Questions

How did Jack's childhood affect his goal of wanting to go to college?

Because Jack was always moving and switching schools, he could never get a grip on his studies. He had to get used to new curriculums and never got situated. Besides moving, he was also working so he rarely had time to study and sometimes didn't attend school. With all this in the way, he had a bad education. This makes it very hard for him to get into college since his school record is bad. Once he realized that he liked writing, though, it built an interest into him which would be the driving force to go to college for writing.

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 to become a writer. Although his education was not very good, he had an interest in writing. His home life was very good. His parents took great care of him and had hopes for him. They also showed him criminals to make sure that he would not become one. This quote proves that that technique worked. Although he may not have gotten a good education, most of the places he went to school were not bad, they were clean and offered decent education.

If Jack wasn't desperate to go to college, do you think he would have become a part of the hashish smuggling operation?

Jack would still have taken part in the operation. He needed the money and wanted to get off of St. Croix. He even wanted to visit the U.S. This was the perfect chance for him to do so and the money would have been extremely beneficial to his life.

Was Jack's prison sentence fair?

Jack's sentence was very fair. The huge crime he commited would have been a life sentence but because he was young his sentence was shorter. The sentence was also beneficial to him. It gave him time to set himself straight. If the sentence was short, he might have taken the risk again for that money.

How does Jack's love of books help save him in prison? What about out of prison?

In prison, Jack would be miserable and bored. With his books, he was able to read and forget his troubles. He would really get into them and enter a whole new world. After reading a lot, it set him on his path to becoming a writer. Once out of prison, all the writing inspired him and also taught him valuable life lessons.

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?

Jack would probably not have become a successful writer because in the general population, he would have been influenced by the other prisoners. It could have changed him or he could have been abused by the prisoners and lost care for his life. The hospital gave him privacy and time to think and it was easy to concentrate there.

Were Jack's unflinching descriptions of prison life necessary to the story? Why or why not?

The descriptions were very necessary to the story. He provides the reader with this horrendous image of prison. The reader can understand how unbearable the jail was and gives him or her no interest in being there. The book is about Jack's mistakes and the purpose of it is certainly so you never repeat his actions. These descriptions tell you the consequences.

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 are very brief phrases but long enough for one to understand the upcoming events. They either name an important object or place such as "St. Croix", or an action such as "marking time".

The book is divided into three sections. Why do you think the author decided to separate parts of the story?

The author divided the book into three important parts of his life: Childhood, smuggling, and prison life. He did this to show how each part impacted his life.

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?

I do not think that "mistake" is the right word. People make mistakes and he is just saying that it's not a big deal using that word. It does not make me feel confident that he regrets it much. He is showing that he does not regret it because if didn't get caught, one can tell that he would have thought that that was a great choice for himself.