Why does Arnold Become a Man? Shayan
In this reading Arnold has to play Wellpinit in a basketball game. He is nervous to play because of what Rowdy did to him last time the two schools played each other. When Rearden plays Wellpinit this chapter, Arnold takes the ball from Rowdy when he tries to dunk it. He embarrassed Rowdy by taking the ball from him and scoring a three. Rearden wins the game and they are all happy. Now Arnold has become a man. He denied his best friend who had been better then him for fourteen years, but why? It was because of support.
Arnold got support from from so many people in his life. His grandmother, Eugene, and his parents all supported him. Eugene and his grandmother are dead now, but Arnold thinks of what they would say to support him. The book says "I looked up in the crowd into the crowd to see if my dad was in his usual place, high up in the northwest corner. And there he was. I waved at him. He waved back." Even though his dad is a drunk and forgets to pick him up from school, Arnold's dad supports him. So does his coach, Penelope, and his teammates.
Question: Why does Arnold become a man in this reading?
Arnold becomes a man because he realizes what his friends are going through. He knows now why it is such a big deal that he went to rerdan. The other indians think that he is doing this so he can be better off with the white people and doesn't want to help his tribe. He realizes this after the win. He realizes what all of the indians are going through and how basket ball is their only escape and he ruined it.
ReplyDeleteArnold becomes a man because he realizes that winning isn't everything and he learns that actions have consequences. Arnold realized that the game meant more to the Wellpinit kids and he felt guilty for taking away the victory, which would have meant so much to them. This shows that Arnold has grown because it shows that he was willing to look over his own needs and think about other people first.
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