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#5 3. On pages 107-109, Junior tells us more about Penelope, and he learns her secret. Explain this situation and why he says “…she’s scared all the time, but nobody will let her be scared…” (108). (Sandro B.)

Junior discovers that Penelope has been hiding her Bulimia from everyone in Reardan High School. She feels like she needs to hide this because people expect her to be perfect based on her appearance. Following Junior’s advice to Penelope, “Penelope starts crying, talking about how lonely she is, and how everybody thinks her life is perfect because she’s pretty and smart and popular” (Alexie, 108). Penelope is very well-liked in school, and therefore it is harder for her to express her differences because everyone expects her to be flawless. Penelope is scared that if people find out about her Bulimia, her reputation will be negatively impacted and that she will feel even lonelier than how she feels now. She may throw up to maintain the image of herself that other people see. She feels like she can confide in Junior because he is new to this school and he may not have the same expectations as others for her. People like Penelope have difficulty sharing personal struggles with other people for fear of their outward image being negatively altered.

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