Chapter 1
What condition was the narrator born with that is described as "water on the brain"?
Hydrocephalus - too much cerebral spinal fluid in his brain
What does the narrator wish he could magically create?
Food
Characterize Rowdy. What are 3 traits he possesses.
- Tough
- Big, tall, strong
- Angry & aggressive
- Covered in bruises & scars
- Hotheaded
- Sensitive
What subject does the narrator express excitement about on his first day of high school?
Geometry
What incident gets the narrator suspended from school?
Throwing his textbook and breaking Mr. P's nose.
How many teeth did the narrator end up having due to his condition?
42 - ten extra teeth!
How can we characterize Junior's parents? List at least 3 traits they possess.
- Poor
- Alcoholics
- Have no hope
- Love Junior and Junior's sister
How does the narrator feel about his own existence on the reservation?
"I'm a zero on the rez. And if you subtract zero from zero, you still have zero."
How does the narrator describe Mr. P, his geometry teacher? Share at least 3 traits he possesses.
- "Weird looking dude"
- Old
- Forgetful
- Messy/poor hygiene
- Lazy
- Sleepy
How does the narrator feel about his worth and existence on the reservation after the incident?
He was ashamed and felt he did not deserve anything.
What is the narrator's nickname on the reservation based on the size of his head and his condition?
How does the narrator describe the worst aspect of being poor?
He shares the story of having to put down his dog, Oscar.
What kind of relationship does the narrator have with Rowdy?
- Complicated.
- Rowdy is like a brother to Junior
- Rowdy protects Junior
- Junior sees Rowdy as his best friend and says he is the most important person in his life.
- Rowdy is not always kind to Junior
What is the significance of the geometry book that the narrator finds?
It has his mother's name in it. This upsets Junior: "My school and my tribe are so poor and sad that we have to study from the same dang books our parents studied from. That is absolutely the saddest thing in the world."
Describe the conversation that the narrator has with a teacher after his suspension.
Describe the convo.
Describe one physical challenge that the narrator faces as a result of his condition.
Seizures, poor eyesight, extra teeth, super skinny, big head, hands, and feet, speech impediments, anything else we've discussed.
What happened to the narrator's dog, Oscar, and how did it affect him?
- Oscar gets sick
- Junior's parents cannot afford to take Oscar to the vet.
- Junior's parents decide they must put Oscar down on their own.
- Junior is devastated
What might be the reason Rowdy is so aggressive and angry? What is his home life like?
Explain Rowdy's home life struggles.
Discuss the narrator's feelings about his sister, Mary, and her choices after high school. Share at least one positive and one negative thing about her.
- Loves his sister
- Strong and funny person
- Feels a little sad for her - froze after high school
- Runs away
- lacks directions in her life - she gave up
- Leave the reservation and break the negative cycles of poverty, broken dreams, alcoholoism, etc.
- The reservation will "kill" him if he doesn't leave
- He needs to go where hope is. Hope is as far away from the reservation as possible
In what way does the narrator express himself artistically, and why does he prefer this over words?
He draws cartoons. "I think the world is a series of broken dams and floods, and my cartoons are tiny little lifeboats."
How does the narrator view the cycle of poverty in his family and how it feels to be poor?
- "I can't blame my parents for being poor."
- "And it's not like my mother and father were born into wealth. It's not like they gambled away their family fortunes. My parents came from poor people who came from poor people who came from poor people, all the way back to the very first poor people. "
"It sucks to be poor, and it sucks to feel that you somehow deserve to be poor. You start believing that you're poor because you're stupid and ugly. And then you start believing that you're stupid and ugly because you're Indian. And because you're Indian you start believing you're destined to be poor."
In what ways does Rowdy act different when he is with Junior? Explain 2 ways.
- He laughs
- Reads comic books even though he isn't great at reading
- Talks about his dreams
What does Junior do at the end of the chapter? Why does he do this?
Throws his geometry textbook and accidentally breaks Mr. P's nose. He does this because he is so angry that his school and reservation are so poor.
What does it mean when Alexie writes, "We were told to kill the Indian to save the child." Explain using 2 - 3 complete sentences
Native Americans were forced to assimilate to American ways and leave their culture behind.