Part Two, Becoming the Teacher Summary and Analysis

Part Two, "Becoming the Teacher," begins with chapter seven. At six months, Billy was hospitalized for a blockage in his airways. He has an older brother, Jim, and his parents are in show business though his father, Johnny, is on the downhill slide. His sister, Kathy Jo, is born and on Jim's fifth birthday, Johnny is released briefly from the hospital for alcohol addiction and overdoses. It's then that Christene appears, growing close to Kathy though Christene and Billy are both afraid when they lose chunks of time to each other. Billy has also seen a young boy by now, though this youngster has no name. When Johnny succeeds in his next suicide attempt, Billy's mother, Dorothy, takes the family to Ohio. One day Billy breaks a cookie jar and, fearing punishment, goes...