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?
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?
I was surprised by what rowdy said because that was the nicest thing he has every said to Arnold and that is why he was so touched. Also I thought that him and rowdy have been up and down because first they were good and then they weren't it was the cemetery situation and then the basketball game in the last chapter. Junior now can be happy because in the last chapters he was begging to be chill with rowdy and now they are back to being really close friends.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeletePersonally I wasn’t surprised on what Rowdy said to Junior. As the novel is coming to a close you can infer there is still some tension between the boys, but their brother like bond will keep them close. For example, when Rowdy says “You’re going to keep moving all over the world in search of food and water and grazing land . That’s pretty cool.”(230) he sounds like there’s a glimpse of hope that the boys’ friendship will surely be repaired. This shows that the plot of a story is predictable through the tone of the dialogue, previous events, and important elements of a story like an epiphany.
ReplyDeleteDid you expect Rowdy to be the one to approach Junior, instead of the other way around?
ReplyDeleteThroughout the story Junior has always been the one to go to Rowdy when having a difficult time. Usually when Junior goes to Rowdy he is beaten by him, yet Junior insists on going to him because he brings him joy. On the top of his lists of “People who bring me joy”, Rowdy was at the top. That's why it was astonishing when Rowdy approached Junior. Rowdy did it though because he was lacking this great relationship which would benefit them both.
Throughout these last few chapters, Rowdy has been thought of a lot. Junior shares flashbacks to the good and bad times he had with Rowdy when they were friends. I was not surprised by the outcome of this story because it has been foreshadowed that Rowdy would make some kind of appearance in the ending. Rowdy has been pushing Arnold away because he was sure if it was right to think he did nothing wrong. Although, Arnold does consistently think about apologizing to Rowdy and attempting to make things right between the two of them.
ReplyDeleteThe tree climbing story is an example of how Arnold wants to remember the good times he had with Arnold and how great their friendship was. This story symbolizes the adventures they went on and the story he still remembered to this day.
-Riana