Adversity In Junior's Life

During our youngest years of life our brains are like sponges, we absorb so much information in these first few years, that's why it is so much easier to learn and remember a foreign language. However, in some developing years children will be exposed to negative events that affect their psyche. “Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents in which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.” This cannot be said for every circumstance, but in Junior’s case this is true. Junior was constantly thrown into situations that as a fourteen year old he shouldn’t be exposed to. His grandmother's death being one of the worst situations and it took the biggest toll on him. “But my family had to bury my grandmother. I mean, it's natural to bury your grandmother. Grandparents are supposed to die first, but they're supposed to die of old age. They're supposed to die of a heart attack or a stroke or of cancer or of Alzheimer's. THEY ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO GET RUN OVER AND KILLED BY A DRUNK DRIVER!” The death of his sister also took a toll …show more content…
Junior is constantly exposed to alcohol and has been his entire life. Most Native Americans living on reservations are alcoholics, it is a never ending cycle of depression due to being so poor, alcohol seems to be the only thing to help. The cycle will constantly repeat itself, and for children growing up around this behavior, children growing up without a family member due to an alcohol related incident, they will more than likely be traumatized by it. Junior definitely suffers from some psychological damage because of this, he's not just traumatized because of the alcohol, but also going to school around kids who don’t have to wonder where their next meal will come from. The point is, the reservation is a traumatic experience and the longer Junior stays within the worse off he will