Chapter 5, The Accident Summary and Analysis

In the summer of 1971, Dave was not quite eleven. He had finally learned pretty much what to expect when he did not meet one of his mother's deadlines on his chores, or if he were caught stealing. During the summer, Dave rarely got food, since he did not leave the house to attend school. Dave was subject to his mother's whims in that regard, often going three days or more without food. One night, Dave was on his third day without food and was summoned to the kitchen to do the dishes. Mother told him he had twenty minutes. Especially angry this night, Mother had a knife in her hand as she screamed at Dave, threatening to kill him if he did not finish in the time allowed.

Dave was used to his mother threats. Since he...