Rule Of The Bone Summary
In Rule of the Bone by Russel Banks, Chappie views the instance he takes money from his mom from his mom as the moment he becomes a “real criminal.” This is likely a peculiar statement to some, considering Chappie didn't actually steal anything. The thing is, his earlier criminal behavior wasn't necessarily dome with intent on his part. First, he finds the coins in his parents closet an begins slowly pawning them for money. He originally thought they belonged to his stepfather so he didn't really think too much into the negatives of his actions. It isn't until he is confronted that he sees what he has done as the coins are revealed to belong to his mother. He wasn't even aware that he had pawned as many as he id until he saw that, “None
of the plastic bags had more than a few coins inside and some of the bags were completely empty …” (Banks 11). The incident with the rifle seems to have been caused by high emotions, such as his fear that he was being caught stealing the remaining coins and pointing the rifle out the window at a little kid (Banks 15). Finally, he didn't see his shoplifting attempt as a crime as he saw it as “trying to do a little Christmas shopping to get back into … [his] mom's good graces” (Banks 26).
When Chappie asks his mother for money though, he sees himself as a “real criminal” because he intentionally lied to his mother and took her money. He promised to go home with his mother and stepfather, but lies to her to get money off her and split. Instead of going to get his stuff and going home to his mother like he says, he only thinks of using the money to get high. This moment is when he actively does the wrong thing rather than just passively committing crimes. It leads to further criminal behavior though he still has lines that he doesn't want to cross, such as stealing the VCRs from the bikers.
Works Cited
Banks, Russell. Rule of the Bone. New York: Harper Perennial, 1995. 1-390. Print.
of the plastic bags had more than a few coins inside and some of the bags were completely empty …” (Banks 11). The incident with the rifle seems to have been caused by high emotions, such as his fear that he was being caught stealing the remaining coins and pointing the rifle out the window at a little kid (Banks 15). Finally, he didn't see his shoplifting attempt as a crime as he saw it as “trying to do a little Christmas shopping to get back into … [his] mom's good graces” (Banks 26).
When Chappie asks his mother for money though, he sees himself as a “real criminal” because he intentionally lied to his mother and took her money. He promised to go home with his mother and stepfather, but lies to her to get money off her and split. Instead of going to get his stuff and going home to his mother like he says, he only thinks of using the money to get high. This moment is when he actively does the wrong thing rather than just passively committing crimes. It leads to further criminal behavior though he still has lines that he doesn't want to cross, such as stealing the VCRs from the bikers.
Works Cited
Banks, Russell. Rule of the Bone. New York: Harper Perennial, 1995. 1-390. Print.