Poverty and Privilege One of the main differences between life on the reservation and life in Reardan is that most of the families on the reservation, including Junior’s, are poor. This means that Junior often misses meals and school because his parents have no money for food or gas.
What medical problem was junior born with what does this say about his resilience?
And when the very first thing that Arnold tells the reader is that he is a hydrocephalic (which means that he is at risk of brain damage and is susceptible to seizures), you know you better listen up: I was actually born with too much cerebral spinal fluid inside my skull.
How does junior cope with his problems?
The issue of poverty is a force that Junior recognizes he cannot defeat on his own. … Junior copes with his poverty by seeking to rise above it, to leave it behind so that it does not follow him and haunt him as it has so many others in his community.
Why is junior part of the black eye of the Month Club?
Why is Junior a member of ‘the Black-Eye-of-the-Month Club’? Junior is constantly being beaten up by other Indians on the rez, so he often has a black eye.What problems did Junior have?
He has seizures, a stutter, bad eyesight and 42 teeth. He was not very strong physically.
What physical problem was junior born with?
Arnold Spirit, Jr. (“Junior”) describes how he was born with excess cerebral spinal fluid, or “water,” on his brain. A surgery to remove the fluid during Junior’s infancy is supposed to make him brain dead, but the complications turn out to be relatively minor. As he grows up, he ends up having 42, instead of 32 teeth.
What makes Junior mothers cry?
At home, Junior’s mother is crying. … Junior’s mother says he was actually kind of ugly. Junior tells us that the Montana Indians are so tough that the white people are afraid of them. Junior feels a little inspired because he realizes his sister hasn’t given up; she’s actually following her dream.
What is significant about Junior speaking up in class?
What is significant about Junior speaking up in class? It’s significant because Junior hardly ever raises his hand in class, and when he does, everyone thinks he’s wrong, so in a way he proved his class wrong. How does Junior become friends with Gordy?Why does junior say he was bullied as a child on the Spokane reservation?
From an early age, Junior is bullied because of the complications of his hydrocephalus—his lisp, stutter, and ungainly stature. This bullying follows Junior into his teenage years when, worried he will get beat up, Junior avoids participating in community events like the Spokane Powwow.
Why does Junior think of rowdy at Thanksgiving?Junior thinks of rowdy at Thanksgiving time because he misses his best friend. For the last 10 years, rowdy had come over to the house to have a pumpkin pie eating contest. However, this year, rowdy didn’t come over.
Article first time published onHow do juniors parents react to his decision to change schools What does this show about them?
How do Junior’s parents react to his decision to change schools? What does this show about them? They keep asking him if he’s sure or not, and then automatically said okay fine. It shows us that they want the best for Junior.
What does junior enjoy doing?
In his spare time, he enjoys drawing, and his illustrations (drawn by Ellen Forney) are spread throughout the book, making humorous commentary on the text. Junior is so attached to drawing and comics because he sees art as a universal language anyone can react to and understand regardless of their background.
What challenges did junior face at reardan?
On the reservation, Junior faces poverty and a school system that is missing a lot of vital resources. His parents’ lack of money means that they haven’t been able to realize their dreams, and they are depressed. His sister, Mary, dreams of being a romance writer, but she too seems depressed.
How old is Arnold spirit?
Arnold Spirit Jr (known as Junior) is a 14-year-old Native American living on the Spokane Indian Reservation.
What does rowdy mean when he calls Junior nomadic?
Absolutely True Basketball Diaries Rowdy tells Arnold that he’s been reading a book about “old-time Indians, about how we used to be nomadic.” Rowdy continues: “So I looked up nomadic in the dictionary, and it means people who move around, who keep moving, in search of food and water and grazing land.”
How does poverty affect junior?
Poverty has contributed to Junior not pursuing his dreams, him not having many chances or choices, and him having a poor education. However, Junior lives in poverty, he still manages to overcome the odds. In the beginning of the book, Junior describes his life on the Spokane reservation.
What is Junior's personality?
Still, for the most part, Junior is sincere, compassionate, resilient, and persistent. When he recognizes them, he is honest about his faults with himself and readers. Throughout the novel, Junior struggles with a sense of double-consciousness or internal contradiction.
What was Junior's dad dream?
Junior’s dad tells Junior the story as a way to say he should “dream big to get big.” Junior should try out for the Reardan basketball team.
How many funerals has Junior been to?
Junior says that at the age of fourteen he has already been to forty-two funerals. The white kids he knows can count the funerals they’ve been to on one hand.
Where did Junior's sister run away to?
Inspired by Arnold, Mary decides to leave her home in Wellpinit and run away to Montana to marry a Flathead Indian. Unlike Junior, though, she doesn’t completely leave the reservation.
What happened to Junior's sister after high school?
Mary Spirit (Junior’s Sister) For Junior, Mr. P’s revelation comes as a shock because Mary has spent the years since graduating from high school sleeping the day away in the family basement. Mary wanted to be a romance novelist—another fact Junior learns from Mr. P—but she does little to work toward that goal.
Why is Junior lonely?
Junior has not succeeded in collecting money—in helping others—at all. Penelope is adding Junior’s name to the donation out of pity. But Junior is optimistic enough that imagining the possibility of helping others temporarily lifts his spirits. Then he plunges into loneliness.
What confuses Junior after his fight with Roger?
What confuses Junior after his fight with Roger? Junior discovers that unlike the reservation, Reardan doesn’t have any rules regarding fighting.
How did Junior feel after he punched Roger and Roger did not want to fight back?
Junior assumed the rules were the same and fought Roger. How did Junior feel after he punched Roger, and Roger did not want to fight back? He felt like an alien from another planet.
What does Rowdy's dad say when junior delivers a cartoon for rowdy to Rowdy's house?
Rowdy’s dad says Rowdy isn’t home, but he will give Rowdy the cartoon even though it’s “a little gay.” As Junior walks away, he sees Rowdy holding the cartoon through the upstairs window.
Why does junior cry when the game is finished what does he realize?
He cries for his sister, for his tribe, for his fellow tribal members who are slowly killing themselves, for being the only one who is brave and crazy enough to leave the rez, for knowing that he will never drink and kill himself. He also realizes he is not the only lonely person in the world.
What does junior identify as the worst thing about being poor?
In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, the inability to help a friend is the worst thing about being poor.
What is Junior's grandmother's advice?
By Sherman Alexie He wishes Rowdy were still his friend, but unfortunately, Rowdy hates him too. Junior asks his grandmother for advice. The ever-wise Grandma (fig 9.1) tells Junior that Roger not fighting back probably means he respects Junior.
How does Roger the giant respond to the fact that junior punched him?
Rowdy cried, screamed and then punched Junior in the face. How does Roger the Giant respond to the fact that Junior punched him? Roger and the others walk away, and Junior asks Roger what the rules are.
Why does junior compare Penelope to his father?
Why does Junior compare Penelope to his father? When she says “Im only bulimic when I’m throwing up.” It reminds him of his dad when he says “Im only an alcoholic when I get drunk.” They are both addicts with different releases. the most perfect girl in the world.
How does junior describe the rez?
Junior describes his reservation as “located approximately one million miles north of Important and two billion miles west of Happy.” Yet when he and Rowdy look down from almost the top of an immense pine, he says, “We could see our entire world.
