Why does Junior feel he wants to get back to school? What happens when he gets there?--Mika

Junior wants to go back to school to escape the influence of alcohol back at the Reservation. Junior understands that drinking only leads to more negative consequences, while the majority of people living on the Reservation do not. Most people living on the Reservation cope with pain by drinking alcohol as a temporary way to soothe their pain. Three of Junior’s close friends and family members have died from a cause related to the use of alcohol. Junior wants to go back to school because the people mourning his sister's death will most likely be drinking alcohol, the drink that promoted her decease, and he wants to leave this place. Although there is irony in this thought, it is very true among not only Junior’s friends and family but among the entire Reservation. When the first settlers conquered America, they oppressed Native American people, and centuries later, Native American people were still oppressed by white people when they tried to “take the indian out of the man”. Centuries of pain have caused generations of Native American people to handle their pain by drinking alcohol. Since this practice is a social norm, many Native Americans drink alcohol to handle their pain, which only leads to greater sorrow and depression.

When Junior returns to school, he is greeted by people who are supportive and empathetic when they hear about Junior’s loss; “They were worried for me.They wanted to help me with my pain” (212). Junior has become a critical asset to Reardan's basketball team, and, overall, a funny and kind addition to Reardan. Junior’s teachers and peers are so supportive when he loses his sister because that kind of trauma rarely happens to any of the students attending Reardan. At Wellpinit, the students there would be sad about the loss of Mary; however, they would not be nearly as supportive as the students attending Reardan because they have gone through similar circumstances as Junior. In conclusion, Junior wants to get back to school in order to escape the influence of alcohol at the Reservation, and when he returned to Reardan, he was greeted by supportive teachers and peers.  

Are there any other characters we have read about in other books that cope with pain by drinking alcohol?

Why do you think that throughout the book Arnold was shaped into this character who was “different” and did not believe in alcohol or losing hope?

Why throughout the book have we frequently seen white people cry when they hear about Junior’s issues and struggles?

       

How does Junior cope with sadness (free response)? Ana Chrysa Maravelias

Each book and each character shows a different way to cope with hardships.  In the Outsiders, Ponyboy just

wanted to forget. He wanted to forget all the deaths, and all the grieving. Here, in The Absolutely True Diary

of a Part-Time Indian, Junior did something similar after Mary’s death, and kept the truth away for as long as

possible. As it says on page 201 " ‘Arnold, I'm sorry,’ she said. ‘But I just got a phone call from your mother.

It's your sister. She's passed away.’ ‘What do you mean?’ I asked. I knew what she meant, but I wanted her to

say something else. Anything else. ‘Your sister is  gone,’ Miss. Warren said. ‘I know she's gone,’ I said. ‘She

lives in Montana now.’ I knew I was being an idiot. But I figured if I kept being an idiot, if I didn't actually

accept the truth, the truth would become false." This shows that Junior just doesn't want to handle the truth.

He can't handle the truth. He's been through so many hardships that another death is just stretching his limits.

He believes that if he pushes the truth away, it will truly be distant and gone. He just wants to do anything and

everything to make the hard, bitter reality go away.  He just wants to stall. He wants to spend as much time as

he can pushing it away.

As it says on page 206 " ‘My sister is dead,’ I said. ‘Yes.’ ‘I was hoping I dreamed that,’ I said." This shows that Junior wishes that the reality that he’s living in wasn't his reality. He wishes that it were all fake, or distant and far away.  He wishes it were all a dream. Or more accurately, a nightmare. At first when Junior's grandma died he didn't really know how to react. Then, when Eugene died, he started to make more cartoons. Now that a third loved one (Mary) has died, he wishes that it weren't true. In reality, Junior is just a kid trying to navigate his way through a world full of sadness, miseries, and disparities, and he is doing the best that he can to cope.

1. Do you think that Junior also uses laughter as a way to cope with his pain? Why or why not?
2. How do you think Junior’s sadness increased from one family death to the other? How did they each affect him?
3. Do you think that Mary’s death was the hardest for Junior to fully grasp? Why or why not?

Why does Junior cry on pages 216-217? - Jemma Harvey

Junior cried on pages 216-27 because he is realizing how much Rowdy actually cares for Junior. Rowdy puts on a tough face for everyone around him, but he is actually doing this to prevent people from seeing his true self. Junior is a highlight in Rowdy's life and Rowdy has always known this, he just had to admit it to himself. Rowdy's tendency to push people away makes Junior feel as though Rowdy does not care for him, when that is not actually the case. Rowdy has always believed in Junior, he just never wanted to admit it. On pages 216-217 Rowdy is proving that he does care about Junior. He does this by being the one to make the first move in order to improve their friendship. Then, when they are playing basketball Rowdy tells junior how he has always believed that he would make it. Junior has never heard Rowdy say something as sentimental and constructive. Also, Junior is constantly doubting himself and his abilities, so to hear that someone, let alone Rowdy, has always believed in him is something significant and meaningful. Juniors insecurities are constantly getting in the way of his accomplishments, so when Rowdy tells Junior that he has always known he would be successful it is a step towards Junior overcoming his insecurity.
1) Were you surprised by what Rowdy said to Junior?
2) Did you expect Rowdy to be the one to approach Junior, instead of the other way around?
3) What is your opinion on the tree climbing story? How does it relate to the present day?

In this time of grief, why do you think Junior laughs so much? What are the specific moments he laughs the hardest? - Max B-P

        For Junior, grief and struggle have been consistent things because of his being Indian and living on the rez. Although, as introduced at the beginning he draws cartoons to make fun of the world, because, ”words are two unpredictable”(9). His cartoons are visual representations of him laughing at the world. He, like many others, laughs so that the pain goes away. He denies bad things and pretends they never happened. Junior is not alone, and many people on the reservation do the same thing with drinking and drugs. His dad goes off and gets drunk after a bad thing happens, people today in our world go get opioids to forget temporarily about things they don’t want to face. Junior simply laughs to deflect his pain and it makes it easier for him to cope. Everybody has coping methods and laughing is Junior’s.
        One specific moment where he laughs very hard is when his sister Mary dies. In the car with his dad, the dad is quite sad but Junior laughs very hard the whole way home: “I felt like I might die of laughing… I couldn’t figure out why I was laughing. But, I kept laughing as my dad drove out of Reardan”(204-205). I think he laughs so much at this moment because he was hit hard by Mary’s death. I know that Grandma and Eugene were both big parts of his life, but Mary is the person he wanted to follow in life. She didn’t like the rez either so she just left. He has wanted to leave for a while now and be a wanderer like her so her death proves the difficulty of leaving.


How do Junior's cartoons relate to his laughing?


Why does Mary's death cause the most laughing?

Free Response: Why does Junior keep trying to connect with Rowdy when Rowdy keeps shutting him down? -Adam Murray

When Junior breaks the news that he is moving to Reardan to Rowdy he takes it in the worst way possible and doesn't talk to Arnold still doesn't. But throughout the book Arnold keeps trying to make things better with Rowdy. He tries emailing him but Rowdy either barely says anything or doesn't say anything at all. When Reardon plays Wellipoint in the first game of the season Arnold is booed when he enters the court. When he checks into the game somebody throws a quarter at him and he has to get stitches. At this point Arnold is feeling really mad and sad. He feels mad because he can’t play because somebody threw a quarter at him. He is sad because he doesn't feel welcome because everybody is screaming at him. Although he is feeling these emotions he has enough perseverance to return back to the game. A couple of minutes in Rowdy elbows him and he is unconscious. This is yet another example of how Rowdy is blocking Junior out. When he is better he returns to action and the Reardon team goes on a 12 game winning streak. Then there is the one of the biggest games of the season if not the biggest. Rematch between Reardon and Wellpoint. After a hard match Reardon pulls out the victory and Arnold holds Rowdy to only scoring 4 points. After the game Junior feels ashamed because he knows what those kids on the rez are going through. So he tries yet again to email Rowdy saying that he is sorry for beating there team. Rowby responds with a mean comment and Arnold follows with a mean comment in the end Rowdy says “haha” I personally think that Rowdy is slowly but surely letting Arnold back into his life. I think that Rowdy couldn’t survive without Junior for the rest of his life.

Questions:

1. Will Rowdy let Arnold back into his life?
2. Wen Rowdy say “haha” what do you think he means other than he is laughing?

Explain the humor/irony of the title of the chapter, “Rowdy and I Have a Long and Serious Discussion About Basketball.”-🤪🇭🇹Judy Moody🇭🇹🤪

               

                          In the chapter title "Rowdy and I Have a Long and Serious Discussion
           About  Basketball" has a little bit of irony because going into the chapter you'd think that                  Rowdy would be so rude and cruel to Junior in his email. However, he had a decent tone in his
        email and still had a little "Rowdy flair" in him. I think that Rowdy has finally had an epiphany          that Junior and him are together forever even though they may have their downsides they work            together as one despite the challenges along the way. This shows that Junior's point that Indians are close shows that it could even be in the hardest of time they're like glue.

                         Although in the chapter title they're is some irony they're is also some humor
         in the chapter title. Junior describes the conversation as a long and serious on e, but I think that      this is funny because in the chapter there's is a lively almost friendly conversation between the 2         Indians. Personally, I think that Junior prior to the conversation  is very stressed about the reaction     of his worst enemy, Rowdy. Thorough out the book you can see that Junior always has expectations  for himself others and so much more. Leading to why he possibly exaggerated the title   of the chapter.

     1.What do you think of this reading and Why? Text is needed
     2.Would you be sad if you won to Wellpinit? Why?
     3.How do you feel about Arnold currently?Why? Use text to help explain your opinion

Summarize the outcome of the game. Why does Junior cry at the end? What
does he realize? -Spiros Gerogiannis

After the game between Reardan and Wellpinit, Reardan won by a lot and
Arnold did an amazing job in the game. But instead of celebrating this, he
put himself back in the position of what it feels like to lose in Wellpinit.
There, if you lose, your drunk parent might physically abuse you, and it
prevents you from taking a step further in your life, while in Reardan, not
much would have happened, “I knew that none of them was going to college
Not one of them. And I knew that Rowdy’s father was probably going to beat
the crap out of him for losing this game” (195-196). Wellpinit didn’t have
many chances at becoming successful, for this game was their only chance.
When Arnold realized that he potentially ruined the rest of their lives, he felt
so ashamed, almost like carrying the burden of murder.


Considering the good person that Arnold is, he will have to do something to
do something to undo this situation, despite the fact that he would most likely
want to keep success coming his way. How do you think that Arnold might
fix this situation? Sherman Alexie has put a lot of symbolic moments between
the coach and Arnold, showing that the coach inspired Arnold to keep going,
because that is what coaches should and are supposed to do. But the coach and
Arnold seemed to have and immediate bond. Why do you think that Sherman
Alexie put the coach to be the character that inspires Arnold to keep going?
Based off of this, what do you think will happen next? Will things get better or
worse?