Chapter Six:
1. When Joseph arrives for his second drawing session, what changes have occurred to the silkworm eggs and to Tom Leyton?
When Joseph arrives for his second drawing session, changes have occurred to the silkworm eggs and to Tom Leyton. The silkworms have hatched into hundreds of active black shapes which are busily eating mulberry leaves as Joseph has a close look at them. Joseph is surprised by the fact that the broken shells of the silkworm eggs did hatch even though they looked dead during the last time he visited. Another change Joseph recognizes is Tom Leyton's appearance. According to his sister Caroline, every time the silkworm eggs hatch Tom goes to have a haircut. Joseph thinks that Tom's haircut does not change his hard and mysterious look but it does make him look neater with his hair brushed back, cut and tied behind his head and with his beard tidily trimmed.
2. Read the description of Tom Leyton's room. (pp.84-5) What does the room suggest about the man who lives there?
According to the description of Tom Leyton's room on page 84 and 85, it suggests that the man who lives there is as normal as anyone in the neighbourhood. The room consists of bare walls which are a dull tan colour, a floral green carpet that covers the floor, a neatly made bed, double windows, a large closet, two bookcases which contain a few old newspapers, a desk which has several pieces of stationery placed on top of it and a cork notice board which has a few pieces of paper pinned onto it. None of the furniture in the room gives anyone the feeling that the man who lives there has dark secrets and is mysterious to the neighbours.
3. What do the two drawings that Joseph sees on the notice board - Escher's angels and devils and the illustration of Frankenstein's monster - suggest to you about Tom Leyton? (pp.86-7)
The two drawings that Joseph sees on the notice board suggest special meanings about Tom Leyton. The drawing of Escher's angels and devils implies that the world has both good and bad things. For example: in this drawing there are bat-like devils who have outstretched wings and sweet innocent angels that only exist if the other does. The spaces between the angels created the devils while the devils allowed the angels to exist by their shape.The illustration of Frankenstein's monster explains how any dangerous person could look normal. For example: the Frankenstein monster in Tom Leyton's drawing has no features of a stereotyped one. There are no scars or bolts on the face, no weird robot-like posture and no insane, distorted or subhuman appearance. In fact, the monster just looks like an ordinary person. When Tom Leyton speaks about his drawing, he gives a message to the reader that most monsters do look like a typical person and that Joseph should be careful who he befriends.
4. Joseph comments that the image of Frankenstein's monster "just looks like a normal man". What is the effect of Tom Leyton's reply, "Most monsters do"?
When Tom Leyton replies to Joseph that most monsters do look like a normal man, it seems that he is applying that fact to himself. The text suggests that Tom believes that he is an evil person who has seen a lot of bad things happening in the world (especially during the time he was a soldier in the Vietnam War). The effect of Tom's words builds on his character and personality. The words also seem to reflect on his dark past which has not been revealed to the reader yet.
5. In what ways could the lines of the poem that Tom Leyton recites relate to him? (pp.95-6)
The lines of the poem that Tom Leyton recites relate to his life. They seem to give the idea of how silkworms are imprisoned and how they are not allowed to be set free to Tom Leyton himself. They relate to him because like the silkworms, he is kept captive and cannot escape his dark secrets and memories about the terrible Vietnam War that haunts him. The horrible recollections will always keep replaying in his mind and no matter how much he wants to get rid of them he cannot because they simply will not escape his head.
6. How has Joseph's impression of Tom Leyton changed by the end of Part I? What has caused this change?
At the end of Part I, Joseph's impression of Tom Leyton has changed because he now thinks that underneath the strange and silent man he encountered, there is a part of Tom Leyton who is kind. Joseph knows that the friendly side of Tom exists because of the way he sees him looking after the silkworms, the way Tom reads the silkworm poem with a rich voice and such emotion and finally the way Tom shyly slips the poem into Joseph's art equipment.
7. Why do you think Part I of the novel is called "All Their Lives in a Box"?
I think Part I of the novel is called "All Their Lives in a Box" because it talks about how Joseph and Tom's life is related to the life of a silkworm. Their lives are both "in a box". This is because Joseph is really timid and shy but when he meets Tom Leyton (the subject he was going to draw for his art project) he has to face his fear of overcoming his nervousness and anxiety. Tom has to overcome his fear of his darkest secrets about the Vietnam War. Until these fears have been conquered their lives will be imprisoned and caged like silkworms.
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