens to be the school that Arnold used to go to. Everyone in the rez currently thinks of Arnold as a traitor. The crowd at Wellpinit expresses their hatred towards Arnold by turning their backs on him. They chant "Ar-nold sucks!" which is what Arnold is greeted with as he enters the gym. This doesn't make Arnold feel especially sad in the moment, he feels mad and wants revenge. The most unexpected part is that he begins to laugh at his old school. His team is supportive as well as the coach of the team and join his laugh. The coach of the Reardan team seems to understand Arnold very well and even asks if him if he would like to sit out for the game. An important passage when Coach shows he believes in Arnold is right before the game, "If you care about something enough, it's going to make you cry. But you have to use it. Use your tears. Use you pain. Use your fear (p.144)". Even Coach is accepting an Indian kids from the rez. The community of Reardan is definitely changing and accepting him step by step.
Having support from his team mates clearly gives Arnold a boost of self esteem. He just wants to play and beat Wellpinit. In this chapter you can see a clear change of Arnold's attitude which shows his competitive side. The author wants to show that the new Arnold has taken over the old rez Junior.
Questions: Do you think that the new Arnold is better than the rez Junior?
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I think that the new Arnold is better because the new person has hope and dreams that may become true. At the rez everyone hated him except Rowdy. At Rearden, people like Arnold and he has seen a glimpse of Rowdy in Gordy, so Arnold is well off. Even though he might have a tough time when he is at the rez, he liked his new school that is filled with hopes and dreams.
ReplyDeleteAt the game, Rowdy is staring at Arnold like he wants to kill him. In a previous chapter, Arnold thinks that Rowdy misses him, but Rowdy elbows Arnold in the face which makes him unconscious. Do you think that Rowdy still misses Arnold?
I think Rowdy does miss Arnold, but Rowdy just doesn't know how to act when he sees Arnold. Rowdy can't control his anger, and at times he may feel a certain emotion but do the exact opposite emotion. Rowdy is a mixed feelings character, but you know that Rowdy still misses Arnold a bit because he didn't turn his back. Arnold filled the loving and sweet part in Rowdy's life, and now Rowdy has no one to lean onto, or get help. Clearly, Arnold and Rowdy both need each other. Do you think Rowdy elbowing Arnold in the face, makes Arnold more cautious when around he is people from the rez especially Rowdy?
ReplyDeleteWhen Arnold enters the gym and everyone becomes quiet, he laughs. I think this shows that Arnold is not very effected by Rez Hateing him, just about if Rowdy still cares for him or not. But we find out that Rowdy is still not forgiving Arnold when he ends up in the hospital. I. Think it was an important and caring moment when the coach stayed overnight at the hospital with Arnold, it showed how caring people in Rearden can be and sometimes it's not about your stero typical future it's about your tough past.
ReplyDeleteI think that the New Arnold is "better" because he has more confidence and is more determined. During the game, he is determined to go in even after he got jeered at and had to get stitches on the spot. Rez Junior wouldn't have had the courage to go out there and face all of his own community, the very people he grew up with jeer at him as he tries to follow his dreams. New Arnold is able to overcome more challenges and he is stronger in a sense, making him the "better"Arnold/Junior. What is so important about the crowd jeering Arnold, not Junior?
ReplyDeleteThe crowd jeering Arnold instead of Junior is so important because the people on the rez are no longer realizing Arnold to be a person from the rez. Since they jeer Arnold the crowd is adopting his white name or the name of the traitor. Arnold is the name of the kid that left the rez to join Reardan. If they jeered Junior that means that they still consider Arnold as a member of the tribe. By changing the name, they changed the identity. Why does Wellpinit turning their backs on him really, really hurt?
ReplyDeleteArnold knew that his tribe thought he was a traitor already but not everyone had expressed it as much as Rowdy. Now when he walks into the gym of his own tribe he is yelled at proving that everyone dose hate him. While they are being mean to Arnold I think that it just shows that everyone is jealous of Arnold for doing something that they all wish they could have done to improve their lives but didn't have the courage to.
ReplyDeleteI think the new Arnold is by far better than Junior. Junior was a decrepit mess, where as Arnold is the popular smart athlete. He lost Rowdy but gained Gordy, Penelope and Roger, who accept him for who he actually is, more than Rowdy did. Now his hopes and his dreams are more than they ever were. They reflect a bright future, but Junior had no hope, he was dying but already dead. Rearden revitalized him.
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