In Chapters 11 & 12 Spaz will meet another Latch Boss – Mongo the Magnificent, the leader of the Monkey Boys. This latch seems to have developed in different way then Billy Bizmo’s latch. How are the Monkey Boys different then the Bully Banger’s?
Ryter sizes up the situation in this latch pretty quickly. Spaz has no idea what each step will bring but Ryter does not seem surprised by any of the events that unfold. What clues did he see that allowed him to diagnose the situation in the Latch? (I am wondering where Ryter gets all his wisdom from. What was he before he became a ‘gummy’? Why has he not been more successful in using his intelligence for a better outcome for him personally?)
I am not revealing to much to say that Spaz, Ryter and Little Face will make it safely out of this latch. The latch they leave behind is different then when they arrived. Are things better or worse or about the same there? More important, do you think the answer would be the same a year down the road? (I would be very interested to here Ryter's answer.)
Monday, February 25, 2008
Magnificent?
Posted by Mr. Z at 7:15 AM
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3 Comments:
The Monkey Boys and the Bully Bangers have a lot in common with their gang structure but they seem to be at different stages. Spaz remarks on p. 83 that what has happened to Mongo could end up happening to Billy Bizmo and part of him wants to see that based on how Billy doesn't care about Bean. I also see a commonality in the need for limited rules that govern the gangs which always seem to include the absolute outcome of death if they are not obeyed. The Monkey Boys seem to be more affected by the technology than Billy's gang is with the almost death of their leader by needle probe.
During the two chapters, Wryter wasn’t very surprised about the outcome of things. Here is a list of the clues I think gave away the out come.
- How the monkey boys acted. They were OUT OF CONTROLE.
- The prisoners. None of them had their red cut yet, and they were nothing but skin and bones.
- The smell. It didn’t sound very pleasant.
- The flickering light. That is a sign of low power.
- The fact Mongo was shown as a hologram. A true ruler would show the real him/her.
- The fact everyone was scared. Take the guard as an example.
Those are what I thought gave away the ruler not having much power. Please comment
This comment is off point – yet not really. After reading these chapters I went to see the copyright date to see of the Author might be responding to any current event. It was published in 2000, which would predate most of our current troubles.
Strong, tough, brutal leaders can succeed at holding bad situations together by keeping the rules simple and consequences clear. Fear is a powerful motivator. If that glue is removed then the society can fall apart in ways not anticipated.
Ryter saw that this latch needed to get the rules and consequences reestablished. He knew that his challenge was to make Gorm believe he (Grom) could be a leader. Once Gorm believed it himself then he would have the confidence to convince others.
Ben and I disagreed on what type of leader Gorm would be. I believe that in this bleak world Ryter would know that Gorm would become Mongo/Bismo like. That could not be helped – but he wanted to get the prisoners freed before it did.
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