E is for Elephant. White Elephant.

Brief Summary

This chapter opens with Jack struggling to get the washer-dryer to work, whilst also burning his dinner under the grill; trapped inside is his only shirt option for an evening out with the lads from work and, of course, Michelle.

The reader learns that knowing suicide is an option is a comfort to Jack.  It means that he always has a choice, which makes him feel more powerful and therefore able to keep going when life gets difficult.

Jack manages to save both his shirt and dinner before meeting Chris and Steve the mechanic at the pub.  He is pleased to meet them first before joining the larger group, which will include Michelle, as it allows him some time to get used to being out socially with his new friends.  However, he still feels out of his league during a conversation about chat-up lines and it becomes clear to the reader how inexperienced Jack is.

In the next bar, Jack spots Michelle.  Once he is aware that she is there, he feels distracted by her, but he is too nervous to approach her.  When he sees two men talking to her and Claire, he feels pangs of jealousy, but is relieved to learn that she has left to go to the next club without the men.

On their way in to the nightclub, he is ‘struck by the unreality of it all’.  Once inside, he is overwhelmed by the thump of the loud music and the many scantily clad women.  Michelle beckons him to the dance floor, but he is still too shy to speak to her, let alone dance with her, especially as he has never danced before.

As the chapter continues, Jack becomes increasingly drunk and unstable; however, the alcohol is also helping him enjoy himself as he is more ‘at ease than he can ever remember being’.

Unfortunately the night takes a dangerous turn towards the end of the chapter, when Jack unknowingly accepts drugs from Chris.  He is told to close his eyes, open his mouth and swallow; Jack, used to following orders, simply obeys.  On advice from Chris and Steve the mechanic, Jack goes to the toilets to make himself sick in the hope of getting the pill out of his system. When there, he meets a ginger bloke, high on drugs, who wishes him luck.

Points to consider:

§         What does Jacks’s reaction to the washer-dryer tell the reader about him?

§         What is Jack’s reason for not being scared of Jaws, the movie?

§         Trigell states that ‘It doesn’t occur to him that maybe he doesn’t deserve this’ when his night is going well.  How much has Jack adapted to being out of prison?

§         Why is he ‘just used to obeying orders’?