Sherman Alexie begins by telling that Junior has born with “water on the brain” . Actually he was born with “too much cerebral spinal fluid” in his skull . Which Arnold named “brain grease” . The condition called hydrocephalus.The author then compares Juniors brain to a “giant French fry” drowning in brain grease . That makes the whole thing seem “weird and funny” to him .He also talks about a risky surgery the narrator underwent at six months old and survived. He didn’t even have brain damage as a result. In fact, he was totally fine. Except he did develop forty-two teeth. (That’s ten more than what is usual for human beings.)The narrator tells us that he went to the cheapskates at Indian Health Service to have ten of the teeth removed. They were all pulled in one day with very little Novocain. Indian Health Service also skimps on the eyeglasses. He only gets the “ugly, thick, black plastic ones” .Alexie also write about even more self-deprecating details: Junior is skinny as can be. He has huge hands and feet. And his skull is in Juniors language:Enormous. Arnold Spirit also had seizures on a regular basis which damaged his brain. He hasn’t had one in seven years, but he’s still susceptible to them.More details of humiliation pile up: the narrator has a lisp and a stutter. According to him, this makes him “the biggest retard in the world” .In this chapter we also knew that Arnold lives on a Native American reservation. Because of all of his wimpy-ness and weirdness, he gets beat up at least once a month. He belongs to the “Black-Eye-of-the-Month-Club” .Arnold also likes to draw because, unlike words, everyone can understand pictures.You can get another picture of the narrator  in which he’s juggling a chainsaw, a bunny rabbit, and a book. He’s screaming “Love me!” (Quite the comedian, this kid.)The narrator tells us why he draws: he wants to talk to the world and he wants the world to pay attention to him. He also thinks that drawing or writing or whatever might be his only way off of the reservation.

by fgschueler13