Essay On Sherman Alexie

Words: 539
Pages: 3

Why do we let our fears take over so much of our lives? In the chapter “Dance Dance Dance,” Junior is invited to the dance at his new school Rearden by Penelope, and throughout the chapter, he is written to be nervous as he gradually realizes he may need to reveal his poverty to his friends and classmates who have yet to know. In this chapter, Sherman Alexie creates the argument that people's fears often lead to wrong assumptions. He does this by first describing juniors' shock at the politeness of football players, then of Penelope sympathizing with his situation and finally to everyone staying despite learning he was poor. As Junior is forced to reveal his poverty to Roger and Penelope, he is met with unexpected reactions. First, when he …show more content…
Junior was also shocked when Roger offered to pay for his meal when he found out Junior couldn't. At this, he couldn't believe “that he was so nice.” He asked himself, “How many great football players were that nice?” (Alexie,126). The reason Junior was shocked at football players being polite is because he feared their talent and assumed all would bully him for being worse. Finally when Junior admits he was poor out loud to both Penelope and Roger, Junior explains how he “figured she was going to march right out of his life” right after learning about his poverty and he expected Roger to “tell everybody” that he was poor. Because he feared the hate he would receive for being poor, he just assumed that everyone, including his friends, would leave and make fun of him because of it. He missed out on stronger relationships simply because he assumed what he feared. Although fear can be a good thing, it is true that it often leads to assumptions happening. Even though these situations are fiction, things are happening in the real world