Achathin
Outlaw
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- Jun 3, 2019
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This is the story of Arnold Spirit. A reservation Indian. He was born with an influx of cerebral spinal fluid in his brain. This made his breathing and thinking process slow down. Because of the surgery that he had because of this condition, it left a lot of other physical damage to his body. One of these damages was that he ended up having forty-two teeth in his mouth. The typical human has only thirty-two. His teeth got so crowded that he couldn’t close his mouth. I could go on and on about his physical disabilities. All these problems made him an outcast on the reservation. This was the main reason why he was bullied on the rez as he calls it. The bullying that he received was merciless. They would beat him down till he was bloody. He has a strong opinion of his parents. He has a preconceived notion of his family’s financial position in life. He states “We reservation Indians don’t get to realize our dreams. We don’t get those chances. Or choices. We’re just poor. That’s all we are”(13). So, as you can probably tell from the way he talks about his life and family, he isn’t that hopeful. This is his main mindset for most of the book; you are predestined to be poor or a failure and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Throughout the story, Junior goes through multiple experiences that change his mindset. One of these was the story of him leaving the reservation to go to a high school named Reardan. He had a talk with a teacher that he trusts. After an incident where Junior threw his textbook at his geometry teacher, Mr. P, Junior was suspended and sent home. Mr. P comes to Junior’s house to apologize to him. This leads them to have a conversation about hope. Mr. P tells Junior that the reservation doesn’t have hope. He tells him that his best option is to get off the reservation before it’s too late. This ultimately led Junior to transfer to Reardan, an all-white school. This was not an easy decision at all. His best friend, Rowdy, saw this as a betrayal to him and to the reservation. His transfer put a fork in their relationship. It would never be the same. When Junior was at Reardan, he was immediately an outcast. It was tough for him. Being that he was one of the only Indians in the school. He was depressed for his first weeks at Reardan. He had no friends and everyone looked at him a certain way.
One day, Junior was near the bathrooms. He heard a weird noise from the bathroom. He knocked on the door and asked if everything was okay. The person in the bathroom told him to go away, but he stayed. He saw a girl named Penelope and conjured attraction for her. They had a conversation and hit it off. They started unofficially dating. This was the start of Junior getting more acceptance from his peers at Reardan. There was a stark contrast between them. One was an ugly and poor Indian, and one was a beautiful relatively financially endowed girl. Junior became popular when they were dating. All the girls suddenly thought he was cute, the boys gave him more respect, and teachers gave him more attention. During his time at Reardan, Junior joined the basketball team. This was a turning point for Junior. He became the star of the team. He was scoring 20 points per game and mostly through three-pointers. The time came when he had to play against his old team. When they played, Reardan stomped Wellpinit. Junior felt pretty bad afterward. He felt that way because he knew that he was beating down a dead horse. Those Indian kids had it rough, and he wasn’t making it any easier. He felt sympathy for them because he knew what it was like to be in that position.
Junior has to find his identity throughout the story. His identity goes through much change. He goes from hating himself and thinking everything is set in stone, to becoming more hopeful and cherishing every moment. In the later chapters, Junior really has to find himself. First, his grandmother dies; she was killed by a Spokane Indian Alcoholic, Gerald. This took a big hit to Junior. Then, Eugene, Junior’s dad’s best friend, was shot and killed. This threw his father into a drinking binge. It made his mother go to church more often. The family was torn. They were experiencing loss and they didn’t know how to cope. Junior coped with all this loss by reading books. He needed to escape from reality. He stated that he was joyless. “I was joyless”(can’t find the page). He was in a severe depression at this time. He even considered dropping out of Reardand and going back to Wellpinit. He began making lists about the people who meant something to him. It was another coping mechanism. His classmates protested for him when the Teacher disrespected him. It solidified his acceptance at Reardan. Then, his sister died. This time, he knew how to deal with grief. He had ways to cope. He and Rowdy bonded at her funeral. When the school year was over, they became pseudo friends again. They played basketball and that’s where the story ended. So, Junior went through a lot of change throughout the book. It was a story of acceptance, Identity, and it portrayed the importance of friendship.
Throughout the story, Junior goes through multiple experiences that change his mindset. One of these was the story of him leaving the reservation to go to a high school named Reardan. He had a talk with a teacher that he trusts. After an incident where Junior threw his textbook at his geometry teacher, Mr. P, Junior was suspended and sent home. Mr. P comes to Junior’s house to apologize to him. This leads them to have a conversation about hope. Mr. P tells Junior that the reservation doesn’t have hope. He tells him that his best option is to get off the reservation before it’s too late. This ultimately led Junior to transfer to Reardan, an all-white school. This was not an easy decision at all. His best friend, Rowdy, saw this as a betrayal to him and to the reservation. His transfer put a fork in their relationship. It would never be the same. When Junior was at Reardan, he was immediately an outcast. It was tough for him. Being that he was one of the only Indians in the school. He was depressed for his first weeks at Reardan. He had no friends and everyone looked at him a certain way.
One day, Junior was near the bathrooms. He heard a weird noise from the bathroom. He knocked on the door and asked if everything was okay. The person in the bathroom told him to go away, but he stayed. He saw a girl named Penelope and conjured attraction for her. They had a conversation and hit it off. They started unofficially dating. This was the start of Junior getting more acceptance from his peers at Reardan. There was a stark contrast between them. One was an ugly and poor Indian, and one was a beautiful relatively financially endowed girl. Junior became popular when they were dating. All the girls suddenly thought he was cute, the boys gave him more respect, and teachers gave him more attention. During his time at Reardan, Junior joined the basketball team. This was a turning point for Junior. He became the star of the team. He was scoring 20 points per game and mostly through three-pointers. The time came when he had to play against his old team. When they played, Reardan stomped Wellpinit. Junior felt pretty bad afterward. He felt that way because he knew that he was beating down a dead horse. Those Indian kids had it rough, and he wasn’t making it any easier. He felt sympathy for them because he knew what it was like to be in that position.
Junior has to find his identity throughout the story. His identity goes through much change. He goes from hating himself and thinking everything is set in stone, to becoming more hopeful and cherishing every moment. In the later chapters, Junior really has to find himself. First, his grandmother dies; she was killed by a Spokane Indian Alcoholic, Gerald. This took a big hit to Junior. Then, Eugene, Junior’s dad’s best friend, was shot and killed. This threw his father into a drinking binge. It made his mother go to church more often. The family was torn. They were experiencing loss and they didn’t know how to cope. Junior coped with all this loss by reading books. He needed to escape from reality. He stated that he was joyless. “I was joyless”(can’t find the page). He was in a severe depression at this time. He even considered dropping out of Reardand and going back to Wellpinit. He began making lists about the people who meant something to him. It was another coping mechanism. His classmates protested for him when the Teacher disrespected him. It solidified his acceptance at Reardan. Then, his sister died. This time, he knew how to deal with grief. He had ways to cope. He and Rowdy bonded at her funeral. When the school year was over, they became pseudo friends again. They played basketball and that’s where the story ended. So, Junior went through a lot of change throughout the book. It was a story of acceptance, Identity, and it portrayed the importance of friendship.
