Quote Response - Susie M.

"A hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles."Is Arnold Spirit's behaviour towards life. He could have just continued his life and felt sorry for himself, but he took the leap and his bravery led to success. Part of the "heroic journey is finding out who you really are. At the beginning of the book, when he describes himself, he is focused only on the negative parts of who he is. By the end of the book Arnold realizes his identity.  

"I realized that, sure, I was a Spokane Indian. I belonged to that tribe. But I also belonged to the tribe of American immigrants. And to the tribe of basketball players. And to the tribe of bookworms:

And to the tribe of cartoonists.

And the tribe of teenage boys.

And the tribe of small-town kids.

And the tribe of Pacific Northwesterners.

And the tribe of tortilla chips-and-salsa lovers.

And the tribe of poverty.

And the tribe of funeral goers.

And the tribe of beloved sons.

And the tribe of boys who really missed their best friends.

It was a huge realization.

And that's when I knew that I was going to be okay."