D is for Dungeon. Dark and Deep.

A brief summary:

In this short chapter the narrative switches back to the past; this time to more events and to a violent episode from Jack’s time in prison. Initially it is not clear what is happening, only that Jack (cleverly named A in this chapter to remind the reader of his heinous crime) has a ‘muggy certitude that he was in trouble’.

What transpires is that Jack is the victim of some kind of act of prison revenge. A more seasoned inmate is bent on killing him in order to gain retribution against the screws who put his cousin into a cell with racists who killed him. The anonymous man is determined to avenge his cousin’s death and this ‘new nearness to death provokes a fresh terror’ in Jack’s who begins to lose consciousness as his throat is strangled.

As Jack feels himself ‘weakening’ a door opens a ‘bright light’ comes ‘washing in’ in the shape of three prison officers who rescue him from the grip of his attacker. Jack considers the men to be ‘Guardian Angels’ who have saved him from certain death. The irony of this description is not lost on the reader.

Points to consider:

1. What kind of impression is the reader given of life in prison? Do these conditions help to reform offenders or are they more likely to make criminal worse?
2. This chapter relies heavily on swear words to create a sense of realism. How do you feel about this use of profanity? Is it justified in the service of authenticity or is it unnecessary?
3. How does the reader feel towards Jack by the end of the chapter? On the one hand the reader feels some sympathy for the way Jack is treated, but on the other he has managed to escape with his life, something he denied to the victim of his actions.

C is for Coast. Can You See the Sea?

A Brief Summary:

The beginning of the third chapter sees Jack a month down the line from when he was first released from prison. Jack is beginning to really relish his freedom, looking upon his emerging life of possibility as a sea that he ‘embraces’ and ‘opens his lungs to swallow it as it swallows him.’ Jack particularly enjoys the mornings when he is alone on the streets and able to take pleasure in the simple things in life, such as spending the ‘chunky coins’ in his pocket on the daily newspaper.

Over breakfast Jack reads his Daily Star and takes delight in admiring the page three girl, a sign that he is beginning to feel more at home in this alien world. As Jack takes in what he sees, he starts to feel his ‘virginity acutely’. In many respects this brief moment provides a foreshadow of his later relationship with Michelle, the receptionist at his new job where he is delivery driver’s assistant. It is clear that Jack is slowly starting to settle into this new identity. Chris, the driver of the van that Jack assists, clearly like Jack: he playfully calls him Dodger and has considered making Jack a proper mate, not just for drivers.’

This chapter also presents the first real moment of danger for Jack. It occurs when Chris starts talking about a story in the Sun newspaper of child killer who has been recently released from prison. Jack is immediately paralysed by the prospect of his new identity becoming exposed to the world and he feels ‘irresistible gravity sucking dry every part of him.’ With great relief he discovers that the photo fit picture the paper have of him looks nothing like him. Jack’s new world is safe.

The rest of the chapter is taken up with continuing to show the reader how much Jack is beginning to become part of the real world. He has a brief exchange of flirtation with Michelle and discovers through Chris the reason why she is referred to as the White Whale. Jack has another meal with Terry at the Figment and Firkin pub, where Terry warns Jack to take it easy on a night out with the lads he has planned. It is also clear to the reader that Terry’s own life is far from perfect. Upon his return home that night it becomes apparent he has forgotten his own son’s birthday. Zeb and Terry seem to have a strained relationship – ‘they remain in different rooms, neither of them willing to initiate the inevitable’ argument. 

Points to consider: 

1. What other elements of foreshadow are provided in this chapter?
2. How does the reader feel about Jack at this point in the novel? Details of the terrible crime he has committed are starting to emerge, yet in many ways Jack remains a likeable and sympathetic character. What is Trigell up to?
3. What might be the wider symbolism of the razor that Jack aims to buy with his first wage packet? Are there several possible interpretations?
4. How does Jack's emerging interest in Michelle make the reader respond to his character?
5. What is the effect on the reader of the way in which everyone he seems to meet warms to his character?
6. How and why is Trigell offering a contrast between Terry's relationship with Jack and his relationship with his own son, Zeb?

B is for Boy. A Boy named B.

A brief summary:

This chapter focuses on Boy B and to the details surrounding the way he became friends with Jack when they were children. Boy B was mentioned briefly in the opening chapter, described simultaneously as ‘friend, accomplice, instigator’ and ‘nemesis’. In many respects B is the polar opposite of A: wild and scruffy, a year younger and with a propensity for violence. He has an older brother who no one messes with and exudes confidence in his swagger. But beneath this hard exterior B seems to share the same sense of loneliness as A. This is what makes them friends.

Trigell gives details about how Jack was bullied at school and how he tried to hide his shame from his parents. The reader learns that as the bullying got worse Jack began to truant from school. It was during one of his days bunking from school that Jack comes across A. The pair strike up a relationship based upon on their shared sense of isolation: A without friends, and parents and teachers to notice, whilst B retreating into ignorance and wildness as a result of something to do with his infamous brother.

Are children inherently good or evil?

The chapter ends with a confrontation between some of Jack’s tormentors and both boys walking home after spending the day together. After sensing an opportunity to further intimidate their helpless victims, the bullies are surprised by a violent attack by the much smaller and younger B. He sets about the older boys with a disturbing sense of unrestrained violence, hitting and kicking them in to submission. The attack is quickly over and the pair become even closer friends as a result of their experience.

Points to consider:

1. In what ways is Boy B different to Boy A? Are they really so different after all?
2. Look at the description of Boy B. How does Trigell use language (profanity, sentence structure, cultural references) to present a clearer picture of the type of boy that he is?
3. Although he is described as ‘ignorant’, in many respects it seems that Boy B has a great deal of experience of life. He seems more like a man than a boy. How does Trigell achieve this and what is he trying to say about his character?
4. What does the fact that Jack wont tell his parents about being bullied imply about his family life? Does this connect in any way to the absence of his parents in the first chapter where he is released from prison?
5. What do you make of the line ‘Children can be monsters too.’ Do you agree with this statement, or do you think circumstances create monsters?
6. Why is the passage about Mrs Johnston’s views on Jack written in italics? To what extent does it make you read it differently?
7. Is Boy B a bad influence on Jack, or is the situation more complicated than that? It might help to closely read the final passage of the chapter where Boy B is annotating the Bible he stole from church.

A is for Apple. A Bad Apple.

Brief summary:

In this chapter the reader is introduced to the character of Jack Burridge, a young man who has just been released from prison for a crime he committed as a child. The specific details of the crime are as of yet shrouded in mystery, but several clues – the reference to coverage in the national press, and the need for him to undergo a change in identity upon release – suggest something of considerable severity.

This initial chapter provides an insight into Jack’s first two weeks of freedom. He is excited by the possibilities of this ‘new unroofed world’, but also overwhelmed by the enormity of what he sees. Jack’s guide is Terry, his parole officer and the man with whom he has built up a considerable amount of trust and dependency. Terry is charged with the responsibility of looking out for Jack and helping him to adjust to his new life of normality. Through Terry’s support Jack starts to settle in to his new life.

Points to consider:

Is Jack a Bad Apple?

1. What role does Terry seem to play in Jack’s new life? Look at the different ways that he helps Jack: buying him new trainers, taking them to new places each day and helping him to settle into his new lodgings
2. What subtle clues are offered about Jack’s past, in particular the crime he committed to get himself sent to prison? Look at the very first paragraph for suggestions about Jack’s crime
3. What are your immediate impressions of Jack’s character? Do you warm to him, even though you know that he must have done something terrible? Is this an uncomfortable feeling?
4. Why does Trigell start the novel with details of Jack’s first weeks of freedom? Does this effect how the reader feels towards his character?
5. What do you think is the purpose of the chapter heading? How does it relate to the events or characterisation in the chapter?