Boy's Life Chapter 3 Summary

Part two of Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon challenges the cliché: “What goes around comes around.” He instead shows readers that people are often not treated how they should be based on their own actions. People aren’t always punished for bad deeds because they can get away with their actions in many different ways; a big one being controlling those who are supposed to control you, which is shown in the Branlin brothers’ case. In chapter 3, Gordo and Gotha Branlin spot Cory Mackenson and his friends with a strange boy with weak limbs and a strong lisp. They decide to beat them up and treat the boys like “little pieces of nothing.” Because of the seriousness of the Branlin brothers’ actions, the sheriff gets involved and when Sheriff Amory confronts …show more content…
McCammon also highlights another scene in which characters are not punished for their bad, or even unlawful actions is about the Blaylocks, who commit serious crimes, but are hidden from society. During Cory’s camping trip, the boys spotted some men, whom they later realized were the Blaylocks, selling something mysteriously, which it can be inferred that the item sold is a weapon. When Cory and Sheriff Amory discuss what Cory saw, it was said that “Biggun Blaylock is an invisible mad. I hear about him, and I know the things he and his sons do, but I never see him...the Blaylocks are bigger than the law” (263). Even though the town’s sheriff knows of the Blaylocks and what they do, not much is done to stop and punish them. It shows that people can often get away with mischievous behavior without appropriate punishment. Also, these examples show that this idea that people are not always punished for their bad deeds is for all ages and seriousness levels of the actions. These points show that what goes around does not necessarily come around, instead, people can go without receiving proper punishment for bad