When Mr. P comes to visit Junior after Junior hits him in the face with a book, Junior expects to be yelled at, or even hit in the face with another book. Mr. P does the last thing that Junior expects: he apologizes, because "'I can't apologize to everybody I hurt. But I can apologize to you.'"(35) After telling Junior stories about his sister, Mary, and all of the promise she had, Mr. P gives Junior a piece of advice: "'You have to leave the reservation.'" (42) Junior is surprised, but Mr. P has good reason behind it. When Mr. P was a younger teacher, he was taught to "kill the Indian to save the child," or make children "give up being Indian." (35) Mr. P has taken away the dreams of so many reservation children and now he wants to make up for all of that hurt. Mr. P is tired of being a bad guy or a bystander and he feels that he has seen too many talented children like Mary fade away into shells of their old selves without hope or any idea of what they are going to do next. Mr. P thinks that Junior is "a bright and shining star" just like his sister was and that he is "the smartest kid in the school." (40) He believes that Junior can succeed and he even says, "'I don't want you to fail. I don't want you to fade away. You deserve better." (40)
How do you think Mr. P's advice affected Junior's decision to transfer to Reardan? Why do you think Junior decided to transfer to Reardan at that exact moment instead of waiting like his parents suggested? How do you think that Mr. P has affected Junior's life? What do you think Mary's life would be like in this story if Mr. P had given this advice to her?
Personally, I really think Mary's life would have been a LOT different. Throughout the entire beginning of the book (Not gunna give page #'s) whenever you hear her name, it's always in a lost-soul context: A person who spends all their time alone, shut out from the world, always running away to escape. I think this is because she was beaten down by society until her hopes and dreams were almost non-existent. If Mr. P had given her this advice, she would be a completely different person. She, like Junior probably didn't realize what was happening to them on the Rez, so if she had escaped, she would have been more inclined to chase her dreams. In the long term, this also would have had an effect on Junior too, because she might have encouraged him to chase his dreams more too. Long story short, if Mr. P had given Mary that advice, she most likely wouldn't have lost hope, and followed her dreams, like Junior hopefully will.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I touched on this a bit, how do you think the whole family's life would be different if Mr. P had given Mary that advice?
ReplyDeleteIn response to Samiha's last question, it is clear that Mary's life would have been significantly better had she been given this advice from Mr. P. She obviously has great potential, perhaps even more than Junior, as indicated by "She was the smartest kid I [Mr. P] ever had." (36) She has dreams and is ambitious, as "She wanted to write romance novels." (37) In addition, Junior's and Mary's parents wish the best for them, and it is implied by "They want a better life for my sister and me" (46) that they would not let their poverty be a hindrance in either of their children's success. Therefore, had Mr. P provided Mary the same advice he did to Junior, she would not be "running away to get lost" (46), but rather achieve great heights in life. Why do you think Junior's parents are so ready to help him despite their immense poverty and the fact that this will be very difficult for them?
ReplyDeleteUm... My name is Dylan...
DeleteTo answer Avik's question, I think that Junior's parents are so ready to help him despite their immense poverty and the fact that this will be very difficult for them because unlike other parents on the res, his parents care for him. They love him. "My mother and father are the twin suns around which I orbit and my world will EXPLODE without them" (11). They know that if they keep him on the res, he WILL lose hope and will fade away. This is Junior's only hope, if he succeeds, and brushes away all the criticism from the other indians, his family will also succeed. Junior could get a good education, perhaps go to college, and get a good job to support his family. His parents do not want him to end up like Mary, so that is why they immediately agreed to let Junior go to Rearden. It is a huge risk, but it's the only way he will not give up on himself. I have a question, do you think Junior will have the actual guts it takes to step up to the plate and go to a white high school when everybody will despise him for it?
ReplyDeleteI believe that Arnold does have the guts to go to the white high school because he really cares about his education. When he threw the book at Mr. P, it was because he really wanted to do well in high school, and he already was smart, but he wanted to take that opportunity into his own hands. This is a big step he is taking, going to a white school and all, and he wants to take into his control. His parents understand that he is smart and that he is able to make his own decisions, that is why they are letting him go to Reardan. They know that they "messed up" with Mary because she faded away and let go of her dreams. They don't want that to happen to Arnold. In a way, Arnold is their "second chance" at raising a child. They don't want their children to follow into their footsteps and become drunks (Mary is on track to) because they care. They will do as much as they can do to help Arnold succeed. Why do you think that Mary faded away?
ReplyDeleteIn response to Samiha's second question, I think that there were a couple factors that Arnold considered before making his decision. I think that Arnold wanted to move schools because he really disliked his life, and where he was standing in life. His parents mentioned that he could wait until the fallowing year, or even until the semester ended, which sounded reasonable for an "average" kid. But Arnold, was not an "average" kid. He was smart, athletic and full of potential, that no one cared about, and he wanted and needed that to change. Arnold is going to make his own choices in his life, and starting at a new school, where he has more "hope", is a great choice to make. I believe that if Arnold would have waited to make his move, he would never make it.
ReplyDeleteAnswering Samiha's third question, Mr.P changed Junior's life forever. Junior, a gifted child, would never have his dream heard if he stayed on the ranch. Their was no hope there. He would eventually lose all hope if he stayed on the ranch like everyone else. Making Junior change school's would be a life changing experience that allowed Junior's dreams to be heard. Junior would never be able to repay him for such a kind deed. A question I'd like to ask is why did Mr.P give Junior hope and not someone else?
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ReplyDeleteIn response to Joseph's question, I think there are several reasons as to why Mr. P chose Junior to give hope over other kids on the reservation. My first reason is because Junior is really smart. Obviously if you are looking for a kid to send out to get a better life, you are going to want to chose a kid who will be able to get a good career. Secondly, Junior had hope. Mr. P said this himself; everyone on the reservation has given up, lost all hope. But when Junior hit Mr. P with the book, it was a sign that Junior still had hope because he was frustrated that he wouldn't be able to learn more than the last generation of people on the reservation learned. He wanted to learn more. My final reason is something that Mr. P didn't say directly, but one that I can infer. Since Junior has some issues that he was born with (like his "water brain"), he has been made fun of a lot throughout his life. Mr. P knows that if Junior goes to a white school and he is the only Indian there, then he will get made fun of. But if Junior has experienced being made fun of before, then he will be able to take the insults better than a kid who has never been made fun of before. My question for others is why does Mr. P talk about Junior's sister, Mary, before mentioning that Junior has to get off the reservation?
ReplyDeleteIn response to Lindsay's question, I think Mr. P wanted to talk about Mary because she's Junior's sister and was one of Mr.P's students. In addition to them both having connections to Mary, they both saw her descent into that basement that symbolizes all the things Mr. P wants Junior to escape from: poverty, lost hope, deserted dreams. Mr. P knows that Junior is able to make it off the reservation and succeed, but no one gave this advice to Mary, had they given this advice to Mary when she was Junior's age she would have had a real chance at life. Junior and Mr. P watched Mary lose her hope and they both want Junior to do better. My question for you is whether or not you think it's possible for Mary, in her current state (out of High School, not in college, shoplifter) to ever make it off the res and find a job in "the real world?"
ReplyDeletePersonally, I believe Junior decided he wanted to attend Reardan at that exact moment because he didn't want the little hope Mr. P sparked in him to fade away before he got the chance to change his future. "If I don't go now, I never will" (46). In response to Joseph's question, I think Mr. P saw how much potential there was in Junior and didn't want him to give up hope before he could succeed like his sister did. He saw the small bit of hope Junior still had in himself unlike the other people on the reservation and couldn't let that slip away. Mr. P had made people give up on their hopes and dreams because of him and now he wanted to make up for it by giving Junior hope. A question I would like to ask people is why do you think Junior hasn't given up on all hope despite the fact that everyone around him has?
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