Questions

How did Jack's childhood affect his goal of wanting to go to college?
Jack's childhood affected his goal of wanting to go to college in a couple of ways. One was how he kept moving from school to school when his father was changing his jobs. Also as a child he started to learn that he had a liking for writing and he knew he needed to go to college to become a writer.

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 and home life made him more likely a criminal. This is because how he would drink and do drugs and not really care about anything else and he wasn't working towards his goal of becoming a writer.

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 he would have became a part of the hashish smuggling operation even if he wasn't desperate to go to college. I think this because he would have done the operation just for the money. He would not be able to say no to that kind of money.

Was Jack's prison sentence fair?
Jack's prison sentence was fair. He was trying to smuggle in illegal narcotics into the country. The only problem I had with his sentence was that it did not give him an exact amount of time he was serving.

How does Jack's love of books help save him in prison? What about out of prison?
Jack's love of books help save him in prison because it gave him a place to get away from the place he was living in and gave him a place to escape. Out of prison, books helped him become a writer and complete his goal.

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?

I think that Jack would not have become a successful writer if he had served his term in the general population. He wouldn't have had his privacy like he had in the hospital cell. He also would have not fared well with all of the other prison mates in the prison.

Were Jack's unflinching descriptions of prison life necessary to the story? Why or why not?
I feel that Jack's descriptions of prison life were necessary to the story. They were necessary because it gives you a visual of what he was going through in the prison and how uneasy it is to be there.

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 clues of the chapter titles provide what is going to happen in the chapter or where the chapter is taking place. He signals the reader ahead of time by telling clues about what will happen.

The book is divided into three sections. Why do you think the author decided to separate parts of the story?
I think the author decided to separate parts of the story because he wanted to show the different parts of his life. The first section was his life before the smuggling operation. The second section is his life during the smuggling operation. The third section is his life in prison and getting out of prison.

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?
Jack makes me feel less confident that he is sorry for what he did. If he was not caught for his crime he would have probably left this whole event behind him. Also before he agreed to the smuggling operation he should have known the consequences and knew it was wrong.