Undoubtedly, humor is key to understanding Arnold. In addition, we also see a sense of his humor in the drawing where he pokes fun at his own poverty with excuses as to why he cannot do something. Arnold likely faced much hardship growing up with an alcoholic father. It has a funny catchphrase "I'm only alcoholic when I get drunk" but also gives the reader a sense of pity for Arnold. There is also the drawing on page 107 which shows a picture of Arnold's alcoholic dad. It is simply a humorous picture in nature but also gets the point across. P out of frustration since his school is so poor and cannot afford new textbooks. We can see this in the drawing on page 31. You mention that his ability to create humor out of hardship enables him to persevere. Therefore, I would like to focus on the medium through which Arnold's thoughts and emotions are expressed in his drawings, and that is humor.Īs you say, the humor Arnold uses in almost all his drawings show his light-hearted personality. Your absolutely right in that they capture Arnold's emotions and thoughts on a level that cannot be portrayed through writing alone. I really like the attention you bring to drawings in the novel. It shows that you cannot tear away a part of who you are, being Spokane will always be a part of Junior, but he also learns to embrace the outside world and realize all the possibilities that are there outside of the reservation. The fact that his sister dies in the end is interesting because it seems like breaking away from the reservation caused her death, but Junior, who although goes to Reardan, still strives to be part of the Spokane community and ultimately lives. What is especially interesting to me is that Junior managed to become a part of both cultures rather than be like his sister who escaped and ran away from the reservation completely. Through basketball he is able to gain both the acceptance that he needs from his friend Rowdy, and is also able to gain acceptance from the white students at Reardan thus allowing Arnold to feel accepted into both “cultures”. Personally, I believe that the most significant aspect of the story that allowed Arnold to truly break the boundaries between his cultural isolation is the fact that he plays basketball. He often finds himself alienated from one culture or another, in the Spokane by his friend Rowdy who is hurt at his “betrayal” by going to Reardan, and in Reardan by his own culture and skin color which is nothing like anyone else's there. The progression of Arnold, or Junior's path to self-realization by identifying with a culture and being accepted in those cultures progresses throughout the story. In comment to the different cultures that the main character identifies with, I definitely see the struggle between identifying as one of the Spokane Indians on the reservation while at the same time trying to fit in with the rest of society. It is a topic that many people still struggle with, even today. This story by Sherman Alexie is written in such a humorous and child-like tone, yet Alexie explores this deep idea of cultural identity. This particular post exploring the cultural identities that an individual, who in this story is Junior, may experience is very intriguing to me. His illustration brings to light the greater picture of what many Indians face on the reservation, how there is an endless cycle of hopelessness and defeat. Arnold knows that by distancing himself from the rez there is hope, but what actually defines hope, he has yet to figure out. The position of Arnold in the picture signifies a new, uncharted chapter in his life. With no words, pictures tell an entire story and convey so much feeling. Behind him lies his dilapidated home with a moose (43). He looks towards hope, but the sign pointing towards hope has “?” written on it. P tells Arnold to leave the reservation, Arnold draws a picture of himself standing at the crossroads of the rez and hope. In a sense, Arnold has this dream to become a cartoonist, and it is because this dream that he has hope to achieve success in life. In the beginning, Arnold reveals to the readers why he draws as his “only real chance to escape the reservation” (6). Not only does Arnold draw complex diagrams to introduce the people in his life, but he also doodles drawings that range towards the metaphorical.
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