Chapter Questions for Trash by Andy Mulligan:

PART ONE:
Chapter One
1. What is stuppa and why is it wrapped up in paper?
2. “I don’t want to upset anyone, that’s not my business here.” Why is this statement
ironic considering Raphael’s job and life?
3. What is their town called?
4. What mountain range does Raphael compare the garbage piles to and why?
5. “You want to come see?” Why do you think the writer uses the second person
pronoun ‘you’ in this sentence?
6. How old was Raphael when he started sorting rubbish?
7. What implement do they use to pick up the rubbish?
8. Who is Raphael’s rubbish collecting partner?

Chapter Two
1. How old are the boys?
2. What is a ‘special’?
3. How much money did Raphael find?
4. What else did they find that was interesting?
5. “You don’t want to draw attention to yourself or you can lose what you find.” What
does Raphael mean when he says this?
6. Raphael says, “With the right key, you can bust the door wide open.” Usually a key is
used to open a door to let someone out. What could ‘busting the door open’
represent for Raphael and Gardo? How are they trapped?

Chapter Three:
1. What did the policemen offer as a reward for finding the bag?
2. What does Raphael tell the police he found after his Auntie tells them he found
something?
3. Who does Raphael live with?
4. List all of Raphael’s personal possessions:
5. What do the boys decide to do with the bag?

Chapter Four:
1. What is Rat’s real name and why do people call him Rat?
 2. Why is the trash ‘alive at night’?
3. Where does Rat live?
4. Why does Raphael describe Rat as a spider?
5. How much money does Raphael offer Rat to keep the bag hidden?
6. What does the key open and how does Rat know this?

Chapter Five:
1. What did you notice about the way Gardo narrates compared to Raphael and what
does this show us about his personality?
2. What colour was the handbag that someone found in the rubbish?
3. What do you think Gardo means when he says to Raphael’s Auntie, “If one of us got
all that money you think we’d be allowed to keep it for long?”

Chapter Six:
1. How does the writer show us who is narrating the chapter?
2. How do the boys get to the central train station?
3. How much are the police offering as a reward for the bag now?
4. What was inside the locker?

Response Time!
What is your reaction to the book so far? What do you think of the characters and their way
of life? What do you think might happen next? Are you interested to find out? Has there
been anything so far that has surprised or shocked you? Does the story remind you of
anything?

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End of Part One Questions

 TRASH – PART TWO QUESTIONS:
P2 Chapter 1:
1. Who is narrating this chapter?
_______________________________________________
2. What is the name of the mission school he runs and how long has he been running it
for?
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3. Who was Pascal Aguila and what was he known for?
_____________________________
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4. What did the boys say they needed the computer for?
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5. What were they really researching?
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P2 Chapter 2:
1. What happened to Raphael that night?
________________________________________
2. What number interrogation room is Raphael taken to?
___________________________
3. What does the policeman do to Raphael to try and get him to talk?
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4. What gave Raphael the strength to keep lying to the police?
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P2 Chapter 3:
1. What is the landmark that Raphael recognizes?
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 2. Where did Jose Angelico die?
_______________________________________________
3. What was Jose Angelcio arrested for?
_________________________________________
4. Who did he rob and how much money did he take?
______________________________
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5. What is Jose Angelico’s relationship to Gabriel Olondriz?
_________________________
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6. Where is Gabriel Olondriz?
_________________________________________________

P2 Chapter 4:
1. Who is narrating this chapter and what is her job?
_______________________________
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2. What is the name of the Vice-President who Jose Angelico stole from?
______________
3. What is the name of Jose Angelico’s daughter?
_________________________________
4. What is the narrator’s opinion of Jose Angelico?
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End of Part Two Questions
TRASH – PART THREE CHAPTER QUESTIONS:

P3 Chapter 1:
1. Who is narrating this chapter?
_______________________________________________
2. Where is she from and what was she doing in Behala?
___________________________
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 3. What does she say about charity work?
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4. What do they tell her to get her to agree to go to the prison?
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5. Why do they think she will be able to get into the prison?
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6. What do they stop for on the way to the prison?
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P3 Chapter 2:
1. Who is narrating this chapter?
_______________________________________________
2. “Things were about to get very dangerous indeed.” The author concludes the chapter
with this sentence. Why do you think the author does this?
_______________________
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P3 Chapter 3:
1. “Rats and children, children and rats, and you sometimes think they have pretty much
the same life.” What do you think about Olivia’s interpretation of the Behala lifestyle?
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2. Why are there people living outside the prison?
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3. How much do they charge to get into the prison?
_______________________________
P3 Chapter 4:
1. What does Olivia think about the conditions in the prison?
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2. What does Gardo think about the conditions in the prison?
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P3 Chapter 5:
1. Why is Gabriel Olondriz in jail?
______________________________________________
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2. How much money did Gabriel suspect the senator of stealing?
____________________
3. What is the money called and what was it meant to be used for?
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P3 Chapter 6:
1. Who is narrating this short chapter and why?
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2. What does Gardo reveal about how his opinion of Raphael has changed?
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P3 Chapter 7:
1. Where did Senator Zapanta store the money he stole?
___________________________
2. What crimes was Gabriel Olondriz framed for?
_________________________________
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3. What news does Gardo give Gabriel that upsets him?
____________________________
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P3 Chapter 8:
1. Who is narrating this chapter and where is it set?
_______________________________
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2. What is the name of the suburb where senator Zapanta lives?
_____________________
3. What happened to the bag and wallet that were hidden in Rat’s ‘house?’
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4. How much money does Rat have and where does he keep it?
______________________
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5. Where is Rat from originally?
________________________________________________
6. What is Rat saving up for and how much does he need?
__________________________
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7. Why does Raphael agree when Rat says, “You can’t stay here Raphael?”
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P3 Chapter 9:
1. Who is narrating this chapter and where does the action take place?
________________
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2. How do they get to the house?
______________________________________________
3. Who do they run into on the grounds?
________________________________________
4. What does he tell them about how Jose Angelico got the stolen money out of house?
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P3 Chapter 10:
1. Who is narrating this chapter?
_______________________________________________
2. How many children did Dante Jerome adopt?
__________________________________
3. What does Gardo learn about the numbers at the bottom of the letter?
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4. What book do they need to break the code?
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5. What is the name of guard who has promised to help them?
______________________
6. What happened to Olivia the next day?
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7. What does she compare money to towards the end of the chapter? Do you think this
is a good comparison? Why/why not?
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Response Time!
What did you think of Part 3 of the book? What part(s) did you enjoy/dislike and why?
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End of Part 3 Questions

TRASH – PART FOUR CHAPTER QUESTIONS:

Chapter 1:
1. Who is narrating this chapter?
_______________________________________________
2. Why do they leave Behala?
_________________________________________________
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3. Where do they end up staying?
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4. How much does Marco want for the bible?
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5. Why does Rat go back to Behala?
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 6. How does he get into the safe?
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7. What does he leave behind and why did he do this?
_____________________________
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Chapter 2
1. Who is narrating this chapter?
_______________________________________________
2. “They would break every bone in all our bodies, slow and mean and loving it.”
Knowing what the police would do to them, the boys carry on anyway. What does this
show us about them?
____________________________________________________________
3. Where does he meet Marco?
_______________________________________________
4. How does he manage to escape?
_____________________________________________
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Chapter 3
1. Who is narrating this chapter?
_______________________________________________
2. What happened the next morning?
___________________________________________
3. “…because someone gave us away…” Why is this a good way to end the chapter?
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Chapter 4
1. What does the slash mean in the book code?
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 2. Where do they find the map reference number?
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3. Where does the map reference lead them to?
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Chapter 5
1. Who is narrating this chapter?
_______________________________________________
2. How do they get out of the room?
____________________________________________
3. What do the Police say to Gardo to try and get him to come out?
___________________
______________________________________________________________________
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Chapter 6
1. Who is narrating this chapter?
_______________________________________________
2. What was Rat’s idea to get the police off their tails?
_____________________________
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3. How did the boys get to the cemetery?
________________________________________
4. Why are there lots of other people heading to the cemetery?
______________________
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Chapter 7
1. Who is narrating this chapter and what does he do?
_____________________________
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2. How are the poor buried in the Navaro cemetery?
_______________________________
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3. Who did Jose Angelico get the gravestone for?
_________________________________
4. What was written on the gravestone and what does this remind you of?
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5. What is Vice President Zapanta trained as?
____________________________________
6. What is the name of his company and why is this ironic?
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7. Why did Zapanta gain notoriety three years ago?
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8. How much money are the papers reporting was stolen from Zapanta?
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9. What do these newspaper articles tell us about the public’s opinion of Zapanta?
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End of Part Four Questions
TRASH – PART FIVE CHAPTER QUESTIONS:
Chapter 1
1. What is different about the way this chapter is narrated?
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 2. What is the Day of the Dead and what do people do on it?
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3. What is the number of the grave they are looking for?
___________________________
4. What colour is the angel they are looking for?
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Chapter 2
1. How much does it cost to rent a grave?
_______________________________________
2. What is written on Maria Angelico’s gravestone?
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3. Whose grave is above it?
___________________________________________________
Chapter 3
1. Who is the girl that they meet in the graveyard?
________________________________
2. What is she doing there?
___________________________________________________
Chapter 4
1. What condition is Pia Dante in?
______________________________________________
2. What does Rat do to help her?
______________________________________________
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3. Where do they find the money?
_____________________________________________
4. “It looked like change. It looked like the future.” Why does Raphael describe the
money like this?
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Chapter 5:
1. What is different about the way Rat introduces himself to narrate this chapter? What
does this show you about his character?
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2. What is their idea of what to do with the money?
_______________________________
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3. What does Rat do first when they get to Behala?
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4. What does he take from the mission house?
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5. How do the boys distribute the money throughout the town?
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6. “…that wild wind took it all over our beautiful, terrible town.” Why is this a good way
to describe the town?
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7. What did they find at the bottom of the money?
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Chapter 6
1. Who is narrating this chapter?
_______________________________________________
2. Where do they go and what do they do there?
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Appendix
 1. “He set me ablaze, as he started so many fires.” What does he mean by this?
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2. What number combinations did Zapanta use to lock the vault?
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3. How did Jose Angelico get the key to the vault?
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4. How many times did he try before he got the key right?
__________________________
5. “It is accomplished.” What does this mean and why is this an appropriate way to end
the novel?
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Response Time!
What did you think of the novel? Did you like the ending?
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End of Part Five Questions Thanks to K Walton