Student Question
What are three ways Junior changed after transferring to Reardan from the reservation school?
Quick answer:
Three ways Junior changed after going from the reservation school to Reardan are his increased comfort with his liminal place in society, his realization of his own untapped strengths, and his expanded idea of his own identity in relation to other people.
During his time at Reardan, Junior changes in three key ways.
Firstly, Junior becomes more comfortable with his own limitations and liminal place in society. Junior often feels weaker in comparison to other children because of his physical disabilities, whether on the reservation or not. He is so vulnerable that even adult men pick on him, such as the triplets at the pow-wow who kick him around.
At Reardan, he becomes a racial "Other" and is made painfully aware of his difference from the white student body. At once, he feels different from both the white kids and his own tribe, who get angry when he chooses to attend the all-white school. Junior is initially alienated by all of this; however, he learns to stand alone and face opposition with his back straight. For example, when the reservation school fans boo him at a basketball game, he laughs in response...
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rather than letting their disdain make him timid.
In addition, Junior learns he has more strengths than he previously assumed. For one thing, he's a good basketball player, a fact which becomes apparent once he tries out for the Reardan team and lands a spot. His persistence and willingness to learn from his own blunders make him a valuable player. His refusal to ever give up is also a sign that he has more inner strength than he believes: over and over again, other characters call Junior a "fighter" and a "warrior," challenging his initial belief of himself as disabled and weak.
Junior also expands his sense of identity after going to Reardan. For much of his life, Junior has felt like an outsider everywhere he goes: he's awkward, he's hydrocephalic, he's a native kid at an all-white school, he's the smallest kid on the basketball team, he's the "traitor" at the reservation. However, he comes to make new connections with kids at Reardan and re-establish old ones, like when he eventually makes up with Rowdy. He realizes he can relate to different people in many ways: as an athlete, as an artist, as a student. He belongs to many groups and finds comfort in that.