Vocabulary
Microfiche:
 a sheet of film that has very small
photographs of the pages of a
newspaper, magazine, etc., which are
viewed by using a special machine : a
sheet of microfilm


(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/microfiche)
Vocabulary, cont’d.
Eunuch
 a castrated man, sometimes placed in
charge of a harem or employed as a
chamberlain in a palace


http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/eunuch?show=0&t=1381951859
Pilferage
 The act of stealing “stealthily in small
amounts and often again and again”


http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pilferage
Chapter 21:

#1. contrast in characters
Roach’s Mom
Duncan’s Mom
• He doesn’t like talking to her (he • They like spending time together
drops the phone)
and are comfortable together
• She sent Roach away when men
(they watch a movie together)
didn’t want him around
• She cares about Duncan
Roach
Duncan
• Comes from a
• His parents love him
dysfunctional family
• He enjoys being around
• Emotionally neglected
his parents
• Hates his mother
• They joke around with
(grandmother calls her
each other (“It’s kind of
a “whore”)
a fixer-upper”)
• Thinks his grandmother
is an “old bitch”
Contrast in setting:
Roach’s Home
• Basement room
• Walls like cardboard
• Can’t escape from
Mom or
Grandmother
Duncan’s Home
• Comfortable home
• Fans to keep cool
• TV for
entertainment, cool
treats in the freezer
• Wants to spend time
with his Mother
Ch. 21
#2. How does Roach feel about his
mother?
 Doesn’t want to talk to her on the
phone—drops it (118)
 Doesn’t like what she does: “painted
like a clown, bringing back johns” (118)
 “She’s the one who dragged them back
here” (119)

Ch. 21
#3. How does Gran feel about her
daughter (Duncan’s mother)?
 Doesn’t like what she does
 Calls her “a whore” (118)

Ch. 22
#1. Describe the process that Vinny and
Duncan are using to find the “Roach” in
this chapter.
 They are matching Roach’s diary entries
with locations on the map to find his
“comfort zone” (125): this points to a
neighbourhood—Wilson Heights

Ch. 22
#2. Explain the psychology behind
Duncan’s expectation to fail.
 Because he wasn’t able to save the
drowning girl and he lives in the Jungle
where many people seem to fail, he
feels it’s his fate to fail too

Ch. 22
#3. Contrast the serious nature of what
Duncan and Vinny are doing with
humour: (list 6 humorous lines)
 “What about the yellow dot there? …
That’s just some mustard!” (123)
 “Wayne’s uniform looks like it’s been
deep fried” (123)
 “Vinny always eats like he’s performing
an autopsy, examining each bite for
evidence or something” (123)

Cont’d
“The smell of those burgers—it’s like
monkey dung… Which I hear is also
used as filler” (124)
 “The uniform castrates you. Girls don’t
see past the polyester” (124)
 “Clawed his way up. Now he things he’s
lord of the fries” (124)
 “Minimum wage, minimum effort” (125)
 “Minimum wage, maximum rage” (125)

Chapter 23
#1. Explain how Duncan finds “where
[Roach] gives himself away.”
 He peels off a scrap of paper from the
diary and finds out it is a receipt from a
hardware store in the mall (where Roach
has been shopping)
 #2. What does Duncan find out?
 Roach is an employee there (Emp dis)
(131)

Chapter 24

#1. Describe the initial setback that the
two “detectives” face in this chapter.

They discover the Roach doesn’t work in
the store after all. He works in the mall
where the store is located.
Ch. 24

#2. How does Vinny’s quotation, “But it
doesn’t feel right” (134) help them
resume their search?

They don’t think Roach could be a
maintenance worker because he wants
power; therefore, he has to be a guard
Ch. 24

#3. What is “the next step”?

Duncan and Vinny follow their two best
guard suspects home
Ch. 25
#1. “Even when I’m clean they think I’m
dirty” (142). What does this quotation
mean? Is Wayne being totally honest?
 Wayne is complaining about being fired
without cause—because they suspect him
since he has a history of petty crime.
 He is not being honest—in the next breath
he admits he has been stealing small
amounts of money, “maybe I skimmed a
twenty now and then” (142)

Ch. 25
#2. Explain the irony of the line, “It’s pretty
much a mind-numbing, soul-killing waste of
time” (146). How does the author continue
the irony in the next paragraph, spoken by
Duncan’s father?
 We know that Duncan is excited to be
chasing Roach
 Duncan’s dad is talking about prison: “a
life sentence” (146), while Duncan is
talking about hunting a serial killer; also,
Duncan doesn’t want to end up with a life
sentence in the Jungle

Ch. 25
#3. “It’s like the eye of the storm” (147).
What is it?
 Duncan’s quiet night at home—his life
with his parents at that moment, just
watching a game on the TV, like nothing
is wrong.
 What is the storm?
 The danger and exhilaration of following
the guards home (the hunt for the serial
killer)
