Student Question
What happens when Arnold first plays basketball against Rowdy in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian?
Quick answer:
In their first basketball game against each other, Arnold faces hostility from the Wellpinit crowd, who see him as a traitor for joining Reardon. Despite his fear, Arnold is motivated by his family's support. During the game, Rowdy violently elbows Arnold, knocking him unconscious and sparking chaos. The incident deepens the rift between Arnold and Rowdy, emphasizing Rowdy's anger over Arnold's school transfer. Wellpinit wins the game, and Arnold suffers a minor concussion.
The Wellpinit vs. Reardon basketball game comes just two weeks after Junior makes the Reardon varsity team. Junior knows it will be bad, saying, "Do I have to tell you that I was absolutely sick with fear? I vomited four times that day" (pg 142).
When the team enters the gym, they are met with an organized stance against Junior. The crowd greets the team by chanting "Ar-nold sucks!" (pg 143). This is particularly important because the crowd is using Junior's "Reardon name" rather than his rez name, demonstrating that they view him as a totally traitor and outsider now. Junior considers not playing, but the sight of his family in the stands, ready to "walk through the crap" (pg 143) with him, gives him strength.
Still in a unified protest of Junior, the crowd falls silent when the team enters and all turn their backs on Junior. The only...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
one still looking at him (aside from his family) is Rowdy. Junior knows why, saying,
"He wanted to play. He didn't want to turn his back on me. He wanted to kill me, face-to-face" (pg 144).
Junior is scared and mad, but ready to follow his coaches advice and use the anger to play well. He gets put in the game, runs out to the court, and gets beamed in the forehead with a quarter someone threw from the crowd. Since the quartered drew blood, Junior has to get it fixed up before he can play again. Luckily, his dad's best friend Eugene agrees to give him three stitches right there and Junior can go back out on the court again.
He does, ready to earn back all the points Rowdy had scored in his absence. As Junior tells it:
"I jumped in the air, heard the curses of two hundred Spokanes, and then saw only a bright light as Rowdy smashed his elbow into my head and knocked me unconscious" (pg 146).
This hit incites something of a riot in the crowd and on the court. Players
start shoving one another, adults from the crowd surge on the court, tribal
cops need to intervene. The refs give Reardon two free throws for Rowdy's
"technical foul." Terrified of the angry Indians in the crowd, the refs also
give Wellpinit ten free throws for Reardon players leaving the bench and
"unsportsmanlike conduct" from Reardon's coach. Wellpinit wins the game by 30
points and Junior gets a minor concussion.
This games deepens the chasm between Junior and Rowdy. Ever since Junior's
decision to attend school at Reardon, Rowdy has been furious with him. His
attack on Junior shows that his feeling have only deepened. The friend who used
to protect Junior from beatings is now attacking him himself.