Monday, 3 December 2012

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.

Monday, 26 November 2012

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.

Wednesday, 21 November 2012

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.

Monday, 12 November 2012

Creating Suspense!


Within the book Trash by Andy Mulligan, a lot of suspense is added to keep the reader wondering and reading. It is very effective because readers will just be curious throughout the whole book and keep reading to know what happens in the story.

He places a trail of clues for readers to follow along adding on one after another elements of mystery. For example he always adds on a mysterious item that usually reveals a piece of information that they would know nothing about. An example of these items is the first thing they found, the bag full of things. They gave us a name of a person that we didn’t know about yet; Jose Angelico.

Another method of suspense he used was conflict. He created conflict between characters to make readers question who would win or what would result out of their rivalry. Some rivalries found throughout Trash are Raphael with the police racing against to see who would solve the mystery or hide and bury the whole mystery and all evidence related to it.

In addition he also makes the characters work against a deadline to increase suspense and make readers wonder if they’re gonna do what they need to do in time. They put in quite a lot of scenarios or problems that characters have to complete in time or before someone else in order to be ‘safe’ or to survive. For example, the dumpsite boys are in one whole huge race against the police to see who could bury or solve the mystery first. If the dumpsite boys were to solve the mystery first the police knew they would be ruined and exposed. But if the police were to bury the mystery before the boys could solve it the boys would never be able to solve the mystery and bring justice to the crime.

Andy Mulligan also switches between characters, this method helps to create suspense because it makes us wonder what is happening to the others. This technique is also used for the purpose that different characters know different things and if they start talking about something that hasn’t been told before, the reader would be completely confused about what they are talking about. This creates suspense, compelling you to read on. Some characters that recount the story are, Rat, Grace, Father Juilliard, Sister Olivia, Gardo and Raphael.
He also makes the reader wonder about the nature and purpose of some characters, whether they are good, or evil. An example of this is Jose Angelico, when the police come by searching for the thrown away belongings of Jose Angelico, it makes you wonder what the police want with him, if he’s a bad man. But then it is also revealed that the police are bad, corrupt people and makes you lean over to the opinion that he is a good guy. In addition, we also feel this way about Gabriel Olondriz, the first impression we get of him is that he is a bad and dangerous man that went to prison for a murder of some sort. But when he tells his story it makes you wonder if he’s a good guy and he’s telling the truth or he is COMPLETELY devious and made up a big lie to sound innocent.

Sunday, 4 November 2012

Is it okay to lie?


Throughout the novel Trash many characters have been seen lying for their own reason. Some of the lies were by the three main characters or the three dump site boys if you will. The main reason behind their lies was for survival in their life of poverty and also to bring justice by straightening out the mystery set in the book. One of the first of the tall tales from the boys told was when they wanted to use the computer and had to lie to Father Juilliard in order to do so. They needed to search up about Jose Angelico to learn more about him, however they told Father Juilliard that they were researching for a quiz. The next lie they made was by Raphael when he lied to his aunt about the bag, about being safe and a whole lot of things related to what the police wanted. The reason for this lie was that he didn’t want his aunt to worry. Another lie they made was when the boys needed Sister Olivia to take him to the prison to see Gabriel Olondriz. But instead of telling her the truth about wanting to see Gabriel Olondriz, Gardo told Sister Olivia that he needed to see his grandfather who was in prison. This lie was made because they urgently needed to see Gabriel Olondriz to figure out the mystery. Raphael also has a reputation of lying to the police in this book. The first time he lied was when he told the police that he did not find a bag when he actually did, instead he told them that all he found was shoe. He also told a series of lie when he was being interrogated by the police. He believed that these fibs had to be made in order to protect what they have and solve the mystery.

Other than the boys, the police have also been seen lying in the book. The police use lying negatively and only in selfish situations where they are too lazy to do what they’re supposed to. For example, the reward they offered for the finding of the bag they were looking for was probably a lie they made to get what they want. That reason is the main reason the police in Trash lie. They lie to get what they want so they keep their name clean and to speed up the process of doing their job. They also never revealed or shed some truth over what they want with the bag and the belongings of Jose Angelico or in fact what happened to him.

Lying isn’t a very good thing to do but in certain dire situations it is essential for some to lie. The example of survival earlier is a good example. Without lying sometimes Raphael, Gardo, Rat and all the other people of Behala might not still be alive. Another good excuse to lie is when it is for the greater good, unlike how police use the power of lying. The police in this book demonstrate a good example why NOT to lie.

Tuesday, 23 October 2012

Trash - Part 1.

The novel Trash is about three dumpsite boys who live in poverty in a place known as Behala. The story features two main characters, Raphael and Gardo. It also has another important character, Rat. One day while doing their daily searches in the dumpsite, Raphael found a bag that contained a key, map, wallet and two pictures of a girl in a uniform dress. What interested them the most was the money in the wallet. They split the money with Raphael getting a portion more because he found it. The police arrived at the dumpsite not long after, described a bag like the one Raphael found and said it belonged to a friend of theirs. They also said the bag could help them solve a crime they were working on. They promised a huge reward for all the families living in Behala and an even larger amount for the person who actually finds and returns it to them. Despite the promises that were made, Raphael and Gardo knew not to trust them as far when it comes to dealing with money, they have a bad reputation, especially when it comes to fulfilling their promises. To keep the bag and important items it contains away from the police they went to a boy named Rat. Not a normal boy, an outcast who lives in isolation, far away from all the other people in Behala. Rat was not his real name he has had another nickname before this, which was monkey boy named after his eyes. His real name however, was Jun-Jun. He got the nickname Rat for living with the rats and looking like a rat. They travelled to Rat's house at night, the trash seemed very alive at night with all the things crawling in it. Raphael and Gardo explained the situation they were in and why they wanted to use his house as a hiding place for the item they have found. They then showed him the contents of the bag revealing the wallet, key, map and pictures mentioned earlier. The key is what was thought by them to be what the police are after. Raphael and Gardo were trying to think of what the use of the key was. They thought the most probable use of the key was that it was a house key, but Rat knew what the key was for. Rat soon revealed that the key is used to open one of the lockers in Central Station. He knew this because before living in Behala he used to survive day by day in Central Station. Raphael and Gardo were now curious about what would turn up in the locker and wanted to go as soon as they could but with the police's visit tomorrow, it just isn't possible. So they just left the bag and its contents in a hole in Rat's home. Due to his outcast status, this is the perfect hiding place as not many people know or even want to know him. The next day Raphael and Gardo along with almost everyone in Behala tried their best to search for what the police were looking for, or in their case 'pretended'. They pretended to search like everyone else so suspicion would not be drawn to them and the money they would receive is a bonus. No matter how much Behala searched they would never find it, only three boys in the world would know where it is. Everything was dandy but that night, Raphael's aunt feared of their safety. She knows about what the police are capable of and the bad things they have, would or could do to you. Raphael persistently reassured her that they were safe, but for this moment, he knew he was telling lies. The three boys met up early in the morning at the train track, waiting for the train that would take them out to Central Station. They discussed and ran through again what they were going to do when they get there whilst in the train. After successfully opening the locker they made sure they were out of the guards' sight and hastily ran away. The locker contained a letter addressed to a prisoner with random numbers on it.


Part 1 contained two main ideas or themes that can easily be revealed by a few quotes from the book. These two themes are 'police corruption' and 'dangers of poverty'. An example of 'dangers of poverty' would be the trash raining or falling down on you while you're sorting through the trash. "You're working under the trash as it's raining down, and the guards try to get you away." is a quote from page 7 of the book. You could also have a part of you severed or torn off right from your body. "I knew a boy lost an arm that way." is another quote from page 7 of Trash. There are many other reasons of poverty being dangerous. You're in the garbage up to your knees sorting through trash, "It was dead trash underfoot, and it was damp - you were up to your knee." from page 22. Some other dangers are all the different types of dangerous and sharp trash you could step in and also that the trash could be unstable, collapsing making you fall back injuring yourself from the fall or from what you land on.

The other theme 'police corruption', is also repeatedly featured in the book. The characters of the book always talk about the police in a way of them being horrid people with bad reputations of not doing things right. They are thought to be violent by the way the book portrays them. It also seems like the police seem to have no interest of what poor and lower status people think of them, as if they can't do anything. Some quotes from the book include, "I don't want us getting caught up with the police. Everyone knows what things they do." from page 34. "But everyone knows not to trust too far. What if they just took it and drove off laughing? What was I going to do to stop them?" from page 12.