Hole in My Life Questions

1. How did Jack's childhood affect his goal of wanting to go to college?
Jacks childhood affected his goal of wanting to go to college because he was always changing schools and moving. since he was switching schools it was tough for him to be able to get comfortable and do good in his new school. He also had to work on top of school so that made it even more difficult for him to get into college and obtain his goal.



2. 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?
Jacks school and home life made him more likely to become a writer because even though he moved constantly he still was reading and writing, he was just not getting a great education. His parents cared about him and gave him work. They would even show him the criminals so he wouldnt become one down the road.



3. If Jack wasn't desperate to go to college, do you think he would have become a part of the hashish smuggling operation?
If he wasnt so desperate to go to college i think he would have avoided the whole opperation. He was to nervous about it to do it but he did do it because he wanted to go to college that bad. Yeah he wanted to get off St. Croix but he could of tried to get another way off with another ship.



4. Was Jack's prison sentence fair?
Yeah Jacks sentence was very fair. He did something that could get you in jail for live but he was lucky enough to get nothing near a life sentence. He got a short sentence because he was young but if he was older it would have been a different story.



5. How does Jack's love of books help save him in prison? What about out of prison?
Jacks love for books were what helped carry him though prision. He would read his books and forget about what was around him and just play the part of the character. From the books when he eventually got out of prision he leared alot of lessons from them.



6. 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 served his term in general population it could have went two ways. He could have seen alot more and become even a better writer. Or he could have been abused by the men in there and maybe not even make it out of prision wanting to become a writer. He probably would have become even better though because he would have seen way more then he saw in his hospital cell.

7. Were Jack's unflinching descriptions of prison life necessary to the story? Why or why not?
Jacks descriptions of the story were necessary. It gave us a feel of what prision life is like and how terrible it is. He was trying to show us that we should have no desire to go to prision so we would not commit any crimes. If he left out all this description this book might not be half as good and people would just think prision is an easy place to be.

8. 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 provide a clue to whats gonna be in the chapter. They would mostly hint as to somewhere he went or and object in the chapter. He would title them "getting out"which ment he got out of jail or "St. Croix" which was where he ended up.

9. The book is divided into three sections. Why do you think the author decided to separate parts of the story?
The book is divided in three because they represent diffent parts of his life. One is his youth. The second section is him living on St. Croix and his agreement to the drug smuggling. The third is him going to court and prison and his life in prison.

10. 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 word that should have been used. He did it for a reason and he knows that. He did it to get money for college and get off the island. By him saying "mistake" you can tell he is not very sorry for what he did. He doesnt really regret it he just wishes they never got caught.