View a FREE sample

1. What is the situation that results in Frank, Jake, and Nathan going to the jail in the middle of the night?

Nathan receives a call from the police that Gus, an employee of his and a friend of the family, has gotten into a fistfight with the town troublemaker, Morris. Alcohol inebriation has been a factor in the altercation, but it is clear once Frank, Jake, and Nathan arrive at the jail, that the true cause of the fight was Morris' trademark nastiness. Gus relates that Morris said at the bar that Bobby Cole, the 13-year-old boy recently killed by a train, was better off dead because he was a "retard" (10).

2. How does Frank convince his dad to give him the tire iron for the boys' walk home from the jail and what do they subsequently do with it?

Frank glances toward his little brother Jake and motions to their dad that Jake will feel better if they have protection along with them. The recent unpleasant events in town help to convince Nathan of the merit of Frank's idea. As soon as their dad pulls away with Gus, though, Frank leads Jake toward the bar parking lot. Here, Jake uses the tire iron to bust out all of the lights on Morris' car in retaliation for his insults toward Jake.

(read all 60 Short Essay Questions and Answers)

This section contains 6,941 words (approx. 24 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample