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.
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.
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