Chapter 6 starts to bring a little depth to the character of Jake Semple. He has not said much so far, and what he has said has been rather 'Paulie'ish. In Chapter 6 we learn that he may be a little more contemplative (meaning?) then we would have thought from earlier Chapters.
What evidence do we see in Chapter 6 that would support and not support labeling Jake a 'bad kid'?
Chapter 7 brings some other characters to life a little. There seems be some significant inter-family tensions. Can you give some examples?
Monday, February 2, 2009
Bad Kid
Posted by Mr. Z at 10:57 AM
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In chapter six, Jake sets a bad example of himself for Destiny. He says he threw a molotov cocktail at the burnt down school (not true), and tells Destiny that the F word is not just a “parrot word”. Of course, Destiny says that. Jake also shows a softer side when he begins petting the dog after it whines at him when he wants some more tofu burger.
We learned that the applewhite household isn’t all rainbows and happiness after the car crash. We saw Sybil and Randolph weren’t getting along great, from quotes like “Oh, sure, you go to your precious meeting and leave us here to clean up after your mess”. Archie was thrown into the mix later on.
I also got the sign earlier from Cordellias’ complaining in earlier chapters, like from “My morning’s completely ruined now. I want cantaloupe!” Enough said.
I see a lot of potential with Jake, and a fairly well-hidden desire not to be a truly "bad kid." When he's talking with E.D. and thinking about the "Jake Semple Reign of Terror"he allows that he never thought about what would really happen next. Like many of us, he was taking the short term view. E.D.'s comments aboaut the other kids in juvvie being more his type actually causes him to stop and consider what that means. He remembers druggies and gun threats with something of a chill. "It was one thing to be thought of as the bad kid from the city. It was something else again to be locked up with real ones."
As for the Applewhites themselves not getting along, they seem to all be competing with one another. Competing artistically, competing for attention, competing to be the most outrageous in temperament.
Why would a family compete with each other instead of help each other?
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