On pages 216 and 217, Junior
cries for three reasons. First of all, he cries for his sister. Knowing she
could not stay in their basement forever, she suddenly moved to Montana and got
married partly because Junior had “kind of shamed her” (Alexie 89) into doing
it. She had realized that by staying at home, her future was set. When she
ventured outside in search of better places to live and things to do, she was
unlucky and died rather quickly after. Junior also cries for his tribe. He
knows that they have little hope for their future, and “most of them would die
because of booze” (Alexie 216). Finally, Junior cries for himself. He knows
that in the end, his attempt to change his future would possibly “kill (him),
too, but (he) knew that staying on the rez would have killed (him), too”
(Alexie 216). He may feel guilty as well, knowing he had succeeded where others
had failed. Junior’s sister’s death was a way for Junior to realize his luck so
far in this attempt.
I agree, and I also think that Junior cried because he has left his tribe for the white world, where he will succeed and leave his tribe behind. He realized that he was going to be okay, but that made him think of all the people that wouldn't be okay. Junior says, "It made me think of Rowdy" (Alexie 217). Rowdy was the first person he thought of who wouldn't be okay, and that is because Rowdy stayed behind on the rez, while Junior took a risk and reached out of the rez, and his comfort zone. In a way, that makes Junior more brave than Rowdy.
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