After connecting with Gordy, Junior feels less like an outcast and starts accepting himself. When Junior
switches schools, everything changes suddenly. He finds himself at an entirely Caucasian
school, and also loses his best friend. Junior goes through the first couple
days at school, constantly being teased and made fun of by the other students.
His self-esteem levels keep spiraling downwards, and he can't help but believe
what his peers are saying about him. As he walks through the hallways, there
are no other Indian faces. He begins to lose hope, thinking that his suffering
isn’t worth much. Then, he meets Gordy. After Gordy backs him up in science class, Junior decides to befriend him. “(Junior) was lonely and sad and isolated and terrified...Just like Gordy" (Alexie 94). With a friend who is similar to him, Junior feels less lonely as the only dark-skinned student in the hallways. He realizes that race and background don't have to restrict friendship; there are other ways to connect with people. Similarly, in Of Mice and Men, the "weak ones" (Steinbeck 73) figure out that they don't have to be middle-aged white men to make friends. Gordy’s friendship is the turning point for Junior, because the first step to facing the world is accepting yourself.
Who (in your life) makes you feel welcomed and confident?
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ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you (sorry about the earlier comment I thought it said Penelope not Gordy). I feel that Junior is happy that he has a friend. He feels more welcomed even though no one else talks to him, which makes him friends with Gordy."He was an extremely weird dude" (Page 98). Even though he feels that Gordy is weird he is still happy that he is friends with him and that he found at least on friend at Reardan.
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