Chapter 1 – Raphael
We are introduced to the narrator who is Raphael Fernandez and he describes himself as a dumpsite boy. He lives in Behala, which is an extremely poor place and he spends his days picking through trash on the dumpsite, hoping to find items that he can trade for money. He tells us that he spends a lot of time picking through stuppa, which is the word they use for human feces. Because most of the inhabitants of the area do not have toilets, they throw out their stuppa wrapped in paper so it is found almost everywhere on the dumpsite.
His best friend is Gardo and the two boys spend their days trawling through the trash in the hope that they can find things that will be worth money. Tin cans, plastic, rubber and tyres are things that they look for and on a good day they can make 200 pesos and on a bad day, they make 50 pesos. Raphael says that they have an advantage over the others as they move quick and can turn over trash quicker than anyone else.
Questions:
- Describe Raphael’s life from what you have learned in chapter 1.
- Would you like to live in this world? Explain your answer with reference to the first chapter.
- How has the author included a sense of mystery in this chapter? Explain.
- How does he make money?
- What advantage does Raphael and Gardo have over the old people and the kids?