Tuesday, November 8, 2016
#5 5. What does Arnold hide and ultimately reveal in “Dance Dance Dance?” What does he learn? Be sure to discuss the final sentence on page 129. (Sofia C.)
In “Dance, Dance, Dance” Arnold tries to hide the fact that he is poor, but this secret gets discovered. After Penelope finds out that he is poor she tries to help him. Arnold realizes that he can actually get help from others and he doesn’t have to keep to himself all the time. “If you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing”(Alexie 129). He learns that if you tell people something instead of trying to hide it they can fix it or at least help a little bit. Just like how when Penelope figured out that he was poor, she actually helped him by getting him a ride home when he didn’t have transportation. He also learns that even if he is embarrassed by his poverty, the experience is what counts. “She’d had so much fun that a photograph of the evening was completely beside the point” (Alexie 123). Arnold was worrying about not being able to buy Penelope anything, but she didn’t seem to care after she realized how much fun they had. This shows that not everybody is going to judge him just because he doesn’t have money, and sometimes it is okay to ask for help.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree with you, I also think that Arnold is learning to get rid of the mean white stereotype he has stuck in his head. He sees that poverty is just a problem in his life, not what defines who he is and for that, people won't judge him. Overall, the important lesson Arnold is learning is to open up to different people and not let his families past and problems hold him back.
ReplyDeleteI agree! I think money has become an insecurity of Juniors. When Junior admits to Penelope he's poor, he says: "I figured she was going to march out of my life right then. But she didn't." I think Junior learns Reardon students don't care as much about money as he thinks they do.
ReplyDelete