¶ … Bolohead is discussed in the story is Bolohead Row where Keeaumoku ended at Kapiolani, which was right in front of one of the area's shopping centers, Ala Moana. Bolohead Rowers were detailed later on in the book around page 60. The narrator mentions old-school Bolohead Rowers and that the majority of them spoke with this kind of heavy, pidgin accent. They grew up before television became the nation's pastime. They essentially were old, growing up in the "Stone Age" before the invention of SUVs with DVD and TVs in the backseats. Eddie would have been considered the quintessential Bolohead and it showed with the author's choice of dialog for the character. Instead, confusing words like "how," Eddie said "ho" and "rememba" instead of "remember." "
Boloheads are also another name for bald heads and also described old, nearsighted men. Boloheads deviated from normalcy within the book by speaking pidgin and partaking in watching strippers as Bolohead Row evolved. They also adhered to an age gone by. They seemed like relics and were considered a kind of person that was stuck in the past, unable to progress. Bolohead Row is filled with bars, noise, and pollution. It is a place where people go to forget their troubles. On the other hand, remember the past.
Bolohead Row was also synonymous with a certain look. Because when Winnie's friend came walking in, with his sleeve of tattoos, the narrator could started his look was anti-Bolohead Row. He looked like he would fit better in a cage. Boloheads were part of old family acquaintances, not men who looked like they had committed a crime. Even the "adult entertainment" in Bolohead Row was tamed (massage parlors) compared to the things the narrator (Charlie) talks about later in the book (transgendered prostitutes, finger painted makeup, and druggies).
2.
In part nine of the text, the authors Thio, Calhoun & Conyers, discuss deviant communities. "A community is commonly viewed as a group who lives in the same area or share common characteristics and interests" (Thio, Calhoun & Conyers, 2013, p. 231). Winnie can be considered not only deviant, but also belonging to a deviant community (drug dealers and criminals). Charlie expresses that her step-sister used to get him into clubs and the like, during her "club-hopper" days and later on met up with some bad people, even getting friendly with one (B), because that is where she chose to express herself. This could be a form of rebellion and depression expressed by the mother being an alcoholic, whatever the case may be Winnie deviated heavily from normal society and its expectations.
Although part nine continues with odd topics like the furry community, one section titled "Deviance and the Struggle for Community Legitimacy" provides some much-needed context into why a girl like Winnie would pursue a life of crime. " ... is a group of people who, by virtue of a natural longing for interaction, and shared goals, interest, and fears, feel a sustained bond of connection, cooperation, and support for one another" (Thio, Calhoun & Conyers, 2013, p. 240). People sometimes follow a path of self-destruction because they feel pressure a desire to belong. When Winnie lived her life club hopping, she may have come across people that showed her how to make fast money. This then propelled her to continue down a path that eventually brought her to the turbulent life she has now in the book.
In the middle of the book on page 110, Winnie is described as being "The Little Engine Who Could Give a Rat's Ass" (McKinney, 2005). She was considered a lost cause as Taks said she would just take him down with her. This was when the Rapozo brothers went to the mother's bar to look for her. People like Winnie spiral down because of a rough experience and her only means of establishing a community are to perform illegal activities that affect her and her family.
3.
Ennui communicates social malaise, while anomie communicates disaffection with social norms. From a subjective perspective, ennui can be described a simply a lack of interest or personal boredom while anomie is the same thing except due to ideals and principles that have been compromised due to life causing social instability. Anomie is like ennui but takes it further, introducing society into the mix. "Ennui "A weariness and dissatisfaction resulting from inactivity or lack of interest."...
The personal rootlessness which comes from a lack of purpose" (Tindle, 2010, 14).
Charlie has to deal with many problems in his life. The women in his life for example, are deeply troubled and flawed forming the bridge from ennui to anomie because external factors contribute to creating an unstable environment for Charlie. Having to deal with his stepsister and mother's issues like trouble with gangers/law, alcoholism take a toll on him, and he begins to deviate a little from his desired course. This can be seen in the book early on page 25. "Bolohead Row had it all. Sure, I got out of this square mile once in a while, but it was home for me, and returning to it after the end of my marriage made sense. I guess both me and Winnie were coming home" (McKinney, 2005, p. 25). There he associated himself with Winnie. Perhaps unconsciously connecting his misfortune with his marriage to Winnie's turbulent life.
Even in his home, things were empty when he moved back. So much so, that Winnie wanted to stay with B because he had furniture. Things like this show Charlie's dissolving inability to cope with things, along with his playing of Everquest. This was a way he deviated from his expected role and deviated from his own expectations of life.
4.
Charlie mentioned ice on page 72 of the book and referred to as its actual name, crystal meth. Ice is an alias for crystal meth among other names like "batu" and "Hawaiian salt." Charlie states he tried it for free when he was in high school. What was alarming about what he said was that his story was "typical" meaning that other Hawaiian teens partook in this kind of drug. When he first tasted it, to him, it taste like an apple Jolly Rancher. In his late teens he used more of it and would buy quarters of it for one hundred dollars from one of his step-sister's friends.
Charlie associated his ice usage to smoking a pack a day of cigarettes and then upgrading to a carton of cigarettes. This shows how much of a role crystal meth played in Charlie's life, especially during his formative teenage years. It also shows how common ice is if his peers would sell and use the stuff as he also mentioned he would buy for those that bought him some.
He also used it in college and believed it helped him retain information better, even going as far as saying he could see the periodic table when he closed his eyes. Many people did it, at least those around him as he mentioned Taks did it and Charlie would smoke ice with a couple friends, especially his girlfriend while playing the ukulele. Lynette, his ex-also had a boyfriend, whom she went back to that dealt drugs. Therefore, crystal meth was everywhere in Hawaii from Charlie's perspective.
Crystal meth if it was not part of someone's life, it was part of someone's friend's or relative's life. Charlie recounted how teens would smoke meth now and then to feel better. He also mentioned excessive drinking as well.
5.
Bully Ching or "B" is Winnie's "friend." He is an ex-con and in the story, works in a lunch wagon making food, stirring curry for a living. Charlie did not suspect he dealt drugs or did them, because he was physically fit, but he also did not consider him "good people." This was because of his tattoos and his past. He served as a person of interest in the story and someone Winnie bonded with and liked.
B's past is explained around 1/3 of the book in and it involved a Mexican, consent, and search. B gets arrested a month after the baggage claim incident and was flown to Oakland with no lawyer or anything. He was thrown into Homboldt County Jail being the only Hawaiian there. Before his wait to be arrested, he smoked a lot and was almost happy to go to jail, to avoid smoking. Bully's past involves growing up in Kalihi, a "ghetto" of Hawaii and being near Kuhio Park Terrace, a notorious low-income housing project. It even had a poorer version of Bolohead Row and a landmark drug-dealing corner. Essentially Bully was and is a product of his environment and something Charlie did not want to become.
He was also a friend to Charlie. He helped Charlie when he was drunk, helping to avoid him being scammed by some person asking for money. He also helped him look for Winnie. One could…
