Paragraph: "I tried to stop her, but Penelope ran over to Roger's car/ and told him the truth./ 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./ If you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty/ damn amazing." – p.129
Leading into this paragraph, a lot of things happened. Junior went with a group to a restaurant to carbo-load; even though he knew he didn't have any money. Luckily, he meets Roger, someone who used to make fun of him, in the bathroom, who ends up lending him $40 to pay for him and Penelope. After that, Roger guesses that Junior is poor and tells Penelope, which leads Penelope to ask Junior herself. Of course he replied yes, and thus this paragraph takes place.
Now in this paragraph, Penelope and Roger find out that Junior is actually very poor. This affects the relationships between the three down the road. Junior becomes closer to both Penelope and Roger because of this. For example, he says that Roger gives him many rides in the future. These bonds will help Junior get through tough times later in the book.
By rereading this paragraph, I noticed certain word choices that stand out. First, I noticed the words Junior uses to describe Roger are interesting. He says that Roger is "of kind heart" instead of saying he is plain kind. I think this is because Junior knows Roger is a good person in general, but isn't always the nicest. An example of this is when Roger teased him earlier in the book. He also says Roger is a "little bit racist." I think that this means he thinks Roger is helping him because he pities him. Also, after rereading the last line, I feel like it is a very powerful line. I think it's the main point the author is trying to get across in this scene. It is pretty self explanatory, but I want to focus on the word 'amazing'. The definition of it is: causing great surprise or wonder. I think this fits because Junior has never really let people under his skin before, so it really surprises him that they are so understanding and helpful.
After reading this paragraph a third time, I believe that the reason for reading something a third time is to combine the different thoughts made in the first two reads. It's to combine the history of the story with the plot and rhythm of it. For me, by rereading this paragraph a third time, I figured out that the realization that Junior had at the end of the paragraph is a pretty big part of the plot later on. There are plenty of times in the book where he lets down his guard and shows emotion, and in return people surprise him.
Reading Group Assignment
Paragraph: "I tried to stop her, but Penelope ran over to Roger's car/ and told him the truth./ 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./ If you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty/ damn amazing." – p.129
Leading into this paragraph, a lot of things happened. Junior went with a group to a restaurant to carbo-load; even though he knew he didn't have any money. Luckily, he meets Roger, someone who used to make fun of him, in the bathroom, who ends up lending him $40 to pay for him and Penelope. After that, Roger guesses that Junior is poor and tells Penelope, which leads Penelope to ask Junior herself. Of course he replied yes, and thus this paragraph takes place.
Now in this paragraph, Penelope and Roger find out that Junior is actually very poor. This affects the relationships between the three down the road. Junior becomes closer to both Penelope and Roger because of this. For example, he says that Roger gives him many rides in the future. These bonds will help Junior get through tough times later in the book.
By rereading this paragraph, I noticed certain word choices that stand out. First, I noticed the words Junior uses to describe Roger are interesting. He says that Roger is "of kind heart" instead of saying he is plain kind. I think this is because Junior knows Roger is a good person in general, but isn't always the nicest. An example of this is when Roger teased him earlier in the book. He also says Roger is a "little bit racist." I think that this means he thinks Roger is helping him because he pities him. Also, after rereading the last line, I feel like it is a very powerful line. I think it's the main point the author is trying to get across in this scene. It is pretty self explanatory, but I want to focus on the word 'amazing'. The definition of it is: causing great surprise or wonder. I think this fits because Junior has never really let people under his skin before, so it really surprises him that they are so understanding and helpful.
After reading this paragraph a third time, I believe that the reason for reading something a third time is to combine the different thoughts made in the first two reads. It's to combine the history of the story with the plot and rhythm of it. For me, by rereading this paragraph a third time, I figured out that the realization that Junior had at the end of the paragraph is a pretty big part of the plot later on. There are plenty of times in the book where he lets down his guard and shows emotion, and in return people surprise him.