Characters
What is a protagonist? Who is the protagonist(s) in Trash?
A protagonist is a main character. The protagonists are Raphael, Gardo and Jun-Jun.
“Once again, the trash boys were ahead of the trash police.” (Part 4: Chapter 4) What’s happening?
The intelligent boys figured out where to go to look for the money ("the brightest star"...a grave)
(Page 158)
Name six common themes in Trash
Intelligence, Education, Street Smarts, Community, Loyalty, Solidarity, Childhood, Poverty, Injustice, Corruption, Power, Theft, Brotherhood, Love, Compassion, Honour
Not having a formal education means you’re dumb.
Well played.
Who is the author and where is he from?
Andy Mulligan; from England.
Which character gets compared to an animal the most? Which animals?
Jun-Jun (Rat, monkey, spider: Page 22)
“In our little neighbourhood there were more cooking fires than usual, and a few cases of beer. There was music and singing, and everyone was happy.” (Part 1, Chapter 5)
“When one of their number is hurt, everyone feels the wound.” (Part 3, Chapter 1)
“It sounds crazy, but there was some part of me sure I’d never found it, and some other part of me begging me not to give up—maybe for José Angelico, because we knew more about him now.” (Part 2, Chapter 2)
What do these quotations have in common?
Examples of the community theme in Trash.
How would you define a theme? How is different to a topic?
A theme tells you what message is important to the writer to express; Why they're telling the story; What in the story matters and why.
Topics go into themes (examples of being poor are under the theme of poverty, examples of the Vice President’s crimes are corruption and injustice, etc).
Jun-Jun becomes humanised as the story goes on.
He is no longer identifiable as animalistic or seen as beneath the other boys.
What does PTSD mean? Who has it in the book and why?
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Raphael has it because of the police beating during the interrogation.
Father _________ and Sister _________ work at the Mission School.
Are they overall good or bad people? List two examples to support your answer.
Father Juilliard and Sister Olivia.
Helping the boys in various ways (escorting Gardo to the prison, not reporting the stolen money, etc)
Who said it (and why): “Goodbye, and thank you so much for using me.” (Part 3: Chapter 10)
Sister Olivia for being tricked into helping the boys. She knew it was the right thing in the end, despite being deported back to the UK.
"His final act—the one that killed him—was to expose three senators who’d been siphoning off public taxes and stowing them off-shore. They all resigned and the prosecution rumbles on. Pascal Aguila was shot to pieces in a taxi, on his way to testify. Twenty-six bullets—the same calibre as a policeman’s gun —and his murderers were never found." (Part 2: Chapter 1)
This quotation supports what themes?
Theft, Corruption, Injustice
Justice is like karma… you can do nothing and it will come along.
Fabulous.
What’s your favourite part of or thing about Trash? Why?
Excellent!
Who is one NPC in Trash?
The gardener, the guard at the cemetery, the security guard at the prison who trades the Bible...
“Then he came over to me and Raphael – he was crying. I’m putting that in because I think it’s important, it’s the only time we ever saw Rat cry.” (Part 5: Chapter 4)
Rat has such a hard, isolated life. Why was this when he first and only cried?
Jun-Jun is used to hardship when it comes to himself, but seeing a young girl suffer draws out his compassionate heart.
What are three examples of Childhood/Loss of childhood in Trash?
Gardo being very serious ("give me something to smile about", Part 1, Ch. 2), the boys drinking, the boys smoking, the boys going through trash since they could walk, Jun-Jun looking as "happy as a kid" for a moment (Part 1, Ch. 6)
Being kind is a weakness.
Kindness is strength in Trash.
In Part 3, Chapter 10, find a quote to support Education, Intelligence and Street Smarts.
“I learned perhaps more than any university could ever teach me.” (Part 3: Chapter 10) Olivia Weston said it.
Describe what you think Gardo, Raphael and Jun-Jun look like.
Gardo: Tall, serious, short hair. Skinny.
Raphael: Skinner, dazzling smile.
Jun-Jun: Spider-skinny legs, crooked teeth, big eyes...
“With the right key, you can bust the door wide open. Because nobody’s going to open it for you.” (Part 1: Chapter 2: Page 9)
Who said this and what does it mean?
Raphael; He said it because there is no justice in a society filled with corruption and mass poverty. You have to take your own fate into your hands; fight for your own place at the table.
If you had to write a paper on the most prominent theme or two themes in the book, which would you choose and why?
As long as you feel you connect/understand the theme(s) and have enough evidence to support it/them--you're good.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Well done!
Who won the World Cup last night?
España! (Spain)