Michael Nelson-Summary ch.3-4

1) Chapter three begins at the start of his second day at the shelter. The men are being kicked out without breakfast because none of them chose to clean the floors. Shepard then goes on about all the new things he is taught about the shelter at his orientation. After orientation and his TB test he goes out to look for a job for a good part of the day, but with no success. At dinner he talks about how he becomes one of the “in” guys at the shelter and begins making friends. On the next day, Friday, he goes to work at a construction site which he seems to enjoy and plans on returning Sunday. The next day Shepard works at a baby clothes store which ends up being a terrible experience. The men were treated poorly and received very little pay. He lashes out at the owner of the store and decides that from then on he would be himself and always say what he thought. When He gets back to the shelter he and Marco decide to team up and become roommates when they have the money. Later, Larry tells him he got a job and he will be moving out the next week. Shepard doesn’t like his decision but Larry ignores him. The chapter ends with him looking foreword to Sunday at the construction site.

2) Shepard usually writes with a positive tone. He is often looking foreward to one thing or another. For the first time in the book, in chapter 4 the tone becomes very negative and angry because of his experience at the baby clothes store. He generally presents the men at the shelter as good people. The people they work for are often explained negatively, he often calls them lazy or careless, but the baby clothes store owner is the first he truly seemed to dislike.