#8. Interpret/explain/explore the context and significance of the last line of the book (230). (Lucian W.)

The last line of the book: “We didn’t keep score”, hints at the fact that Rowdy and Junior might be becoming friends again (Alexie 230). The quote does this by telling the reader that the game wasn’t meant to be competitive, it was just two friends having fun together. If they were still fighting, Rowdy would have been much more aggressive and would definitely have kept score. When Junior and Rowdy were fighting, all they wanted was revenge on each other: “I wanted to win. I wanted revenge… I was playing to beat Rowdy” (Alexie 182-183). Basketball is what bonds Rowdy and Junior the most, so for them to have a nice relaxed game together really means something special. Junior and Rowdy are both very competitive people when it comes to basketball, and they both always want to win, so when they don’t keep score it shows that they really just want to be together. Last time Junior and Rowdy played basketball together, Junior ended up crying because of Rowdy, and the time before that, Rowdy gave Junior a concussion. So when they play without rivalry or hate, it means that they really do love each other.

#8 Why does Arnold cry on pages 216 and 217? (Chloe W)

The reason Arnold cries in pages 216 and 217 is because he realized everyone on the rez is drunk and unhappy and that they will never leave and be anything bigger or better than what they are “I cried because so many of my fellow tribe members were slowly killing themselves and I wanted them to live. I wanted them to get strong and sober and get the hell off the rez”(Alexie 216). Arnold realizes he has been able to escape the depression and imprisonment of the rez, and he wants that for the Spokans, but he knows as a fourteen-year-old he can’t change the minds of broken and drunk Indians so he cries  “I wept because I was the only one who was brave and crazy enough to leave the rez. I was the only one with enough arrogance (Alexie 217).

#8. Interpret/explain/explore the context and significance of the last line of the book (230). (AS)

At the last sentence of the book Junior narrates these words. "We didn't keep score" (230). He is finally reunited with Rowdy as they play one-on-one basketball. He knows that he does not have to keep score because him and Rowdy are finally together and nothing else matters to Junior in that moment. Junior wanted to stay on the basketball court with Rowdy as long as he could, because all he cared about was having his friendship back with his best friend. "Rowdy and I played one-on-one for hours. We played until dark. We played until the streetlights lit up the court. We played until the bats swooped down at our heads. We played until the moon was huge and golden and perfect in the dark sky" (230). Although the day was ending, Junior and Rowdy would not end their game. As Junior and Rowdy glued their friendship back together with basketball, Junior knows that Rowdy has forgiven him.

#7. Summarize the cartoon on 182. What is the significance? What does it show about Junior? What is his dilemma? (Maddy S.)

The cartoon on page 182 shows the difference between how Junior is treated playing basketball at the Wellpinit gym and how Junior is treated playing at the Reardan gym. In the Wellpinit gym, Junior depicts himself as a devil because the Indians treat him like a traitor and devil. This is proven when it says “The rez basketball fans were chanting, ‘Ar-nold sucks! Ar-nold sucks! Ar-nold sucks!’” (Alexie 143).  This is different from the the picture of him at the Reardan gym, where he is depicted as an angel, because everyone at Reardan treats him like a hero and an angel. Junior is a talented basketball player and an amazing shooter, so Reardan is proud to have him on the team. He is even interviewed by a news reporter! This is shown when it says “everybody, even Coach, came up to me and patted my head or shoulder, or bumped fists with me, or gave me a hug.” (Alexie 186). In other words, the difference between the way people treat Junior in Wellpinit versus in Reardan is that people in Reardan respect Junior. Because of this, he would need to win this game to prove the people on the rez and in Wellpinit wrong. He would need to show them that he wouldn’t be stopped because of their verbal, and sometimes physical, attacks on him. All of this is the deeper meaning of this cartoon.

#7. Summarize the cartoon on 182. What is the significance? What does it show about Junior? What is his dilemma? (Thomas S.)

In the cartoon on 182, there are two pictures of him. In the first picture with a caption of “In Wellpinit Gym”, he is drawn as the devil and the crowd is shouting “BOO!” and “White Lover!”. In the second picture labeled “In Reardan Gym”, The crowd is saying “YAAY!” and “Destroy them, Arnold!”. In both pictures he is saying to himself, “Who am I?” This cartoon is so powerful because he is thinking the same thing in both pictures, so he does not change when he goes from Reardan to the rez.  However, people think he changes and others perception of him change depending on where he goes. Junior’s dilemma is that he doesn’t know his identity.

#6 What was Junior’s grandmother’s greatest gift? What has happened to Indians’ sense of tolerance? Why has that occurred? (Daniel K.)

Grandma's greatest gift was her tolerance. She could accept anybody and anything for who they are. Junior says that a long time ago people were valued for their eccentricity and weirdness. Gay people were considered more than straight people basically. Now, white people brought Christianity and made people scared of anything out of the ordinary. Indians could be more judgmental than any other white person, but Junior's grandmother has hung on to that old sense of tolerance. When Arnold went to Reardan she thought that it was a perfect idea because of all the new experiences that he would have. Everybody else thought that he was insane and was a traitor because he didn’t follow the same path as everybody else.

#6. 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? (Shane H.)

After Junior changed schools, he was viewed as a traitor and an outcast to the reservation. As Junior’s team travels to Wellpinit High School, Junior’s old school, he is nervous of what might happen in the gym. When Junior’s team arrived, the Coach tell Junior “ ‘You don’t have to play this one,’ he said. ‘Yes, I do...,’” was Junior’s reply (Alexie 143). Junior does not know what will happen during the game, and that is what scares him. However, the way Coach gave him the option to sit the game out let Junior know that he had his Coach’s support. Junior decides to play with his new “family.” When the team entered the gym and Junior was shunned by the crowd, his team mates, especial Roger, stood by Junior and gave him a real home with the team. Junior went on to play the game but sustained two head injuries; a cut and a concussion. Later that night, Junior’s coach came to the hospital and stayed the night with Junior. The coach is showing that the basketball team, and soon the school, are ready to accept Junior as one of their own.

# 6 Respond to one of the quotes to note. Please identify, speaker, interlocutor, context, and significance. (Harrison G)

In the quote "Quitting is contagious" Arnold is thinking to himself the basketball court after having run one-hundred laps (Alexie 138). Arnold is talking about the first boy who quit after running fifty laps and then the players who followed him out in quitting. This is true in real life as well and Arnold is happy when the boys quit because it means he has a higher chance of making the team. This whole scene and the quote show that Arnold is very resilient and determined to show his worth by making the basketball team when he knows some of the white kids won't.

#5 "What does Arnold hide and ultimately reveal in “Dance Dance Dance?” What does he learn? Be sure to discuss the final sentence on page 129." (Luc)

Blog Post #2 - PTI

Question: What does Arnold hide and ultimately reveal in “Dance Dance Dance?” What does he learn? Be sure to discuss the final sentence on page 129. 

In ‘Dance Dance Dance,’ Arnold ends up revealing his poverty to Penelope. At school, Arnold “pretended to be middle class” because he thought it would not do himself any good if his classmates knew he was “dirt poor” (119). But, later in the book, Arnold realized that “If you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing” (129).  Now that Penelope and Roger know that he’s poor, Arnold can now feel more transparent to Penelope, and can now score an occasional ride home from Roger. Overall, Arnold learned that keeping such major aspects of your life from your friends does not always go well in the long haul. Although this moment almost built a friendship between Arnold and Roger, as well as substantially strengthen Arnold’s friendship with Penelope, Arnold learned that it’s not always bad to talk about these things. In most cases, people will (likely) be sympathetic of you, and ultimately less cruel and by realizing this, life will only get better for Arnold.

#5 On pages 107-109, Junior tells us more about Penelope, and he learns her secret. Explain this situation and why he says “…she’s scared all the time, but nobody will let her be scared…” (108). (Talia)

In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Junior’s girlfriend, Penelope, has a mental illness called anorexia. “Penelope gorges on her pain and then throws it up and flushes it away.” (Alexie 107). What Junior means when he says “…she’s scared all the time, but nobody will let her be scared…” (Alexie 108) is that since she appears to have a good life and no apparent problems, people don’t believe that she actually does have problems. Because her family is well off and she is pretty and popular, it is hard for people to believe that she has difficulties in her life. The truth is, mental illness doesn’t care what your situation in life is. Junior is now realizing that life for white people isn’t necessarily completely perfect. While life as an Indian may be harder in most ways, white people have problems too.

#1. Explore the irony of the discussion about Thanksgiving. (Anika D.)

The Pilgrims weren’t very nice to the Indians, and Thanksgiving, is in celebration of the pilgrims. Arnold thinks “I always think its funny when Indians celebrate thanksgiving. I mean sure the Indians and Pilgrims were best friends during the first thanksgiving, but a few years later, the Pilgrims were shooting Indians” (Alexie 101). I think the irony of this discussion on Thanksgiving is that, it's like Arnold and Rowdy. Every year “for the last ten years, he’d always come over to the house to have a pumpkin-pie eating contest with me” (Alexie 102). Now, it’s like Rowdy was “shooting” Arnold, when he punched and beat him up. This makes Arnold wish things were like they used to be. Arnold asks his dad “ ‘What do Indians have to be so thankful for’?” (Alexie 102). For Arnold, Thanksgiving feels like a replay of how indians should be treated.

#4. On pages 82-84, Junior explains how alone he feels. Why does he feel this way? How does what happens in the science class reinforce this feeling? (Lucian W.)

Junior feels lonely because he is not noticed or heard. What happens in science class lowers his self-esteem even more, as once again he is not listened to even though he’s correct. It takes a white boy to prove to the teacher that Junior was in fact correct, and even then Mr. Dodge doesn’t credit Junior for what he said : “Mr. Dodge thanked Gordy, but didn’t say another word to me” (Alexie 86). It was hard enough for Junior to get along with the just the kids, but now that his teachers aren’t on his side either, it’s going to make it much harder for him. It’s not like the students at Reardan are outright mean to Junior, it’s just that “those white kids did not talk to [him]” (Alexie 83). With no one paying attention or even talking to Junior, it’s going to be hard for him to stay at Reardan.

#1 What do you make of Arnold's relationship with his grandmother? (Chloe W).

Arnold's relationship with his grandmother is already strong considering he had enough confidence to tell her that he punched Roger in the nose, knowing that is not something to do on a regular basis "Grandma,' I said. 'I pushed somebody in the face. And he just walked away. And now I'm afraid that he will kill me'"(Alexie 68).  In addition to listening and not being mad, Arnold's grandmother helps him with not only advice but good advice, and  a reasonable and a true conclusion "'I think it means he respects you'" (Alexie 68).  It is clear that this is not the last time Arnold will come to his grandmother for advice, and their bond as family will make sure of it "I love you, Grandma,'" (Alexie 70).

#4. Explain the Significance/Importance of the Friendship with Gordy for Junior. (AS)

When Junior arrived at Rearden, he was now welcomed by his fellow classmates. His first day was filled with unfortunate events including his dream girl getting mad at him, getting into a fight with an "alpha dog", sitting alone at lunch, and playing with himself at recess. When Junior corrected Mr. Dodge, nobody in the class (including Mr. Dodge), believed what Junior said was correct. It was not until Gordy told Mr. Dodge that Junior was however correct and Mr. Dodge was wrong. Junior soon realized that Gordy and him are both very smart and can benefit from each others knowledge. "And so we became friends. Not the best of friends. Not like Rowdy and me. We didn't share secrets. Or dreams. No, we studied together. Gordy taught me how to study. Best of all, he taught me how to read" (Alexie 94). Although Gordy will never be the same best friend that Rowdy was to Junior, Junior is still grateful to have a friend that he can learn from. Gordy helps improve Junior's english which Junior will use throughout his life. Junior realized that he and Gordy both shared the loneliness of having no friends throughout the day. He enjoys the thought of having Gordy there with him when he is feeling weak. With Gordy by Junior's side, Junior doesn't have to feel lonely and abandoned, instead he can feel like he belongs at Rearden.  

#3. Interpret/explore/explain the context and the significance of the quote “I don’t know if hope is white. But I do know that hope for me is like some mythical creature” (51). (Maddy S)

When Junior says "I don't know if hope is white. But I do know that hope for me is like some mythical creature", he means that white people a lot more hope than him and that hope is unrealistic for Indians to have that amount of hope (Alexie 51). What Junior doesn’t realize is that it takes hope to go somewhere new like he is doing. Later on that page, Junior says “Man, I was scared of those Reardan kids” (Alexie 51). Even though he was scared, Junior hoped it would turn out for the best and he hoped he would have a better life because of it. This proves that Junior leaving the rez was an act of hope. Nonetheless, I agree that everyone else in the reservation had lost hope. The rest of them stayed there because they didn’t think life could get any better and they didn’t hope for it to get better, either. Junior would’ve stayed like them if Mr. P hadn’t given him this new hope that his life could get better if he left. So, Junior is underestimating himself when he says “hope for me is like some mythical creature”.

#3. Why is Junior hesitant to tell Rowdy? Why does he tell him? How does Rowdy react? Why does he react this way? (Thomas S)

Junior is hesitant to tell Rowdy because of his temper and also because of the way he sees white people. Rowdy hates white people because they have more opportunities and are more privileged than the Indians on the rez. When Arnold first tells Rowdy that he’s transferring to Rearden, he says “I don’t even drive through that town. . . What makes you think I want to go to school there?” (Alexie 49). Rowdy simply hates the white people because of their social class. Junior decides to tell Rowdy because he is Junior’s best friend and he “wanted him to know the truth” (Alexie 49). After Junior tells Rowdy this, Rowdy punches him in the face because, in his mind, he thinks that Junior is doing this because he is too good to stay with everybody on the rez and he thinks Junior is too good for him.  

#2 Interpret/explain/explore the context and significance of the quote "we were supposed to kill the indian to save the child" Harrison G

This quote talks about how the teachers were taught to erase any Indian heritage the children may have in them. In the text, it says "we were trying to kill Indian culture"which they did by beating them and not allowing them to celebrate any of their own culture like stories, language, and dancing  (Alexie 35).  In reality, they were not actually killing Indians, but their way of life and tradition. The justification of the teachers in doing this was that they were "helping" the Indian people adapt to the American way of life. This is one of the strongest reasons for which Mr. P apologizes to Junior then tells him to leave the rez. This quote emphasizes on of the main themes in the story; to be yourself and not let others make you afraid. In the end "killing the Indian to save the child" is a contradictory statement because many consider life without culture not full life at all.

#2. What is Mr. P's advice to Junior? Why does he give this advice? (S. Hanafin)

Mr. P comes to visit Junior because he sees something in Junior that is different. He realizes that Junior can do better things and work towards a better life. Mr. P tells Junior to “leave the rez forever” because he doesn’t want him to become like the rest of the rez; depressed and defeated (Alexie 42). Mr. P has seen too many students, like Junior’s intelligent sister, “Mary runs away,” give up and become non existent. Mr. P is trying to save Junior from the danger of  the reservation’s teachers who are teaching them to fail. “ ‘If you stay on this rez,’ Mr. P said, ‘they’re going to kill you. I’m going to kill you. We’re all going to kill you. You can’t fight us forever’”(Alexie 43). Mr. P knows that he can’t help Junior, but he is giving him a warning of what will happen if he stays on the rez. Mr. P knew that when Junior threw the book at him, he wanted more of himself. Junior expects more than what this school has to offer, and Mr. P knows that. As a teacher, Mr. P wants Junior to keep that zeal for learning. He knows he won’t get that in the reservation.

#2       Respond to one of the quotes to note. Please identify, speaker, interlocutor, context, and significance.  Daniel Katz

4.     “There’s always time to change your life” (40). The speaker is Arnold. The interlocutor is Mr.P. Mr.P comes to Arnold's house to talk about Arnold throwing the book at him. The conversation goes to mary and how she had potential, but she just gave up. He says the quote and then he almost gags because he knows that that's a lie. If you are a poor indian you will always stay a poor indian no matter what he believes. He doesn't have any role models to demonstrate how he can get out of poverty and make it in the world. All he has are white people telling him he's worthless and 30-year-old men beating him up.

Blog post, Question #2

Junior says “it sucks to be poor, and it sucks to feel that you somehow deserve to be poor.” (Alexie,13) Because Junior feels like because of his race and his sick dog, it claims that he deserves to be poor. In this scene, Junior is talking about his mother and father's dream jobs and how he wants to blame them for his sick dog, Oscar. “Poverty doesn't give you strength or teach you lessons about perseverance. No, poverty only teaches you how to be poor (Alexie, 13). Junior thinks that being in poverty just teaches you more of what it’s like to be poor. Some other things that may affect his words are his race, because he feels that “you’re stupid and ugly because you are indian” (Alexie,13), and his sick dog because after they don’t have enough money to take him to the vet, Junior knows that this is what is teaching him more about poverty. He knows that this is what it’s like to be poor. After this happens, Junior knows what they have to do in order to help his dog and this makes Junior feel worse about being poor.

#1 Examine the cartoon on page 12. What is the relationship between poverty and dreams? (Talia)

In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, the main character’s family are very poor. His mother dreamed of being a professor, and his father dreamed of being a musician. Sadly, both of their dreams were never realized because of their poverty. “But we reservation Indians don’t get to realize our dreams. We don’t get those chances. Or choices. We’re just poor.” Many people in history may have had the talent or ability to become famous, but they never could because they didn’t have the money or opportunities. Junior’s family is poor because they live on a reservation and all of their ancestors before them were poor, but Junior believes he can break this pattern. He hopes to become a famous artist, and he thinks that his artistic abilities and perseverance will help him do that. One day, he wants to “get out” of the reservation and live his life without poverty.

#3: Luc

Blog Entry #1

Luc Boesch-Powers

Question 3: “What is ‘absolutely the saddest thing in the world’ (31)? Explain why Junior says this and the implication.”

"Absolutely the saddest thing in the world" (Alexie 31) is the fact that Junior's school/tribe cannot afford even new-ish books for their students. Initially, Junior was extremely excited to get his books in high school, but seeing his mother's name in the book really let him down. When receiving his book, he assumed the book was at least semi-new, but the disappointment of learning that the book used to belong to his mother when she was in high school is truly depressing. So depressing that Junior, overwhelmed by his tribe and family's poverty, throws the (very old) book at Mr. P.. Obviously, Junior doesn’t find it fair that Native Americans like him are basically born into poverty without much of a way out. Although difficult, Junior is striving for that way out, but is discouraged after learning the truth about his book. After this unfolded, Junior realized it will be very hard to "escape," (Alexie 6) as the poverty of his tribe and school have already dimmed his chances of getting ahead in life.