Who is Arnold's first game against? How do the Fans react? What advice does coach give Arnold? How does this affect how Arnold feels?


                Arnold's first game is against his home town, He is very scared and he throws up four times before the game. This shows that he is scared, but it also shows that he cares about the game, which is all that matters. When Arnold and the team start to walk into the building, there are about 200 fans all chanting "Arnold sucks, Arnold sucks." As soon as he walks into the building they all stop, almost as if they planned it out completely just to make him feel the worst he can. Everyone except Rowdy turns around, he is ready to play the game which just somehow makes Arnold laugh. He starts to cry and laugh afterwards because he really doesn't know what to think. His Coach tells him to use his tears and pain to make him mad. It definitely works because Arnold is madder than ever. He wants to do the best he can, and when he makes the layup and Rowdy elbows him for stitches, he has them done right away no matter what the result is. "You stitch me up. I want to play tonight." This is a small analogy for the life that Arnold has to live. He has to always try his best and work harder than anyone else in order to do well just because he is Indian. That whole game was basically an analogy because he cares about the game and he cares about how he does and he just wants to do the best he can. It also shows his struggles between the Indian side and the White side, The "apple".

                On page 153, Arnold is talking about how some dads disappear without even leaving the couch. "But those white dads can completely disappear without ever leaving the living room." What do you think he means by this? Also, in the end of the chapter, Arnold is talking about his grandmother and how perfectly amazing she is. He then states a week later she was hit by a drunk driver and killed. Why do you think the Author waited until after telling the reader about her amazingness, to tell the reader that she was killed? Try and think very deeply about this.