Questions: Chapters 1 & 2

1-      In chapter 1, when Mark and Bryon save M&M from Curly Sheppard’s gang and afterwards want to beat up on another innocent by-stander, M&M says:

“You make me sick!  You just rescued me from some guys who were going to beat me up because I’m different from them, and now you’re going to beat up someone because he’s different from you.  You think I’m weird – well, you’re the weird ones.”

·         Discuss difference in Mark and Bryon’s world.  What does it mean and what does it cause? 

·         What does that event enable you to infer or predict about what will happen in the story? 

I think that for Mark and Bryon, the difference make people act negatively. They are fighting against people that are different from them, because everyone is doing it. I think the difference in Mark and Bryon World is based on the social classes, gangs and races.  They recued M&M because he is their friend, but they are going to fight against people even if their friend was the victim of a battle.  I imagine that they think the difference is bad, that the people that are not like you are even not good people, because of their appearance that seems maybe different, not like them.  I think that this event will make Mark, but mostly Bryon think about what they do.  Mark seems to be someone who cares less about people than Bryon (Bryon feels bad about stealing a little further in these chapters).  Maybe that what said M&M will influence Bryon about not beat other people and gang because they are different.

2-      In chapter 2, Mike’s story ends with the girl saying “kill the white bastard”.  Why do you think she said that? Explain from the context.

First, she said that to a man at her house, which seems violent, and manipulative. I think she wanted to protect herself, because this man saw her being in Mike’s car.  In the context of the story, the difference between people, and mostly races, separate the others, and create problems, mostly between the black and white people. I think that to stay at her house, she has to think like the others living with her, and be provocative against the white people. She prefers to «lie» and invent something negative about Mike to keep her place there, than to be fighting between the two men, because I think she is afraid, and for now, in the society she lives, it is «better» to stay with your gang, or your race.

3-      At the end of chapter 2, Mike says:

“I still don’t hate Negroes, least of all Connie.  I mean I can almost see why she did it. Almost.”

Mark later says about Mike:

“That is one stupid guy.  [… ] if anybody ever hurt me like that, I’d hate them for the rest of my life.”

What does that comment allow you to foreshadow about Mark?

I think that what Mark says allows to foreshadow that Mark is racist.  He thinks that because one person of different race beat you, you need to hate all people of this race. I think that into the society he lives, he thinks something which is normal for all, because there is something very important with the difference.  I think that Mike, which doesn’t hate all blacks even if the man beat him, has an advanced thinking compare to Mark and the major part of people.  Mark is more generalist, and that relates to his personality, of beating people that are different of you, like mentioned in the question one.  He is influence by the general idea his society shows.