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.
