Why does Junior say “it sucks to be poor…” (13)? What does “poverty teach you”? Explain.Junior says that being poor is bad because he often feels that he deserves to be poor and that feeling is tarnishing to him.
Arnold mentions how he doesn’t like the feeling of financial instability in many instances like when he talks about chicken.
He wishes that he could draw food or money and make it come to life, but realizes he is, “just a poor-ass reservation kid” (6).
In a diagram he makes, he expresses how his lack of money makes him feel horrible because of his lack of food.
The lack of food does make him grateful for when he does have food and he believes that eating a piece of KFC can, “make anyone believe in God” (8).
That quote symbolizes his increased appreciation for what he does have like some good old KFC.After he talks about food, he mentions the worst part of being poor.
When the dog Junior adores is on the edge of death, his mom says, “I’m sorry, but we don’t have any money for Oscar” (10).
This is devastating because Oscar, the stray mutt, is the most dependable person Oscar has in his life and he uses Oscar to vent his anger.
In a weirdly coincidental way, Junior uses Oscar to talk about his wealth disparity issues and because of these financial issues the dog is killed.
Oscar the dog symbolizes Junior’s dreams of being wealthy because over his life Junior has been hopeful about leaving the reservation, but this dream fades and dies the moment Oscar dies.
Finally, when Junior talks about how wealth has never existed in the family, he says his parents, “dreamed about being something other than poor, but they never got the chance to be anything because nobody paid attention to their dreams” (11).
This shows how people in his community neglect him and his fellow Indians and represents how he feels about being poor.
How does Junior feel about being impoverished?
What does Junior learn from being impoverished?
Why does Junior mention the dog when talking about being poor?--Max
Why does Junior mention the dog when being poor?
ReplyDeleteI believe that Junior mentions the dog when he is talking about being poor because the reason that the dog died was because Junior’s family didn’t have enough money to bring the dog to the vet and get him checked. A little bit later Junior has to face the fact that his dad is going to kill the dog because he isn’t getting better. This is really tough for Junior because his dog was his best friend that he could talk to if he was feeling mad or sad. It is also really hard for him because he has to lose something that he is really close to because of his family’s poverty. But this is hard for the parents to because they don’t want to be poor, they don’t want to have to live in poor conditions or kill there dog because they don’t have enough money to bring him to the vet. They want a better life but unfortunately that isn’t possible because of the poverty that has struck generations of this family.
When discussing being poor I think junior mentions the dog because it shows that his family can barely even feed him, let alone a pet as well. Junior can't talk about how he resents being financially unstbale with his parents becuase he doesn't want them to feel like they failed him. Also, Junior has no other friends to talk to, so he enjoys talking to Oscar just so he can get his thoughts out.
ReplyDeleteI think the reason Oscar (the dog) was mentioned in the conversation of being poor is because the reason Arnold’s dad had to shoot him was, his parents could not afford to take him to the vet and cure his illness. This was hard for Arnold because having to see your own father kill your “best friend” is really challenging. At this point in the story, Arnold didn’t have any friends to rely on, so he always went to Oscar, because he was the closest thing he had to a best friend; and now he has to let him go because of the financial issues his family is facing. His parents would rather spend the little money they have on food or clothes, things they can live off of, not a dog that will eventually die on it’s own. Poverty has caused this family to give up a lot and make sacrifices for their own benefit. It is a real struggle for them to stay on their feet.
ReplyDelete-Riana
I believe that Junior learns from being impoverished that it is crucial to never take the small moments for granted, and that it is critical to be optimistic even in the worst circumstances. When Junior is mentioning the hardships of being poor, he states; “in a weird way, being hungry makes food taste better”(8). Through this quote, I am able to infer that it is critical for Junior to look at issues in a positive way in order to deal with the pain of being in poverty. In conclusion, I believe that being optimistic is the way that Junior copes with tragic conditions such as poverty.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I believe that Junior uses humor to cope, and in a way, better understand his poverty. As we have discussed in class, it is almost funny when Junior goes through a tough time. This is because Junior, as you said, uses humor and is optimistic when he is going through tough times. I think that humor is like an extension to his comics. When he draws he can express himself, and in a way escape his reality. I think that his connection with Rowdy is so powerful because they both use the power of language and pictures to get out of the poorness that they face everyday. Do you think that Junior's connection with Rowdy helps him to escape the struggles of living in poverty?
DeleteJunior's family has to make tough decisions like that because, with little money, their priorities need to come first. For example, on the top of their list would be food and shelter, not taking care of a dog. However, we can also see that Junior's parents are sad to kill the dog. As Junior says, his parents came from poor people who came from poor people, etc, so his parents probably understand what he is going through. Also, another reason they mention Oscar in the book is because Junior believes that sickness is the worst part about being poor; not being able to provide enough care for people or animals who are dying. Oscar symbolizes everything that Arnold and his family give up because they do not have enough money and opportunities.
ReplyDeleteWhat does Junior learn from being impoverished?
ReplyDeleteJunior says that "poverty only teaches you how to be poor"(13). However, poverty also teaches Junior to appreciate things more. A good example of this is when Junior talks about his hunger on page 8. According to Junior, "a good piece of chicken can make anybody believe in the existence of God”(8). However, I don’t consider a KFC chicken leg heavenly because I eat often enough. He probably appreciates other things, like clothes and money, more than I do, too. In a nutshell, value is relative.
Do you agree or not?
On page 20, casually Rowdy asks Junior if he wants to get some bootleg whisky. This demonstrates Rowdy and Junior have been exposed to so much underage drinking and drinking in general that they don’t think underage drinking is a big deal.
What do you make of this?
I disagree because so far throughout the story you can tell through the tone of Junior's voice you can assume that he has no urge to take lesson of what goes on in his life. Even before in Chapters 1 & 2 he got caught up so much in other things like being bullied or his cartoons it seems like he does pay much attention to what he would learn from hunger. For example, on Page 10 junior says "I'll pay you back, I said . "I promise ." However in what we've read so far have we heard about him learning and/or doing something about his hunger.
DeleteIt isn't something that he learns consciously, but subconsciously. He doesn't realize he learns it.
Delete