Climax: In the last section of the book, the boys tell the story together, why does the author make this happen? What does this do to the story? (pace, excitement etc.)

The end of the story is told by all three of the boys. I believe that the author has done this to show a sense of achievement from the boys, they have finally solved this crime that has been hidden for years. This also adds excitement, having the last part of the book being read by three characters rather than just the usual one, it gives a different feeling as you read. Doing this at the end of the book helps the story feel more finished and not left hanging off. I feel this is because the story has been told by different people in different situations, at the end they all come together at the end, having completed their journey to finish off their tale.

Style: At the end of part 4, Andy Mulligan uses newspaper stories to reveal further information about Senator Zapanta and the mystery. What information is revealed? Do all of the papers share the same view? How is this an effective way to reveal the story?

Coming to the end of part 4, the writer Andy Mulligan shows newspaper articles to shed some more light on Senator Zapanta and the mystery of the crime they have been trying to solve. I think these articles have a similar point of looking at this controversy but the perspectives are just a tiny bit different. This is an effective way of revealing information because it gives information on what the public would react to what is going on in the book. This technique also summarises what the whole mystery has been about without having to be trapped in all that suspense.

Empowerment: By the end of the novel, Rat states, “Jun – no longer Rat. My name is Jun-Jun” (p.217). What can be inferred about Rat’s new sense of self? How have Raphael and Gardo enabled this transformation?

At the end of the novel ‘Trash’ Rat states “Jun – no longer Rat. My name is Jun-Jun” (p.217). I believe that he states this because he has gained a new form of confidence in himself and believes that he is worth something in this world, whereas before he was treated with disrespect; like he was rubbish. Gardo and Raphael contributed in this transformation by sticking with him, befriending him. Thus making him believe that he can survive in this world with those that care for him and those that HE cares for. After all he’s been through with these two trying to bring justice to the crime, he has finally been able to accept that he deserves respect, from himself AND from others.

Multiple Perspectives: Throughout the novel, Raphael, Gardo, and Rat take turns recounting their story. How does hearing the multiple perspectives of this story benefit you?

The multiple perspectives benefits us because different characters know different things and it helps because the different characters that recount the story also have a different life, living under different conditions. With them recounting the story we get a bit of a taste of what they go through. This also creates suspense which is always good for a reader, otherwise you’d be pretty bored and throw the book away. It creates suspense because the different knowledge that are told are sometimes not given with a bit of background information on what it’s actually about, making you not know what’s going on. Some characters that recount the story are, Rat, Grace, Father Juilliard, Sister Olivia, Gardo and Raphael.

This story is about…”: Using the phrase, “This is a story about…” Supply five words or phrases to describe Trash. Explain your choices.

This story is about life in poverty, it shows how rough the people in poverty’s lives are and how strong they must be to endure how they are treated; without respect. This story is also about friendship, the story has included three boys, two of them have been friends for a while, loyal friends with each other but at a point in the story, they build another friendship bond with Rat or Jun-Jun. This friendship just started out by having Raphael and Gardo needing a favour from Rat but they’ve become real close after all they’ve been through; their connection with each other tightened along the way, they started caring for each other. Trash is about justice, many freedom fighters and people who want to expose injustice have shown up throughout the book, our three main characters for example have been trying to expose Senator Zapanta and the corrupt police to avenge Jose Angelico, Gabriel Olondriz and Pascal Aguila. Jose Angelico and Pascal Aguila are also great examples of freedom fighters. Trash is about showing that not everyone has a peaceful world; the book shows this town with corrupt policemen and a Senator that takes away the government’s money and smuggling it for his own purposes. Lastly, the book Trash is also about corruption, they show how corrupt police can be, doing anything for money and having it their way, making their job easier. They try to bribe people to do their dirty work, always not keeping their end of the bargain. They even beat up children such as Raphael for information they need.

Characters: Discuss the character traits that allow Raphael, Gardo, and Rat to ultimately persevere. How are these characters similar to each other? In what ways are they different? Which character are you most like?

Even though he characters Raphael, Gardo and Rat are living in poverty, they persevere while striving to bring justice to this crime thanks to their individual characteristics that make them tough. Gardo, for one is a brave and loyal friend to these two. He believes that these two mean more to him than his own life, he would do anything, even giving away his own life, to make sure his friends are safe. “Praying to God that both my friends were safe.” (page 152 of Chapter 1 Part 4) Gardo saying this proves that he cares a lot for his friends, even as he was in danger he had time to worry about his friends. Part of this loyalty is probably due to the fact that he has no family and probably considers his close and dear friends, Raphael and Rat to be his family. Raphael however is a kind hearted and tough boy, the police beat him but he’s still as tough as ever and he didn’t say a single word about what he really knew to them. Rat is used to rough conditions and so he is able to do things like this, he also has quite a vast knowledge of the city, having been in many different places around the city. A common thing they all share is that one type of toughness that the harsh lifestyle of Behala bred onto and trained them in; being able to handle themselves and also having physical toughness. I am not really like any of them, I don’t think I would be able to handle all the things that they go through and all the things going on with their lives.

Family: Using the phrase, “In this story, family means…” Discuss the issue of family in Trash. Explain your choices.

In this story, family means they stick together and feel each other’s hard times and good times. For example, when Raphael was being taken away by the police, it was said that when someone feels pain, the whole dumpsite was feeling distress and panic. They’ve got each others’ backs and care for each other. This closeness is needed in their little civilization in the dumpsite of Behala, because many of these poor children are orphans or have no family at all. An example of someone with no family at all would be Gardo. Also, his friend Gardo is an orphan with no parents however, he does have an aunty that looks after him.