Hole in My Life: Response

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

As a child, Jack's father always told him about all the bad people that were around. He would point to people on the street and tell Jack what crime they committed. This most likely contributed to him being afraid of being on his own. He also is very scared of commitment becuase he was always moving to different towns as a child and never stayed in a place for a long time.

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?

I believe his school and home life made him more likely to become a criminal becuase he was always surrounded by criminal activity. His father always made it very clear to him who was a criminal and what they did. His father was very blunt with him. Sometimes being surrounded by something you know is a bad thing can inevitibly control you to be the same thing you feared.

Was Jack's prison sentence fair?

I do not think that Jack's prison sentence was fair. I think he was in way over his head and he didn't know the full consequences of his actions. I'm not saying he shouldn't have been punished, but his sentence should have been shorter. The idea of the money brainwashed him so he couldn't think about how big of a crime he was committing.

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

I think that if he didn't love to read and he didn't take any books to read, he might have gone insane. His reading habit was very good for him becuase it occupied him and gave him something to do. If he had nothing to do in prison but sleep and eat he would've gone insane. His love of reading out of prison also helped him in the same way. It drove him and gave him inspiration to be better than average. He was working to achieve something and that is what really matters.

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?

No i don't think he would've been as successful. If he was around other inmates he would get distracted and he could occupy himself with doing other things. When he was by himself there was nothing else to do but read and write.

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

Yes they were becuase it gave the story more suspense and it kept me and many other readers interested. It also gave the story more emotion and it sent a stronger message. Because of the horrible descriptions of prison life, many teens and young adults might think twice before committing a crime.

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?

Jack uses foreshadowing with his chapter titles. The titles let us know what might be coming. For instance, the chapter title, "I Love New York" foreshadows that the boat reaches its destination in New York City in that chapter.

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

I think that each part tells a seperate story of this memoir. They each lead to the ultimate climax and end of the novel. The first part deals with his childhood and growing up, the second deals with him bouncing around schools and jobs and trying to find money, and the third part is his time in jail. They each play their parts in this memoir.

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?

No i do not think mistake is the right work for the situation. I think a better word would be excitement (for the money) or greed. By him using the work mistake it makes me feel more confident that he is sorry becuase by him using the word "mistake," it shows that he realizes that he was wrong and that if he could do it again, he wouldn't.