In the chapter, “Dance, Dance, Dance” Arnold hides a very significant
part of his life, being Poor, but later finds that revealing his poverty leads
to a favorable outcome. He thought that the white kids at Reardan would make
fun of him and avoid him simply for being poor.
Arnold had finally become friends with Roger and Gordy and had started
dating Penelope. Arnold didn’t want to interfere with his strong relationships
with any of them so he chose not to reveal his poverty. Soon after, Penelope
and Roger found out what was going on. Penelope spoke with Arnold and didn’t
get angry. She didn’t walk out like Arnold expected her to. “She started cry.
FOR ME! (Alexie 129)” Penelope didn’t change how she acted around Arnold or how
she treated him. Everything stayed put. Along with Penelope, Roger accepted the
fact that Arnold was poor. “And Roger, being of kind heart and generous pocket,
and a little bit racist, drove me home that night. And he drove me home plenty
of other nights, too (Alexie 129).” Arnold’s friends reacted to this situation
a different way that Arnold would have thought. He was used to his old school
in Spokane where kids would constantly make fun of him because of how he
looked. He expected the same from the Reardan kids by making fun of him for
being a poor Indian. Instead they were kind and showed an immense amount of
respect towards Arnold. At the end of the chapter Arnold left a remark, “If you
let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing (Alexie
129).” By revealing that he was poor to his friends, Arnold learned that sometimes
if you tell the truth the situation could end with a positive resolution. He
revealed the truth and received only the best. His honesty led to respect,
kindness, and care from his friends.
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