-
Birth and Surgery
Arnold Spirit was born with several disabilities, including him having, as he said, "water on the brain" which was really just too much cerebral spinal fluid, which should have killed him. But he got surgery and the doctors managed to save him. This miraculous success when the signs pointed towards death or being unable to do anything gave him hope that things that seem impossible can be achieved. -
Mr. P Gives Arnold a Talk
On his first day of high school as a fourteen year old, Arnold opens up his textbook, and inside finds his mothers name. In a fit of anger at how poor the reservation as a whole is, he throws the book at Mr. P., his teacher, breaking his nose. Later, Mr. P. visits Arnold, warning him that to conserve his hope he has to leave the reservation. Arnold follows Mr. P's advice by transferring to Reardan school, changing his life. -
Getting Accepted
Arnold had been having to put up with name calling and being unaccepted since he went to Reardan. But that all changes when he throws a punch for his rights, gaining him some respect amongst the boys, especially Roger. -
Arnold's Poverty is Revealed
Arnold has been holding to his chest his secret of being poor so as to be respected at Reardan and not teased, but at a restaurant his secret is revealed when his friends put together the pieces and continue to stick up for him much more than he expected. -
The Wellpinit game
The Wellpinit game was a very important game to the story and to him, partly because it shows how angry the people of Wellpinit were with Arnold and because it fuels Arnold anger in the later game and is the first game at Reardan, and the first one where Arnold has confidence. -
Death of Arnold's Grandmother
One day when Arnold's Grandmother, the traveler, the understanding friend of all, was killed in a car accident while crossing the street by a drunk driver. This deeply affected Arnold's happiness, who was an incredibly kind and important person in his life, and only increased the effect of the other deaths later on. -
The Death of Eugene
Eugene was an incredibly nice basketball legend who was all around adored, and was killed by his friend over a small amount of wine... -
The Reardan Game
After the Wellpinit game, the teams of Wellpinit and Reardan get a rematch at the end of the season. Arnold is fired up to get his revenge for the unfair Wellpinit game where he was injured intentionally by his best friend Rowdy. In this game, Arnold ends up guarding Rowdy and their team wins the game as a result. At the end of the game, Arnold ends up feeling guilty for potentially hurting them because of what their parents thought of them and how this would dim their already dim futures. -
The Death of Arnold's Sister
One night, when Arnold is at school, the guidance counselor who cannot comprehend the feeling of death comes to deliver the message of his sister's death. It was caused by her and her husband's house burning down as a result of them throwing a party and passing out from too much alcohol. -
The Mending of Arnold & Rowdy's bond
Rowdy and Arnold have been angry at each other for the majority of the book, until Rowdy comes over to Arnold's house after accepting that leaving the reservation is what will make him happy. When he gets there, Arnold and Rowdy talk in their friendly way and play basketball with each other without keeping score. The without keeping score is actually a big deal because it shows that they are not angry at each other and that it was actually a friendly game and not fueled with anger like before.
