Reading: This Boy's Life; pages 241-280, By Tobias Wolff

SUMMARY:
    On page 241, Toby is greeted with phone call from a Mr. Howard who was a Hill School alumni and was interested in Toby for the school. He asked Toby if they could talk soon, and Toby agreed and suggested that they speak at the Concrete drugstore. Toby describes Mr. Howard as wearing a suit and tie, but instead of being irritated by it, he wore it with swagger. Mr. Howard conducted an informal interview with Toby in which he asked him questions about school and life, and Toby lied but responded with ease. Mr. Howard explained to Toby that Hill is not for everyone and that he might end up regretting the decision if he was chosen to go there, but Toby explained to Mr. Howard that he was set on going if he had the chance. Mr. Howard gave Toby his business card and explained to Toby that there were other boys that they were looking at for scholarship as well, and that he would let him know in a little while.
    After the meeting, Toby is in shop class and is sawing a board while talking to a friend. Next thing he knows, Toby has a sharp pain and sees the tip of his finger on the floor. Toby recalls being in extensive pain and being rushed to the hospital where he underwent surgery. When he woke up Toby had a large bandage from his wrist to his finger and was eventually let out. When at home, Toby got into a struggle with Dwight which lead to Toby falling down on his finger and crying in extreme pain. Toby's mother decided that this was the last straw and that Toby would be leaving and when she could she would get a job in Seattle.
    Toby's mother talked to a family named the Bolgers whom were a religious family except for their son Chuck who was Toby's age. Chuck was crazy and would go on wild rampages once he consumed alcohol, but he would never hurt Toby. Mr. Bolger was a pastor and applied religion in his life but did not force it on Toby. Toby explained how the church ceremonies would go, and then how Chuck would get drunk every night. One night, Toby, Chuck, and some other boys wanted to go to another town and back, but they had no gas. Chuck said he knew where to go, and the boys trudged along the muddy farmland to the Welch's farm. The Welch's were an extremely poor family, and Chuck and the boys siphoned gas out of the truck and returned home. The next morning, Mr. Bolger woke up the boys and told them to come to the kitchen now. He explained that the trails were obvious last night and made them go over and apologize to the Welchs. Chuck apologized but Toby could not because he felt so bad for the Welchs. As a result, Mr. Bolger told Toby that he would be forced to work on the Welch;s farm and help them with anything they needed.
RESPONSE: 
    This section was both funny and sad. As it went on it got funnier and funnier, but when it came up to the Welch's farm it became a sorry full story. Toby's devious ways of tricking people and cheating allows him to receive awareness from a Hill alumni which is quite funny to me. This could almost never happen nowadays. However, I felt very sad for the Welch family when Toby described them as being so ashamed of the boys because they had stolen from them when they were so vulnerable and clearly not going to make it much farther. This part has really made me think about classes in life and how to see things through other people's perspectives.