Quote 1
I was born with water on the brain.
Okay, so that's not exactly true. I was actually born with too much cerebral spinal fluid inside my skull. But cerebral spinal fluid is just the doctors' fancy way of saying brain grease. And brain grease works inside the lobes like car grease works inside an engine. It keeps things running smooth and fast. But weird me, I was born with too much grease inside my skull, and it got all thick and muddy and disgusting, and it only mucked up the works. My thinking and breathing and living engine slowed down and flooded.
My brain was drowning in grease.
But that makes the whole thing sound weirdo and funny, like my brain was a giant French fry, so it seems more serious and poetic and accurate to say, "I was born with water on the brain." (1.1-1.3)
The very first sentence of the novel informs us not of our narrator's name, age, or occupation, but that he was born with too much water on his brain. That is, Arnold is a hydrocephalic, a medical condition that puts him at risk of brain damage and makes him susceptible to seizures. Arnold tells us this information up front, so we can guess that hydrocephalus is very important to how Arnold sees himself – and how others see him as well.
Speaking of which, how does Arnold perceive himself? Notice how many times he uses the word "weirdo." Take note too of the images he employs to describe himself and his brain. Why does he use the image of a car? A French fry?
Quote 2
"My name is Junior," I said. "And my name is Arnold. It's Junior and Arnold. I'm both."
I felt like two different people inside of one body.
No, I felt like a magician slicing myself in half, with Junior living on the north side of the Spokane River and Arnold living on the south. (8.72-8.74)
In Arnold's conversation with the beautiful Penelope, we begin to see a true splitting of Arnold's self. He is Junior at home on the reservation, and he is Arnold when he is at school in Reardan. Do you think Arnold's split personality is a positive thing? Why does Arnold use the image of a magician slicing himself in half? Do you think Arnold can reconcile these two people living inside of him? How?
Quote 3
"Who has the most hope?" I asked.
Mom and Dad looked at each other. They studied each other's eyes, you know, like they had antennas and were sending radio signals to each other. And then they both looked back at me.
"Come on, I said. "Who has the most hope?"
"White people," my parents said at the same time. (6.7-6.10)
Arnold wants to know who has the most hope, and his parents say that it's white people. Why? Is it because the middle-class white folks in Reardan have more money and resources? How does class also change how much hope we have? Do you think poor white people have as much hope as rich ones?
Quote 4
"Why don't you quit talking in dreams and tell me what you really want to do with your life, I said. "Make it simple."
"I want to go to Stanford and study architecture."
"Wow, that's cool," I said. "But why architecture?"
"Because I want to build something beautiful. Because I want to be remembered."
And I couldn't make fun of her for that dream. It was my dream, too. And Indian boys weren't supposed to dream like that. And white girls from small towns weren't supposed to dream big, either. (15.100-15.104)
Though they come from very different worlds, Penelope and Arnold are both dreamers. They long to leave their homes and make a better life for themselves. Why does Penelope see Reardan in the same way that Arnold sees Wellpinit?
Quote 5
"I can do it," I said to Coach, to my teammates, to the world.
"You can do it," Coach said.
"I can do it."
"You can do it."
"I can do it."
Do you understand how amazing it is to hear that from an adult? Do you know how amazing it is to hear that from anybody? It's one of the simplest sentences in the world, just four words, but they're the four hugest words in the world when they're put together.
You can do it.
I can do it.
Let's do it. (25.135-25.143)
The four most powerful words in the world, Arnold tells, are "You can do it." Through believing in himself – and having someone else believe in him – Arnold is able to accomplish great things.
Quote 6
"A metaphorical boner!" I shouted. "What the heck is a metaphorical boner?"
Gordy laughed.
"When I say boner, I really mean joy," he said.
"Then why didn't you say joy? You didn't have to say boner. Whenever I think about boners, I get confused."
"Boner is funnier. And more joyful."
Gordy and I laughed.
He was an extremely weird dude. But he was the smartest person I'd ever known. He would always be the smartest person I'd ever known. (12.211-12.217)
One of the most important things that Arnold learns from Gordy is that learning and knowledge and reading and books should bring you a whole big bunch of joy. So much joy, in fact, that the only way that Gordy knows how to describe the feeling is by calling it a "boner." Why is the idea of joy so important for this book?
Quote 7
I always think it's funny when Indians celebrate Thanksgiving. I mean, sure, the Indians and Pilgrims were best friends during that first Thanksgiving, but a few years later, the Pilgrims were shooting Indians.
So I'm never quite sure why we eat turkey like everybody else.
"Hey, Dad," I said. "What do Indians have to be so thankful for?"
"We should give thanks that they didn't kill all of us."
We laughed like crazy. It was a good day. Dad was sober. Mom was getting ready to nap. Grandma was already napping. (14.4-14.8)
How is the Spirit family's relationship to Thanksgiving different than a white family's?