Questions

How did Jack's childhood affect his goal of wanting to go to college?
Jack had a very challenging childhood which could have hindered his chances of getting into college. He was always moving around and never had a good chance to get himself situated. It is always hard to adjust when switching schools, and he did it multiple times. There were times when he even had to drop out of school to work. By always moving and working, it became more challenging for Jack to get into college.

On page 28, Jack says, "And if not a writer, I wasn't sure what I might do, but I certainly had no interest in becoming a criminal." Did Jack's school and home life make him more likely to become a criminal or a writer? Why?
Jack's school life made him more likely to become a writer. Even though he was moving around a lot, his parents always paid close attention to him. They gave him work. Whenever he was out with his dad, his dad would always show him who criminals were and what they looked like, making sure Jack would not become one. Even though his school was at one time a jail, it did not seem to be a particularly bad place to learn.


If Jack wasn't desperate to go to college, do you think he would have become a part of the hashish smuggling operation?
I think Jack would still have become part of the operation if he wasn't so desperate to go to college. He still wanted a chance to get off of St. Croix. He seemed to want to go to the United States, and I think he gladly would have done it, especially with $10,000 waiting at the end of the journey.

Was Jack's prison sentence fair?
Jack's sentence was completely fair. What he did was a huge crime, and since he was so young, he was lucky enough to have a relatively short sentence. An older person who did a similar crime would likely have a far greater amount of time in jail.

How does Jack's love of books help save him in prison? What about out of prison?
Jack's love for books helped him a lot while he was in prison. He was under a lot of stress at the time, and when he was reading his books, he was able to escape. He could follow the life of another character when he wanted to be away from his own. Books also helped him while out of prison. He learned a lot of life lessons from the stories he read.

Do you think Jack would have become a successful writer if he had served his prison term in the general population rather than in his private hospital cell?
If Jack had served his prison term in the general population instead of the private hospital cell, he may actually have become an even more successful writer. Although he experienced what prison was like from afar, he would have seen even more up close and personal. This experience would give him more to write about.

Were Jack's unflinching descriptions of prison life necessary to the story? Why or why not?
These descriptions were completely necessary to the story. One of the purposes of the book was to describe the horrors of being arrested and going to jail. Jack wanted to provide a message to adolescents to avoid committing crimes. If Jack had not utilized these descriptions, it is possible that many readers would not become fearful of jail, and would not worry about being arrested.

What kinds of clues do the chapter titles provide? How does Jack signal the reader ahead of time about what will occur in the chapter?
The chapter titles give the reader a clue as to what will happen in the chapter, or what will be in the chapter. Sometimes the title of a chapter mentions an object that will be in it or an event that will occur. For example, the chapter "Bon Voyage" signals that Jack will set sail for New York and the chapter title "My Yellow Cell" represents Jack's hospital cell in Kentucky.

The book is divided into three sections. Why do you think the author decided to separate parts of the story?
The author separated different parts of the story for the different sections of his life. The first section talks about his youth. The second talks about when he lived in St. Croix and prepared to smuggle the drugs. The third and final section tells of his time on trial and in jail.

Jack claims that his becoming involved in the smuggling ring was "a mistake." Do you think "mistake" is the right word for the situation? By using the word "mistake," does Jack make you feel more or less confident that he is sorry for what he did?
"Mistake" is not the right word for the situation. The reason Jack participated in the smuggling is because he needed money and a way to get off of St. Croix and go to college. He wanted to do the crime, and only regretted it once he got caught. The word "mistake" does not make me feel confident that he is sorry for what he did. It is not a very convincing word. There is absolutely no regret in the tone with which Jack writes.