Setting
Themes
Events
Characters
Secrets
100
Who created the Reservation?
The White Man
100
What would Junior's dad do when he was sad or depressed?
He would run away with the little money they had and get drunk.
100
Why did the friendship between Rowdy and Junior fade?
Junior transferred from Wellpinit reservation's high school to Reardan.
100
What did Rowdy's dad do to him? Why?
What is Rowdy's dad used to beat him because he was an alcoholic.
100
What is Mary's secret?
She loves to write, but that she also was not living a life in Montana as happy as she made it out to be.
200
What was the Reservation according to Arnold? How does he describe it? What does he compare it to?
A death camp and a prison
200
At the beginning of the book how did Junior feel about poverty?
He thought that poverty makes you feel that you deserve to be poor (Page 13).
200
What made Arnold change his mind about the Rez and want to leave it?
Throwing a book at Mr. P. After the situation came and gave him good advice.
200
Why did Rowdy despise Arnold?
He believed Arnold was a traitor for going to a white school.
200
What is Penelope's secret?
She is bulimic, but denies that she is.
300
What Reservation does Junior and his family live in but what school did he transfer to?
He lived on a Spokane Indian Reservation, but transferred to Reardan, a white school.
300
How does "identity" play a role in this book?
What is Identity plays a role in this book because Junior is constantly bullied because he suffer brains damage and later on he struggles finding himself in between the Spokane tribe and the white people.
300
How does Mary die? Describe her death.
Mary dies in Montana with her husband in her house trailer because they fell asleep and someone left the stove on and the trailer caught fire.
300
What did Arnold most admire about his grandmother?
Her greatest gift according to Arnold was her tolerance.
300
What does Rowdy's father do to him and his mother?
Beats them when he has alcohol in him.
400
What is one key element on the Indian Reservation that insidiously pervades family's lives and leads to violence and suicide?
Alcohol
400
Sherman Alexie wrote this book based on . . .
What are his own life experiences?
400
What was one of Arnold's major accomplishments in basketball?
Beating Wellpinit.
400
Why does Arnold draw cartoons?
Words are too unpredictable and limited to him. When you draw a picture, everyone will understand your meaning.
400
What does Arnold try to hide at first?
Being poor
500
What happened at Turtle Lake according to Arnold's dad?
A horse had drowned, and washed up onto the shores of Benjamin Lake, after a bunch of guys loaded that horse up and took it to a dump to burn it, a few weeks later the whole lake caught on fire.
500
Why did Junior liked to draw cartoons?
He drew cartoons because everybody can understand them. Cartoons are a "universal language," whereas words are extremely limiting for him.
500
What happens at the Grandmother's funeral? (Referring to the chapter "Wake.")
What is a white man named Ted came to the funeral and said he came to return a powwow dress that he thought belonged to Junior's Grandmother.
500
Why did Arnold's dad drink?
To block out the pain of living on the reservation.
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