Part One of Trash: In My Perspective

First off, I deeply apologize to all bloggers; I've taken such a long time to read and organize my notes, though I've received the book only this week. As for the book, which I've slowly fallen in love with as chapters elapse. I was appalled at the living conditions of Raphael and the rest of his ever-expanding dump site crew. My first reaction to all of this was the first chapter at how accepting Raphael was about his way of living. I wouldn't think anybody would want to live in a situation anything near what Raphael lives through. The writing format adds an interesting twist to the story. The way that Gardo and Raphael write, going back and forth, almost like a journal or a diary.

I did a lot of deep thinking about where the setting of this book might take place. Agreeing with Brenda, Behala is a place I wouldn't want to get near either. My best guess would be somewhere in deep Latin America. Most likely to be in the Philippines, like Mr. Rogers said. As for the bag, I would have probably done the same thing. In Raphael's point of view, when considered, what are the chances of someone like me being rewarded with the money that police claim to have ready for the person who hands the bag in? Who knows, maybe they don't even have the money and are using the dump site people as puppets. If I were to give them the bag, and given nothing in return, what would I do about it? Nothing. They're the ones in charge, I would have no power over the situation. Raphael, Gardo, and Rat definitely did the right thing (as of Part 1).

Hearing multiple perspectives, gives me a peak of what the writers were feeling, thinking, and were planning on doing as of that very moment. For example: by comparing Raphael and Gardo's writing, you can tell the difference between the wise/careful and adventurous/observant. One's opinions reflects the other, showing the impact of the writers' actions toward the plot (if that makes sense...). If one writer misses something, the next writer covers, otherwise, I think the story would have had a lot of openings in detail.

While reading, I've come across the quote: "With the right key, you can bust the door wide open. Because nobody's going to open it for you". I find that quote relative to not only this story, but through several aspects of life. Some questions that have lingered on my mind: What happened to Raphael and Gardo's parents? Also, I can't help but think why someone would put a bag in the garbage ON PURPOSE. When putting it into perspective, it came down to 2 options: Either the person(s) wanted to get rid of the bag and its contents OR they wanted to put distance between themselves and whatever they had put/found in the bag. Again, when you think about it, if you truly wanted to permanently destroy something, don't you usually burn it? That takes 1 option off the list, so there's only one option left. In my opinion, the thrower-of-the-bag's main objective was to create distance between the bag and themselves. I wouldn't be surprised if they did that, considering that overall, this means that the person also threw away a bag that had a key that leads to the storage of a package meant to be sent to a person in jail who's expecting to receive a letter(s) that's formally written in some number language that only they can read. AND the police is trying to track down all of this. To think it started with one bag...