On these pages, Junior learns that Penelope is Bulimic, which according to her, is some sort of eating disorder. She is at first harsh to Junior when he asks if she is all right, but then after she comes out and sees that it is him, she decides to tell him her secret. She puts a big wad of cinnamon gum in her mouth to try to mask the smell of vomit. By doing this and telling Junior to go away at first, she obviously doesn't want anybody to know that she has a disorder, because that would stain the image of her as a perfect student. And nobody will let her try to explain, because they are envious of her, and in some sense, they want her to be perfect, they want to have someone that they can look up too, or someone to be jealous of.
When Junior refers to Penelope being "scared all the time", he is referring to how alone she feels, because she has no one else that she can connect to. Like what was mentioned before, no one understands, or even wants to understand what she is going through. Later in the reading, Junior says that "I think she was bored of being the prettiest, smartest, and most popular girl in the world" (110). She wants everybody to stop seeing her as some sort of god-like person with no problems, and start seeing her as a normal person, and that she has issues just like a normal person.
In some sense, this is similar to a 'single story'. Junior came to Reardan with the assumption that everyone's life there would be perfect. This is a result of being told a single story, that Whites are always better than Indians, and that they are superior in every way. Because he is not able to see the other side of the story until he actually goes to Reardan, he goes in with somewhat of a closed mind. Alexie is using this passage to 'humanize' the white kids, because up until now, they were only described as racist rich snobs, but now, Junior is learning otherwise.
Do you think that Penelope will ever tell anyone else her secret? If so, how will they react? Will Junior now look at the Readan kids in a different light? Do you think that his misconception is the result of a single story?
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ReplyDeleteI think that Penelope has a hard life, even though she is supposed to be perfect. She has to deal with many problems that so-called normal people don't have to. Penelope is scared because she is in between a rock and a hard place. She can either continue binging and throwing up in toilets, smelling like vomit, or stop and not be "perfect". That's what the world and Reardan think of her, anyway. I believe that Junior has a new vantage point onto Reardan. Before going to the school, he thought that Reardan kids where beautiful, intelligent, and perfect. Now, he sees that Penelope isn't a perfect model, but a human with human problems. If I was Junior, I would believe that everyone there has human problems, and aren't all god figures. The "single story" concept is important here. Junior thinks, because of the single story, that white people are perfect, but, after this incident with Penelope, he gains a second story, making him see things closer to reality.
ReplyDeleteI think that Penelope is leaving the impression that she is perfect, but truly is far from it. Arnold is obviously surprised that the girl he likes and thinks if perfect really isn't. I think that Penelope gets pressure from her dad, Earl, to be perfect. I agree with ranch that Alexie is making the white kids at the school people with real personalities. I also think that Penelope is a huge step in Arnold finding his identity because now he has become something and is very popular at Reardan. I think that Penelope is using Arnold to defy Earl and to become a normal person who is willing to take risks and date indian boys.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to shed some light on the difference between the problems of white people and Indians. Like Ranch said before, Junior had said "I think she was bored of being the prettiest, smartest, and most popular girl in the world." This quote just goes to show the sheer contrast of the two racial groups' issues. While some white people are seen as perfect when they really aren't, Indians have to deal with not being perfect at all, and sometimes having completely screwed-up lives. Though it may be difficult to live the way Penelope is living, and like Ranch said, being seen as a god although it isn't wanted, it's nothing compared to the way Junior is living. I agree with the fact that Penelope doesn't have a perfect life after all, and that her popularity is holding her down, but I disagree with how drastic it all seems. Compared to Junior's situation of living with poverty, alcoholism, and being a traitor to his people, Penelope's problem is rather petty. She’s worried about the image she shows to people that affect her popularity, while Junior is struggling to simply get by. The one thing they do share, however, is a need to escape. Junior needs to get away from the poverty, and Penelope needs to get away from that small town so she can “be remembered” (112). And that idea of “being remembered” they share just a bit, too. Junior wants to do something with his love of cartooning, and he “feels like [Junior] might grow up to be someone important” (6). All in all, Junior and Penelope’s current situations are very much different, but they both want the same thing.
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