Essay Questions

What does Bam-Bam mean by "gun-weight"?

As Bam-Bam holds a gun in his hand, being instructed by Josey to shoot a man in order to make him "a man", Bam-Bam wonders about the weight of the gun. He wonders if it's simply the weight of it that weighs him down or is it the power that the gun gives him. there is a battle in his mind, wondering if with the gun he wields the power or if the gun wields power over him.

Such a situation brings into focus the rampant violence in Kingston, where guns and firearms control men rather than the other way around, anything otherwise if more of a wishful illusion by those who wield them.

How does the situation in Kingston be described by Papa-Lo?

It becomes quite clear that the violent situation is to an extreme extent in Kingston and Papa-Lo rightfully explains how the worsening political situation there ties into the violence itself. Both of these things are tied in a complex manner, with one helping the other to a further level, as Papa-Lo recalls the role PNP played in wreaking havoc in order to gain political power. His reflection on these power plays show how deeply politics is rooted in local violence in the place, while the violence further complicates the political scene.

Who is Sir Arthur George Jennings?

Sir Arthur George Jennings was a former politician. Though he is not a character who is still alive as the story begins, he serves as a narrator, speaking from the afterlife. He creates a prelude of sorts at the start of each of the sections in the novel.

Jennings describes the novel itself as boring and bland, though one of his main concerns remain about the lack of acknowledgement of the true cause of his death. He emphasizes that it was no accident and that he was murdered, thrown off the balcony by Peter Nasser, who remains free.