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He wanted to beat Rowdy. Why did Junior cry after beating Wellpinit? Junior was ashamed of winning.
Junior accepts that “We all have to find our own way to say good-bye” (Alexie 161). How does Junior do this? ​Who is Billionaire Ted and what is his story? ​How does Junior cope with his grief?
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Her last words were “forgive him,” referring to Gerald, the Spokane Indian who ran her over. Grandma Spirit was a very tolerant and forgiving person, and although Junior’s father wants to kill Gerald, he instead allows the justice system to take care of him.
Not only do Medea’s words apply to Indians as a group, but they also apply to Junior, who made a decision to leave his native land before Grandmother and Eugene died. Junior left voluntarily, which makes him feel personally responsible for the deaths, as if his loved ones are being taken away because he abandoned them.
In this chapter, Eugene (Junior’s father’s best friend) gets killed by his good friend Bobby, after a fight over the last drink in a bottle of wine (both were drunken). In jail Bobby hangs himself with a bed sheet. The reactions to this bad news is really different.
Junior’s grandmother, in life, teaches him that he needs to try to understand the trials and tribulations of others so that he can empathize with others. She also teaches him that he should not hold onto anger and that he should stand up for himself and chase opportunities that come his way.
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.
Of all the secondary characters in Part-Time Indian, Rowdy has the biggest impact on Junior. As in another one of Alexie’s famous works, the screenplay for the film Smoke Signals, the two central characters are a Native nerd (an “indigenerd,” as the slang term is now) and his best friend, who is also his worst bully.
Junior’s sister is called Mary Runs Away.
To Junior, the fact that his grandmother was killed by a drunk driver is especially ironic because although many Indians die because of alcohol, she never drank alcohol in her life, which makes her, according to Junior, “the rarest kind of Indian in the world.†She used to explain that she didn’t want to be in the
Dodge become angry with Junior? How does he reveal his racism? He becomes angry with Junior because he proved him wrong and made him look foolish. Then because he he couldn’t handle being told off by a student he made fun of the education on the reservation.
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As Junior acknowledges when he comes to think about it, there is an element of truth in what Rowdy accuses him of. Although he did not physically kill his own sister himself, his actions set things in motion that led to her death.
Arnold leaves the reservation—and becomes a part-time Indian. Arnold decides that, in order to get a decent education, he must transfer to the privileged white school twenty-two miles away in the town of Reardan. His parents agree, but not everyone on the reservations reacts so kindly.
What does Junior find ironic about his grandmother’s death? SHE WAS KILLED BY A DRUNK DRIVER EVEN THOUGH SHE NEVER DRANK ALCOHOL.
A white billionaire who is “famous for being filthy rich and really weird.†Claiming to love Indian culture and “feel Indian in his bones,†he shows up at Junior’s grandmother’s funeral to return a powwow dance outfit that he believes once belonged to Grandmother Spirit—at which point Junior’s mom explains that her
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First, he admits to her that he punched Roger in the face. At first she says, “You should have just walked away.” She changes her mind, however, when Junior explains Roger’s insults, which are derogatory terms for Native Americans.
His grandmother still does things the old way. But, Junior continues, his grandmother was just struck and killed by a drunk driver on her way home from a powwow. Her last words were “Forgive him.†Junior concludes that she meant the man who hit her.
The ever-wise Grandma (fig 9.1) tells Junior that Roger not fighting back probably means he respects Junior. Junior thinks she’s plain crazy. The next day, Junior’s parents don’t have enough gas to take him to school, so he begins walking the twenty-two miles to the high school.
Grandmother Spirit was a positive role model because she understood things that others sometimes could not understand, like why Arnold transferred from Wellpinit High School to Reardan. She helped him get a new friend, even in a weird way.
Eugene’s death is the second major loss in a very short time in Junior’s life. After it, Junior feels himself supported by the Reardan community. Gordy consoles him with literature, helping Junior to see that his loneliness and grief have been a part of the human experience for thousands of years.
I walked out of the classroom and felt like dancing and singing. It all gave me hope. It gave me a little bit of joy. cartoons of the things that made me angry.
Junior hates the way he has always cried so easily, whether he is happy or sad or angry: “It’s weak. It’s the opposite of warrior.†In this instance, Rowdy told Junior to stop crying repeatedly and then called him a wimp.
He asks her why Roger didn’t fight back. His grandmother’s answer is that Roger respects Junior. She says that they were testing him to see how tough he was, and since he “punched the alpha dog in the face,” the boys would show more respect for him in the future.
Junior remembers how, at the age of twelve, he fell in love with an Indian girl named Dawn. Dawn is the best traditional powwow dancer on the rez, and she has beautiful braids. One night, when Rowdy is sleeping over Junior’s house, Junior tells Rowdy he’s in love with Dawn.
P asks Junior to say that he deserves the world, Junior starts to cry. He can’t say he deserves the world because he doesn’t believe it, and he believes he’s a troubled kid. Why does Mr.
This is why Junior belongs to the “Black-Eye-of-the-Month Club.†Junior’s favorite thing is to draw cartoons of himself, his friends, and his family. He draws because he thinks it might give him a chance to become rich and famous, and he wants to be rich and famous so he can leave the rez one day.
He accuses Junior of having a superiority complex. Rowdy is upset because he thinks that Junior is rejecting their Native American heritage. If we refer to the text, we get a clear description of Rowdy’s pain. After hearing about Junior’s plans, he erupts into a keening scream and eventually punches Junior in the face.
What is the nicest thing a teacher has ever told Junior and who said it? “You are a good kid. You deserve the world.” (Mr.
His largest problem is his inability to connect with his new peers; Junior is an intelligent kid who is intolerant of less-intelligent people, and he struggles to connect with a predominantly white student body that has no bearing on his experience as a Native American on a reservation.
To Junior, Grandmother’s greatest gift is tolerance, part of an “old-time-Indian spirit†that celebrates weirdness rather than fearing it and approaches new people and experiences with a fair and open mind. She also doesn’t drink, since she believes alcohol would dull her experience of the world.
Junior is reminded of his father. “Hey Penelope,†Junior says, “Don’t give up.†Penelope cries.
Mr. P tells Junior that he must take his hope and go somewhere else—a place where other people have hope: off the reservation. He has to leave the reservation in order to find hope (fig 5.4).
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