Section 1: Chapter 3 Summary and Analysis

In Section 1, Chapter 3, Gantos explains that after his bout with the Bacon's, he began drinking less and reading and writing more often, but his writing was haphazard at best. To attempt to correct this, he organized a journal into four sections, one for daily entries, one to record passages from books that inspire him, and one to practice vocabulary. The final section was to write down inspired ideas for books, but these ideas always filled Gantos with self doubt. He believed his stories were not interesting enough.

Gantos' school was a renovated prison, and he found himself fantasizing about prison life, believing it could lead to wonderful stories. He was not successful with girls, and spent much time alone, although he did have a few friends, and a crush on his psychology teacher. One afternoon, the entire school was...