Earl Singleton III

Earl Singleton III, who is referred to as Trey throughout the novel, is the first-person narrator and protagonist in My Government Means to Kill Me. At the outset of the novel, he revokes his trust fund and moves to New York city from Indianapolis. Shortly after moving into the Chelsea Hotel, Trey meets Gregory who introduces him to the gay scene in New York and take him to Mt. Morris Baths, the only bathhouse in the city to remain open after the outbreak of AIDS. He spends his first moths in the city clubbing, cruising men at Mt. Morris, and working odd jobs. Later on, after neglecting to pay his rent, Trey devices a scheme to implore his landlord to forgive the back rent. However, the housing developer assumes that he is planning a rent strike backed by the ACLU. Trey consults his mentor, Bayard Rustin...