Junior's Shallowness Analysis

This passage demonstrates Junior’s shallowness and how Penelope views Junior’s problems as “cute” and “unique”. The scene therefore represents more broadly teen love relationships and the problems they can have.

One example that supports the author’s agenda is the sexual word choice used in the passage when Junior says, “I’d been thinking about her breasts and she’d been thinking about my life”(Sherman Alexie, Pg.127). Also he says, “Who knew that tears of sympathy could be so sexy?”(Pg.129) So to summarize, Junior was shallow because he only saw Penelope for her breasts and not for her true self. He also viewed Penelope’s cry as “sexy”. So, Junior’s shallowness relates to teen relationships because teens usually have the same type of shallowness.
An example of the short syntax is when Junior says, “Instead she kissed me. On the cheek.”(Pg.127) This quote was the reaction after Penelope asked if Junior was poor. The placement of “On the cheek.” as its own sentence emphasizes Junior’s disappointment that the kiss wasn’t on the lips. This shows his shallowness for her feelings. He only worries about getting the kiss on the lips and since he didn't, he was dissatisfied despite Penelope’s care for his problems. Also the usage of, “Instead” from the first part of the short syntax (Instead … me) shows how surprising Junior felt that Penelope kissed him even though he admitted he was poor. So again, Penelope must consider his issues as “cute” and “unique” because she didn't walk away. She kissed him instead. No one ever does such things as kiss someone if they truly care about one’s problems. Even in relationships, this problem would have been handled by a hug or an attempt to fix the problem.So even though Penelope cares for Junior, it is for the wrong reasons. Usually people care for the actual problem and the way to resolve it but Penelope cares because his problems are different from others and that it is cute that he has gone through so much stress/pain. Therefore, the short syntax shows that Junior, who represents other teens, is always viewing female teens in a sexual way which makes him shallow. If he doesn’t get what he
This literary device is seen when Junior says, “FOR ME!”(Pg.129) The context of this quote was the reaction of Junior due to the fact that Penelope had cried for his issues that he admitted to her such as poverty and having no transportation. Penelope had cried for him because she thought they were “cute” issues and issues that were “unique” or different from the boring white kids at Rearden. So when Junior said, “FOR ME!”, he was surprised that she wasn’t just as shallow as he was. But in fact, Penelope can be blamed for shallowness due to the her perspective of his issues. She doesn’t take the issues seriously but she acts like she does when she cries or kisses him. So, she represents the females in a relationship that tend to be over emotional sometimes and this is because they care too much for the cuteness of problems. As a result, the all capital letters emphasizes how much Penelope seems to care about his “cute” issues and it shows how shallow Junior is since he gets surprised by any signs of emotion or feelings. Therefore, the all capital letters showcase how the relationship is for Junior and Penelope and more broadly how teen relationships especially with their