At the beginning of this reading Junior finds out that his sister, Mary, has died in a fire. Junior is fearful that his father might die coming to get him from school. Junior believes this because for Junior life is a constant battle against death. When Junior's father get's to school in one piece Junior is immediately flooded with relief, "I started laughing, I was so relieved, so happy, that I LAUGHED. And I couldn't stop laughing." Another explanation for Junior's laughter is the fact that he has just heard some excruciatingly painful news and we all process pain in different ways, as Junior has touched on before. If you remember the short story, The Stone Boy, the protagonist (ironically named Arnold as well) shuts down emotionally and picks peas after realizing that he is responsible for his brother's death. Junior believes that he has done the same, "[Rowdy says] 'Your sister is dead because you left us. You killed her.'...Rowdy was right. I had killed my sister."(211) Junior then goes on to explain his reasoning of how he unintentionally killed his sister. Similarly to when Arnold was naked that night and realized what he'd done, at the end of the chapter Junior says, "What do you say to people when they ask you how it feels to lose everything? When every planet in your solar system has exploded?" (213). Junior is just beginning to process what this death actually means. What it means to lose someone so dear to you and blame yourself for it. We also have to remember that Junior is burdened with so much, he has left his home, he has watched his grandmother, father's best friend, and now, his sister die in a few short months. Junior says himself, "I know that death is never added to death, it multiplies." (212). In conclusion, I think that Junior laughs because he doesn't know what else to do, nor would any of us in his shoes.
Do you think that Junior is being "punished" for trying to get ahead in life? Will Junior ever really be at peace with what happened with Mary? Do you think Junior will ever stop believing that he inadvertently killed his sister? Did you make any other connections to The Stone Boy or any other stories that we've/you've read?
I don't think that Junior will ever really be at peace with what happened to Mary. He thinks that because he got her to live out her life, it's his fault that she died while doing it. So much trauma at such a young age can do bad things to a person. I think that Junior will continue to be haunted by her death and those of his grandmother and Eugene for the rest of his life. He says, "I'm 14 years old, and I've been to 42 funerals"(199). That is something that he's going to carry with him for the rest of his life. I agree with what Mia wrote about laughing being Junior's way to deal with the trauma. At Mary's funeral, Junior is talking to Rowdy when he says, "I can't remember how to cry"(210). Junior has been crying for so long and he hasn't laughed in a really long time. That is why I think he was laughing: in replacement of the crying. Do you think that Rowdy and Junior's conversation during the funeral helped them become friends again?
ReplyDeleteIn response to Samiha's question, I don't think that Rowdy's conversation with Junior helped them become friends again; in fact, I think it was exactly the contrary. The conversation actually drifted Rowdy and Junior farther apart. First, Rowdy is again belligerent towards Junior, as he almost punches him. Second, Rowdy blames Junior for Mary's death, because "she only got married so quickly and left the rez because [I] had left the rez first" (211), which also again indicates his contempt for Junior's choice to go to Reardan. Finally, the conversation ends with Rowdy exclaiming "I hate you!" (211) several times, which itself has negative connotations. Despite this conversation, Rowdy and Junior become friends again by the end of the novel. Why do you think this is?
ReplyDeleteIn response to Samiha's question, I don't think that Rowdy's conversation with Junior helped them become friends again; in fact, I think it was exactly the contrary. The conversation actually drifted Rowdy and Junior farther apart. First, Rowdy is again belligerent towards Junior, as he almost punches him. Second, Rowdy blames Junior for Mary's death, because "she only got married so quickly and left the rez because [I] had left the rez first" (211), which also again indicates his contempt for Junior's choice to go to Reardan. Finally, the conversation ends with Rowdy exclaiming "I hate you!" (211) several times, which itself has negative connotations. Despite this conversation, Rowdy and Junior become friends again by the end of the novel. Why do you think this is?
ReplyDeleteI do not think that Junior is being punished for his accomplishments. Mary was trying to accomplish something just as her younger brother did and although he inspired her to take a risk, he did not cause her death. Maybe now she can rest peacefully since she died knowing she had made an attempt to improve her life. Arnold's accomplishments have encouraged other people in his community to try to live up to him and realize they have a chance for a better life. Mary's death was a tragedy but I do not think it was a punishment. . Rowdy also forced Arnold to believe that it was his fault Mary died. I think Arnold will be able to get over this because he realized that his sister was just trying to get out of her comfort zone and follow her dreams. The only thing to be blamed as Arnold well knows is Alcohol. Arnold is aware of the large number of deaths caused by alcohol abuse. Of course he will always feel awful about loosing his sister but in time he will see that she made a choice and he hopefully inspires others to change their life. In response to Samiha's question, I think it helped Arnold to realize that Rowdy, deep down, does want to be his friend. Rowdy showed Arnold that all he needs to do is perhaps demonstrate that he is opened to being friends again as well.
ReplyDeleteI do not think that Junior is being punished for trying to get ahead in life because it isn't even his fault that Mary died. Mary probably would have left the reservation even if Junior hadn't left the reservation first. Plus if Junior really did do something that bad, he would be punished worse like other kids. For example, some kids don't get fed often, parents get really drunk, and some parents beat up their kids like Rowdy's dad does. Other people on the rez have also suffered from even more death than Junior, I just think that the rez in general is a place full of death and depression. In addition, I do think that Junior will eventually realize that it isn't his fault that Mary died. It may take him a very long time to realize this, but I do think he eventually will. He will figure out that just because he may have moved his sister off the rez faster than she normally would have, he didn't get her so drunk that she passed out. He didn't light the trailer on fire. These things were completely out of Junior's control. Do you think Junior was the reason his sister left the rez, or do you think she would have left eventually anyway? Do you think that Junior regrets anything that he did that might have changed the outcome of his sister's death? If so, what would have happened?
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