Jasper Jones

Charlie is afraid of bugs, and there is a wasp in his room. His mother tells him that if he is to see Jeffrey today, he must either stay in Jeffrey’s house or stay on the street nearby. Charlie sees a news article about the possibility of more Australians being sent to fight in the Vietnam War. His father is against the war. When Charlie finds out that Jeffrey is grounded and cannot play that day, he goes to the library instead and reads about murderers, trying to understand why they did what they did. Some of them were bullied or lonely, and he then thinks about Jeffrey and Jasper. He realizes the extent of the awful things that people can do and wonders whether everyone has it in them to do awful things. He also thinks about people who have witnessed crimes and failed to report them. For example, he reads about Gertrude Baniszewski, who was able to convince both her children and other children to participate in the torture of a child.

Eliza walks by and asks Charlie if he wants to walk her home. He wonders if he should hold her hand and is frustrated that he cannot find anything interesting to say.