Tape OZK0012

I read up to the eleventh section of the book, from Tape OZK0012.

The twelfth section begins with the taped conversation between Adam and Brint. Adam continues with where he had left off as he tells Brint that he was devastated down in the basement after he heard his parent’s conversation. Adam was in grave confusion as he longed for his father to come down and talk to him. The narrative changes to a third-person as the scene changes from the conversation to the actual past. When Adam’s father finds Adam in the basement, he is extremely concerned as he constantly asks if Adam is okay. Unable to hold back his confusion of his past, Adam decides to finally ask his dad what is going on and who the gray man and Martha are. Adam’s father had always feared this day that Adam will ask about their family’s past, yet it was reality.
The scene changes back to the conversation as Adam tells Brint that his father revealed that Adam’s real name was Paul Delmonte, not Adam Farmer. His father continued on telling of Adam’s past as he told Adam that the bus trip and the running into the woods was to hide from a dangerous someone. Adam realizes that they have run away from someone deadly, but he has no clue in which that someone is. The scene changes back to the third person narrative of Adam and his dad in the basement. His father unfolded his true identity as his real name was Anthony Delmonte. He was working as a reporter for Blount Telegrapher in Blount, New York. He had a successful career as he became a political reporter, being awarded for discovering the corruption in the government in Blount. With success came his wife, Louise Nolan, and his son, Adam. The scene again suddenly changes to the conversation, as Adam becomes suspicious of Brint and why he wants to desperately know all these information. Brint, however, simply ignores his question and urges Adam to continue on about the bus trip.
Adam recalls his father telling Adam in the basement about how he had testified against the senate board after finding a document showing evidence of an arranged crime involving both state and federal government. Having testified, security was promised to him and his family. However, he had to live secretly in various hotel rooms as he was only able to visit his family a few times in their guarded house. Adam couldn’t remember any part of this because he was only an infant. Despite all the things that Anthony had already told Adam about, he decided not to tell Adam everything for the sake of Adam and his safety against betrayal just in case he would be asked about the information he already knows. Brint asks about this safety against betrayal, but Adam tells that he doesn’t really remember, bringing suspicion to Brint that Adam may be with more knowledge than what he tells of. Anthony soon returned to Blount with his job back as he was extremely happy just by the fact that he can live with his family. With him testifying against the senate board, many were quietly arrested, others resigned.
The narrative changes, telling of the day that a bomb had been planted in Adam’s dad’s car. A policeman saw two strangers wandering around the house and Adam’s dad’s car as he suspected something tragic. He demanded for Anthony to stay in the house as he realized that there was a bomb in the car. The threats continued as Anthony was nearly killed one day when he was working late. As he was walking out the building, the guard suddenly pointed a gun at Anthony. However, Grey had just come in time to shoot the guard. According to Anthony, this was how Grey had become part of the Adam’s family’s life. Adam tells Brint that Grey was part of the U.S Department of Re-Identification and had been in charge of Anthony’s case. The narrative changes to the third person narrative as Anthony talks about the situation that the family is. Although Adam and Anthony, Adam’s father, talked much more than usual, they were often restricted by the fact that there might be hidden bugs in places. Adam described the U.S Department of Re-Identification as the organization that helped witnesses such as Anthony who testified against larger and powerful group of people. They helped the people live safely with new identities. After the two attempts to kill Anthony, Grey had offered Anthony to join this department as there will be many more attempts to kill Anthony. He was undecided, but after a phone call threatening his wife, Anthony didn’t have much option but to join. The scene changes back to the conversation as Adam explains that the department, therefore, moved the family to Monument with new identities as Farmers. Anthony and his wife didn’t like it yet, they had no choice but to live with it. Although there wasn’t much chance that the dangerous people would find Adam’s family, they still had to be careful. It is later explained from a third person narrative that there wasn’t much chance of Adam’s family being found because a newspaper issued stated their death as shown from a newspaper article revealed by Anthony.

Although the mystery seemed to be mainly about Adam’s past, this section reveals the true mystery of this story. The focus was on Adam’s past, making it appear as if the mystery is about Adam trying to figure out his past identity. However, the true mystery is not really about Adam’s past since most of it has already been revealed with much more sections left in the story. It is not the past that is the mystery, but the present, which are the bike trip and the taped conversation. I was fascinated by how concentrated I was of the past of Adam that I realized that I actually hadn’t even thought of what will happen to Adam in the bike trip and the taped conversation. As the mystery of Adam’s past was pretty much revealed, new questions speeded to my mind about how Adam will react in the present and how the bike trip will go.

The similar characteristics of Anthony and Adam is shown in this section as both are courageous against greater power as Anthony fights against the corrupt government senate committee and Adam fights against Brint. Brint is also brought to attention as Adam questions Brint why he wants to know the information. Brint, however, refuses to reveal his identity and his reasons for the urge to know Adam’s past. A sense of darkness builds around Brint since he does not reveal anything about himself as though he is one of the antagonists in the story. The part that I find mysterious is where Adam mentions Anthony not telling everything to him for his own safety against betrayal when he is asked about the information. It strikes me that the taped conversation is the exact situation that Anthony was concerned about, which is why he didn’t tell everything to Adam. If Anthony did unfold every question, then Adam probably would have told the information to Brint as Adam was trying to recover memory through the taped conversations. I felt terrorized as Adam simply told Brint much of all the knowledge he knew without holding back just in case Brint was not who Adam supposed them to be. It is not only Brint’s identity that creates a feeling of malevolence, but also the fact that he has great power over Adam and forces Adam to answer questions and obey his orders.

Tape OZK0011

I read up to the eleventh section of the book, from Tape OZK0011.

The eleventh section begins with the bike trip as he recovers from a devastating fall into the ditch. He is met by Arnold, a generous old man, and his wife Edna who is hostile to Adam due to her fear of strangers. Although his bike is fine, the two allow Adam to come along in their car as they head for a town called Hookset. With his body hurting from the fall, his head also starts to feel hazy as he falls asleep singing “The Farmer in the Dell.” Adam is awoken by Arnold and Edna as they arrive in Hookset. Adam, however, feels sick, deciding to go to a pharmacy to find a medicine for his upset stomach.
The scene changes to the conversation between Adam and Brint as Adam complains to Brint about the pain in his body because of all the shots he had to take. Brint apologizes and continues on with the session to make progress. With the reminder from Brint of where they had left off, Adam is able to tell more information that he remembers about the gray man. Adam tells Brint that the gray man was a mysterious man who frequently visited his family. The reason that Adam had called this man the gray man was not only because his dad called him Grey, but also that he was a vague character. During his visit, he would always go down to the basement with his dad and talk while his mother would lifelessly sit upstairs. Adam had not been suspicious of the gray man since his father told Adam that the gray man was only an insurance agent. However, after discovering the existence of his aunt and the sealed birth certificates in his father’s drawers, Adam had grown suspicious of this gray man.
The narrative changes to a third person in which the scene changes to a Saturday that the gray man had visited his father. The two swiftly headed down to the basement as usual. Adam could not hold in the suspicion of the gray man anymore as he quietly went down to the basement, trying to eavesdrop on the conversation. However, he was struck with panic as he realized that the door was soundproofed, barely stepping away in time for his dad to catch him spying. The scene returns to the taped conversation as Adam tells Brint that he had felt horrible about spying on his dad and decided to apologize to him, having realized that his father had some idea that Adam had been spying. When he went upstairs to apologize, he heard his parents talking, therefore decided to hear what their conversation was about, before he went into their room. His parents were concerned that Adam is starting to suspect them. Adam’s mother started to complain about the gray man visiting Adam’s dad in the house and how the gray man should have used his real name, Thompson. Adam’s father explains that Thompson, the gray man, uses a variety of names to survive. Adam’s father also tells that the family survived through Thompson. However, his mother is still unsatisfied that their life has to remain stagnant as if they had no life at all. Their conversation returned to the topic about Adam. Adam was growing older, but his parents didn’t really know what to do with him. Adam’s father also revealed to Adam’s mother that Adam had been spying, eavesdropping during her phone call with Martha.

The connection between the taped conversation and the first narrative of the bike trip is made stronger as more clues are revealed. During the bike trip, Adam falls into the ditch and his body is completely sore as he is helped by an elderly couple. When the scene changes to the taped conversation, Adam tells Brint that his body hurts, blaming it upon the shots he was given from the hospital. These clues continue leading to the idea that the bike trip and the conversation is occurring at the same time rather than different periods of time in Adam’s life. Another crucial hint is that Adam is in some sort of medical institute as he is having the taped conversations. When Adam arrives in the town of Hookset during his bike journey, he also enters a medical institute for some medicine to help his upset stomach. The hazy mystery between the different scenes starts to unfold little by little as more detailed clues and connections are shown.

The eleventh section shows that identity is a critical part of this mystery as Adam realizes that the gray man had been using a variety of identities to hide from danger. Adam also becomes aware that their family is in a life-threatening situation in which his family is hiding. He reasons that his parents could not socialize because they had to hide their identity. It is something about the identity of gray man and what he does, the two different birth certificates, and the emphasis the father had put on the song, “The Farmer in the Dell.” Since the dad puts such emphasis in the song, “The Farmer in the Dell,” for having their family name in the song, more suspicion is created that the name of Adam’s family has been changed. It is as though Adam’s father is trying to imprint on Adam’s mind that their family’s last name is Farmer through this song. The two different birth certificates also indicate that Adam may have once changed his identity, especially because of the fact that his father was keeping the certificates sealed in his desk drawers to keep a secret. The alternation of Adam’s identity is in a way affirmed as it is revealed that the gray man is in a same situation with Adam’s family, changing his names different times to hide his identity which direct that Adam’s family had also changed their names, having been in the similar circumstances of the gray man. More thrills is brought to the story since these clues not only show that Adam’s identity has changed, but brings curiosity of Adam’s past and what has terrible event has caused Adam’s family to change their identity.

The part of this section that has significantly stood out for me was the fact that Adam was in fear as he was in curiosity to find out about his family’s identity. Adam does try to figure out the mystery behind his family’s identity. However, he is a bit hesitant, getting an idea that his past is not a pleasant one. He is in devastation as he is confused whether he should try to find out about his past or hold back. He is full of both curiosity and fear as he knows that his past was horrifying, yet he still wants to find out. Although I haven’t been in a situation as serious as Adam’s, there were many times that I tried to figure things out when I already knew how terrifying it is. For instance, when people told me that one of my friends had a horrible past, I tried to ignore them and continue on with our relationship. Yet, I found it suspicious that he always had to go to the hospital. I soon found myself searching through his album and his mails even when I was in complete fear of finding something horrible. It was not long before I found out that my friend had gone through fourteen surgeries on his leg due to a disease. When I had finally found the truth, I desperately wished that I would have gone back in time to have never found out such tragedy, yet I continued to these acts throughout other times in my life. Through this I realized that some things aren’t told and kept a secret for a reason. Therefore, as Adam was trying to find more and more about the secret past that had been kept from him, I kept wishing in my mind that Adam would stop with the spying as I fell deeper into my reading.

Tape OZK008 to Tape OZK0010

I read up to the seventh section of the book, from Tape OZK008 to Tape OZK0010.

The eighth section begins with the taped conversation between Brint and Adam. Adam mentions the memory he recovered from the last night as he was able to recall a mysterious figured called the gray man. Adam was deepened into trying to figure out who this concealed character was. He didn’t have any knowledge of who this man was, but he knew that he had taken a significant role in his past. Oddly, Brint forcefully urges Adam to try harder to remember, but Adam is not able to remember anymore as he is intensely pressured by Brint. Brint changes the topic to Paul Delmonte since Adam had refused to talk about this man the last time Brint had brought him up during their conversation. Soon, Adam confesses that the reason he refused to talk about Paul Delmonte was because he had no idea of who Paul was. Brint then decides to dismiss Adam. The scene changes to Adam’s bike journey narrated in a first person account as he is alerted by a big ditch. As he tries to prevent himself from falling into the ditch, Whipper almost pushes Adam into the ditch as he passes by in his car. Whipper then turns around in his car as he speeds back toward Adam to hurt him. One of Whipper’s friends in the car manages to strike Adam’s shoulder as the car makes a small collision with the bike. Adam pedals for his life, but cannot match up to the powerful speed of the car as he is pushed into the ditch.

The ninth section starts with the taped conversation between Brint and Adam as Brint tries to communicate with Adam. However, Adam does not even acknowledge Brint. Brint tries to find out why Adam had been inactive, resisting to get out of bed and eat meals. Brint tells Adam that he had heard Adam was doing nothing, but simply stare into the empty space. Brint continues to talk in effort to get Adam more engaged, but it is no use. Adam continues to ignore Brint. Brint has no choice but to end the session, assuring Adam that he will help Adam recover his past.

The tenth section also begins with the taped conversation between Brint and Adam. Brint again attempts to get Adam to talk, but Adam is without a word. He had continued to be inactive, refusing to eat his meals. Brint asks about the gray man that Adam mentioned earlier, but Adam does not respond. Brint decides to end the session realizing that progress cannot be made.

Robert Cormier has a sensational way of creating an irresistible curiosity in our minds as we read. As I was reading the eighth section, I fell deeper in the taped conversation going on between Brint and Adam. The conversation felt rather peaceful as Adam seemed to tell the truth as he confesses about Paul Delmonte. However, there is no certainty that Adam is actually telling the truth since Robert Cormier had already revealed that Adam can lie and does lie. Through a third person narrative revealing Adam’s inner thoughts, Robert showed how easily Adam can lie and the deceitful thoughts that wander around in his mind. It engages the readers more powerfully as we try to decide whether Adam lying or actually telling the truth. When I came across this thought, I looked back at the conversations taped before, trying to solve this mystery of Adam’s inner thoughts. I felt as if Adam was still holding back some information, as he usually did in the previous conversations. However, it also occurred to me that Adam just might be telling the truth, based on his voice during his confessions, dragging me deeper into confusion.

More connections are also unfolded between the taped conversation between Brint and Adam, and the first person narrative of the bike trip. During his journey on his bike, Whipper, the bully he had met in the restaurant comes chasing after Adam in his car. One of Whipper’s friends then pushes Adam into a ditch. When the scene changes back to the conversation from the bike trip, Adam no longer responds to Brint, staring into the empty space. It seems as if he had been bullied and threatened, suffering to a point in which he does not want to live anymore, refusing to eat his meals. It gives a bizarre idea that it may have been possible that the bike trip and the conversation is occurring at the same time rather than at different periods of time in Adam’s life. After Adam is bullied in the bike trip, Adam is depressed in the conversations, not responding to any of Brint’s question, unlike the time he had been answering earlier before he was pushed into the ditch. This part strongly struck me since I had also been severely bullied like Adam. When my family moved to United States, we temporarily stayed at a ghetto neighborhood. As the first and only Asian boy in the whole school, the bullies in the school decided to pick on me in my first day at school. They tried to shove me into a locker, but I fought back, giving one of bullies a petrifying stab in his eyes. This only worsened the situation as I was stuck in my own locker for three hours. The school counselor realizing that I had been bullied, calling me in after school. However, I was silent, without any liveliness inside me. I sat there staring into the space as if dead. The next day, I refused to neither eat breakfast nor go to school as I fought hard to stay in bed. Although our family did eventually move to a better neighborhood, it remained as an unforgettable experience which is why this connection significantly stood out from all the other connections. Having been bullied, the connections between the two scenes were clear since Adam behaved the same way I had.