The Goats (15 page)

Authors: Brock Cole

BOOK: The Goats

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“Listen,” he said. “There's something I wanted to tell you about.”

“What?”

“Well, it's kind of weird. I had this idea. About us. I had this idea that just you and me could live together in the woods. Sort of like Indians. We could get what we needed from, I don't know, fields and cottages, and no one would ever see us or bother us again. They wouldn't be able to, because we wouldn't ever be there when they looked for us.” He knew he wasn't being very clear, that she wouldn't be able to
feel the magic of the idea, but that wasn't important, really. He didn't have to persuade her. He could let it go now.

“I used to think about it a lot, and sometimes I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid you would think it was just crazy.” He tried to laugh, but kept his head down in case she should want to look at his face. “It is crazy, isn't it?”

“Yeah. Kind of. It's nice to think about, though. We could build a raft and go down the river. Just floating along.” She sniffed and laughed at the same time. “I'd have to learn how to swim. Finally.” Her head knocked against his as she thought. “The trouble is, we couldn't go to Greece. I really want to do that when we're older, don't you?”

“Yes. We will, too.”

“And what if one of us got sick?”

“I don't know.” He was genuinely surprised. “I never thought about that.”

“Well. We would think of something. We always do.”

Suddenly he was very sure that everything was going to be all right. He wasn't a fool. He knew that there would be arguments and long-distance phone calls, and parents and camp counselors and policemen talking over their heads about things he didn't understand. He would want to crawl in a hole, and she would cry. It didn't matter. They would think of something.

They could look at each other now and smile.

“We better get going,” he said. “Your mom's going to be worried.”

“That's okay.” Some of her toughness had come back. “She'll get over it.”

They climbed down to the path together and started back along the fire trail toward the bridge. The sun was shining. They could feel its warmth in their hair and on their faces. Small birds darted ahead of them, ducking and weaving, leading the way through the pines and the dry summer grass.

“There's Mom,” said the girl.

Howie looked up. The woman was just a blur, coming fast. When she was close enough, he would see her face. He wondered what he would find there.

A stump loomed in front of them, splitting the path. They drifted apart, their clasped hands rising as it came between them.

“Hold on,” Laura said. “Hold on.”

Discussion Questions

1.
Readers are quickly thrust into the act of a cruel and insensitive prank on the first page of
The Goats
. Brock Cole's story vividly conveys Howie and Laura's physical discomfort and embarrassment once they are alone. During the first few chapters, was it easy to empathize with Howie and Laura's situation?

2.
Have you ever witnessed a brutal act of bullying or hazing? How did that experience compare to what Howie and Laura went through?

3.
The author crafts a story of a tender and innocent relationship that evolves between Howie and Laura, without becoming sexual. The bond they form is a positive and meaningful relationship as a result of their frightening experience. How do their feelings change for each other from the beginning of the story to the end?

4.
Humor can ease an uncomfortable and sometimes horrible situation. Discuss some examples in
The Goats
where the author used humor to diffuse a situation while keeping the events true-to-life for these young teens.

5.
Bullying and hazing are perpetuated as a tradition at the camp in this story. Howie and Laura were specifically chosen as the victims by their peers. Why is there such a tendency to single out those who are labeled as different? What are some of the emotional and physical effects of bullying?

6.
Why have Howie and Laura been labeled as social outcasts? Laura seems to embrace it when she says, “I'm socially retarded for my age.” Do Howie and Laura really embrace their status as outcasts or reject it?

7.
Howie and Laura commit petty crimes to survive as they run away from their tormentors. They consciously mention that they will replace what they used or stole. Howie says, “We'll pay them back. We'll pay them back for everything.” Is Howie just talking about repaying the thefts? How do you feel about their decisions and actions while on the run?

8.
Howie wants to “walk away forever from camps, roads, motels, the sound of human voices.” He is tempted to try and live in the woods and never be found. Why do you think he dreams about this throughout the story? Why does he include Laura in his dream of escape?

9.
The adults in this story seem imperfect despite the fact that they should know better as figures of authority. Those in charge of the campers turn a blind eye to the annual Goat Island prank. In some ways Laura and Howie are more mature in their words and actions than the adults portrayed in
The Goats
. Discuss some of the other times the adults in the story show more vulnerability and poor judgment than the two teens.

10.
Why do you think the author chose not to give the names of Howie and Laura in the beginning of the story?

11.
Laura has two names in the story, Laura Golden and Shadow Golden. She goes by Laura so she can better fit in with her peers socially. Do you think changing her name helped her or scarred her? What are some changes kids make to fit in better?

12.
The word goat has more than one meaning in the English language. What are some of the other ways the word goat is used? Why is Goat Island an appropriate name for the place where the story begins?

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QUESTIONS FOR THE AUTHOR

BROCK COLE

Where do you get your ideas? And where specifically did you get the idea for The Goats?

I don't know, but I don't think it's really very important. The idea for a book is usually not something original or even something that many will find very interesting. It's simply a little trigger, the sound of a voice, a predicament, a personality. Something that makes a writer think: I could do something with that. What happens next? Let's see â¦

When I was first asked this question about The Goats, I would say that the story is as old as Adam and Eve in the garden. Later it occurred to me that the story about a man and a woman who don't know one another marooned together on a desert island is a commonplace one, the stuff of cartoons in magazines. But, honestly, this never occurred to me as I was beginning. What set The Goats apart are, of course, the ages of the man and the woman and the fact that their developing relationship is treated fairly realistically. The simple-minded sexual fantasies one associates with this situation were in the heads of the people who marooned them.

Generally speaking, what sets writers apart isn't that they have particularly original ideas or even especially good ones as they begin. It's their impulse, even compulsion, to try and tell a story.

You referred to Howie and Laura simply as “the boy” and “the girl” throughout most of the book. Why was that?

Well, neither is interested in learning the other's name as the novel begins. Did you notice that? They've been so isolated, so stripped;
they've even lost their right to be called by a name. It isn't until late in the novel, when they've overcome so much together, that they can take that first step toward being a social person again. They can become a person with a name. And of course Laura's name isn't her real one. Laura is a name she was given so she would fit in, be socially more acceptable. It's important, I think, that when her mother is shown the IOU at the honey stand, it has been signed “Shadow Golden.”

The Goats is on the ALA's list of frequently banned books. Did you anticipate this kind of reception? How do you respond to those who feel that the book is not appropriate for children?

I think a more important question is whether banning books is an appropriate activity for anyone. Most censors seem to feel they have as much right to censure books as authors do to write them. That seems doubtful to me to say the least.

That said, I think the values discoverable in The Goats are quite ordinary and familiar: honesty, fairness, generosity, compassion, respect. That sort of thing. Why they should give anyone pause, I don't know. I suspect these critics don't read much. That's fine. I don't write for them. People who read, really read, live much of their lives by literature. They look to books to give then insights into the lives of others. Those are the people I hope are my audience.

Some readers express dissatisfaction with the ending. What happens to Howie and Laura next?

I'm not sure what happens. I doubt if they'll stay at the camp. Someone asked me once if they'll get revenge on the campers who mistreated them. I don't think they're even interested. They've grown beyond that.

They've decided to rejoin the world. That's the important thing. Perhaps I didn't make it clear enough what a close call this is. It's Laura's triumph, really. She's the one who pulls Howie back from simply “disappearing.”

To say what happens to them next would, I think, take another novel.

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eISBN 9781466803442

First eBook Edition : October 2011

An Imprint of Macmillan

Square Fish and the Square Fish logo are trademarks of Macmillan and are used by Farrar, Straus and Giroux under license from Macmillan.

Library of Congress Catalog card number: 87-45362

Originally published in the United States by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Square Fish logo designed by Filomena Tuosto
First Square Fish Edition: 2010