8. 1. Why does Rowdy tell Arnold, "You killed her" (211)? Is there truth to this statement? (Liv Y.)
Rowdy's statement is partly true because he inspired Mary by going to Reardan, but he didn't firsthand kill her. Rowdy tells Junior this at Mary's funeral. Because Junior decided to go to school at Reardan, this motivated Mary to run away and live in Montana. "But she only got married so quickly and left the rez because I had left the rez first." (Alexie, 211). By attending Reardan, Junior is showing that it is okay to follow your dreams and do something different from everyone else on the rez. This is what inspires Mary to get away from her life and do whatever she wants. Rowdy's accusation isn't completely true, but there is some truth in it. Junior did not set Mary's trailer on fire, but he was part of the reason why she ran away. If she hadn't run away, she could still be alive. Mary ran away because Arnold inspired her, but he didn't actually kill her.
I partially agree with Liv, but I also think that even though Junior doesn't kill his sister, it's Junior's fault. Since Junior blames it on himself, he is not physically killing but is metaphorically killing her. Junior basically gave hope to Mary which in the end killed her. Junior shows this by this by saying "She had burned to death because I decided that I wanted to spend my life with white people" (Alexie 211). This reminds me of the Trojan horse, where a giant wooden horse is given as a "gift", an ambush tool in a war. Junior gave Mary a Trojan horse unintentionally but it was his fault in the end.
ReplyDelete