Blacktop Wasteland

When Bug hints that he is going to partner with Ronnie for a job, Boonie, Kelvin, and Kia all warn him against it. What would make Bug decide to participate in a holdup when all the people he trusts most advise him against it?

Is Bug a hero or an antihero? First, define your understanding of both, and use at least three examples from the novel to support your assessment of Bug.

Cosby renders Bug’s character such that he likely elicits empathy from the reader, who may even hope that the protagonist succeeds in his crimes. However, if the reader were to hear a news report about robbers eluding police, most likely the reader would hope the driver was apprehended. Since Bug is technically a criminal who commits serious felonies, why might a reader be inclined to hope he succeeds?

Usually in a novel, the protagonist is somehow changed by the end of the story, marking out a discernible character arc. Does Bug change, or stay the same? In what ways? Cite at least three examples from the text to support your answer.

Bug has extensive understanding and ability. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of vehicles and how they can be refitted for specific tasks. He grasps the dangers inherent in any potentially criminal activity. He also understands others’ underlying motives and how those people will respond in given situations. Bug is quite educated in many ways, yet in his conversation with his son Javon, he tells him to strive for an education beyond what Bug has. Why does Bug perceive himself to be uneducated? How does his education differ from the one he wants for his son?

From the beginning of the present-day portion of the narrative until its end, the body count of characters who died violently is at least 16 people, for six of whom Bug is directly responsible. How logical is it for Bug to assume that the Virginia state police, Red Hill County sheriff, North Carolina state police, or the gangster Shade will not eventually link him to any of the murders?

What is Cosby’s intent in leaving so many unfinished storylines? For instance, he does not tell the reader if Bug leaves or stays, if Darren lives or dies, if Javon is discovered to be the Precision garage arsonist, how Bug retrieves and buries Kelvin, or what Bug might do to help the Gay family after the father’s death. That he leaves so many story threads hanging loose is clearly intentional. Is he planning a sequel or a series of books about Bug? Does he intend the reader to finish these stories?

In their most serious discussion, riding back from North Carolina in the van filled with platinum, Ronnie offers the idea that, with this money, they can change their lives. Reggie disagrees, saying that no amount of money will transform what they are: “We are always going to be trash, Ronnie. Money ain’t gonna change that” (235). At the same time, Bug is trying to use money to improve the lives of his family. While would money not change the lives of Ronnie and Reggie? Why does Bug think money will change the lives of his family?