Journal Readings 5/4-5/9

Presumed Dead by Russell Banks 5/6/08

P.58-83

There is a plethora of things going on in this chapter. Bruce and the bikers are stealing electronics like VCR’s, computers, and other things from the mall with the help of the security (Black Bart). Russ wants to deal as well but then he gets Bruce mad and he got almost beat up. Russ starts stealing the electronics from Bruce and sells them on his own. All of the bikers and Bruce notice that stuff is missing so they lock up Chappie in Russ’s room. When Russ gets to the apartment he unties Chappie and they leave. Seconds later the apartment cought on fire. Bruce gets trapped inside the apartment because he is trying to save Chappie but he doesn’t know that Chappie is not there.

Did Chappie had mixed emotions? Chappie id had mixed emotions because after all Bruce was trying to save him from the fire. “Bruce is still up there man. He thinks I’m locked inside your crib. He’s trying to save me!”(p.81) Even though Bruce knew that they were stealing from him he still wanted to help out Chappie but he burned trying to save him. He has two types of identities. One where he is all tough and the other were he cares about his friends and other people.

Were the bikers thinking about Bruce or Chappie? The bikers were only thinking about saving themselfs from the fire as well as from the cops. “Fuck the kid! Joker said. Fuck Bruce. Fuck the stuff. We gotta get outa here, man.There’s cops everywhere.”(p.81) Bruce and Chappie were invisible for them because they just forgot about them. They even forgot that Bruce brought them to the apartment, and that he was sharing the money they made out of the electronics. Also, they forgot that Chappie was the one that got them their drugs. They only cared about themselfs.

Skull and Bones by Russell Banks 5/7/08

P.84-108

Russ sells the truck that they stoled to Richard and James (the guys that they live with). They live in a bus dumped bus. Chappie and Russ did not have any money at all to buy food or even drugs. Both Chappie and Russ got a tattoo.

Did Russ change because of how his mom treated him? Yes, he did change because of how his mom was towards him and how she denied that he was her son. “Russ’s mom wasn’t marred with a regular job like mine, she was sort of a hooker who worked in a bar near the air force base and lied about her age and told the guys she brought home that Russ was her nephew which is why he left home when he was fifteen in the first place.”(P.85) I think that Russ was invisible to his mom because she would not treat him as her son. He felt that he was not important to his mom that’s why he left his home so early. 

Is Chappie the same? Yes. I do think that Chappie is the same on the inside and he just acts different on the outside. He is still a kid even if he doesn’t act like it. “I was attracted to some of the drawings more than others, like palm trees with a sunset and a howling wolf on a vegetarians and suchlike than kids like me.” (P.105) I would relate this to identity because he still has the mind of a kid and like normal things. He is the kind of person that thinks about others and not just himself.