In the last sentence on page 167, Junior says: "And all of us laughed as we walked and drove and rode our way back to our lonely, lonely houses." What is the irony in this? Why is this such a powerful moment for Junior? What is he saying about his tribe?

At first, Grandmother Spirit's wake was very sad, "And everybody knew that losing my grandmother was horrible. So they all waved the white flag that day and let me grieve in peace" (159). But Ted's visit turned the mood around. Everyone was so amused that Ted showed up and made this long speech about how sorry he was then sped away in embarrassment, "For about two minutes, we all sat quiet. Who knew what to say? And then my mother started laughing. And that set us all off." (166). The irony in this is that, this is supposed to be a wake, it's supposed to be sad, but everyone was laughing. "All of us laughed when they lowered my grandmother into the ground. And all of us laughed when they covered her with dirt" (167).  Nobody could stop, that is very ironic because laughing is the thing you would least expect at a wake. This is such a powerful moment for Junior because it is signaling that he and his tribe are moving on from this terrible tragedy and that they are moving on with their lives. Even though Junior is a "traitor" nobody is bullying him today because they respect that someone he loves has passed away and they know how much this is affecting him. Junior reveals that his tribe knows when to stop the criticism, they understand, because they have been through the same thing, a loved one passes away. If Ted didn't visit, how do you think this would have affected Junior? Do you think that it is good that Ted came? Why so or why not? Do you have a personal experience that relates to this? How does it relate?