pp. 34-50 Summary and Analysis

There was a high school English teacher, Jack MacFarland, who greatly influenced Mike Rose and stimulated his interest in reading and writing. MacFarland provided a role model for Mike who began to like receiving good grades. It is MacFarland who began to interest Mike in going on to college. He arranged for Mike's acceptance at Loyola University as a probationary student and helped him obtain student loans. The personal interest of this teacher probably changed Mike Rose's life.

Mike and other students would visit MacFarland's apartment and Mike learned about an entirely different kind of lifestyle. The boys began to frequent the cinema and spent time in coffee shops discussing the books they'd borrowed from MacFarland and read. Mike realized the value of knowledge and information.

Rose fixed one of the trailers behind his mother's house to use as...